Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) – Conference Preview
By: Charlie Lusk
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The Ohio Valley Conference has been one of the most competitive top-to-bottom leagues in Southeast Ohio. With everybody being able to beat everybody last year, and several teams hiring new coaches this year, the race for the top is one to surely watch.
Coal Grove Hornets 8-3 (6-0):
The reigning OVC champion Coal Grove Hornets are looking to repeat in head coach Jay Lucas’ eighth season. After averaging 5.3 wins per regular season for the previous three (regular) seasons, the Hornets broke through capturing their first OVC crown since 2017. With All-GG Second team players RB Kaden Murphy and DE/RB Caden Turner graduating, the Hornets are looking to retool to repeat as champions.
The biggest change that the Hornets plan to make from the previous season is balancing the offense with a healthy passing attack. Sophomore quarterback Truitt Fields emerging allows Coal Grove to line up in single back and spread the ball out better as opposed to the 22-man personnel that the Hornets lined up in for most of the season with Murphy and Turner.
“I would say this year we’re gonna be fairly balanced offensively,” says Coach Lucas. “We got a good quarterback that has a good arm. He got nice receivers, not to say we won’t run the ball because we got pretty stable backs back there.”
Despite the increased implementation of the passing this upcoming year, backup rushers from last year, Case Webb, Guage Kraft, and Braden Schug, all have the vote of confidence from Lucas.
Portsmouth Trojans 7-5 (4-2):
The Portsmouth Trojans are coming off a roller coaster of the year. The Trojans on Thursday night got shut out 42-0 against Unioto. They followed that up with gritty wins over Portsmouth West and Greenup County. Losses to Coal Grove and Gallia Academy would leave Portsmouth out of the playoffs. However, after Ironton was forced to forfeit their win against Portsmouth, the Trojans were skyrocketed from outside of the postseason to fifth in the region. Portsmouth beat Amanda-Clearcreek in the first round before the roller-coaster ended in the Regional Quarterfinals at the hands of Barnesville.
The chaotic season was the last for veteran head coach Bruce Kalb. In his place, Mason native and Blanchester head coach Brandon Sammons take the reins. With a CV that saw Sammons travel all over the state at the high school and college level, Portsmouth is getting an experienced manager to take them into a new era.
“This year setting a standard for how we operate and expectations of being a member of this team is a goal,” coach Sammons said. “Winning games is a by-product of standards and accountability.”
The Trojans will mainly rally around senior running back Fernando Poxes. With over 1,250 yards and 15 touchdowns, the home run hitter is poised to have a breakout year, especially with quarterback Marquez Locklear graduating.
Rock Hill Redmen 7-5 (3-3):
Like Portsmouth, Rock Hill had a roller-coaster of a year. They went into conference play 2-1 and began with a bang with a late upset win over the 2024 champs Fairland. Rock Hill won their next three games. They were red-hot before a crushing loss to Portsmouth, giving Cheseapeke their sole win of the year, and ending the regular season with another conference loss to champions Coal Grove.
Rock Hill bounced back in playoff time, beating Dayton Christian 47-28 before running into a stacked Northeastern team in the quarterfinals.
Tony Love, who brought success in two years just north of Ironton, stepped down in February. In his place, Track and Field coach, assistant, and Rock Hill alum Trey Wilds takes over as the head coach.
The loss of Love does sting, but the Rock Hill alum has a plethora of returning production to work with in his first year as head coach. Their top two leading receivers Braylon McClellan and Cash Lyons, their leading tackler in All-GG Second team linebacker Aaron Workman.
Fairland Dragons 4-6 (3-3):
After back-to-back 9+ win seasons from the Dragons, Fairland last year went into a rebuilding phase with a disappointing 4-6 record. A close loss to rivals Portsmouth West and a loss to a daunted Fairfield Union team early set the team off on the wrong foot. A close win against a Gallia Academy team that looked to be on the rise gave the Dragons a boost of momentum, but Fairland fell short of playoff football.
That was the last year for third-year head coach Mike Jackson in Proctorville. Offensive Coordinator Ron Wooten has been named the new head coach. Having the role as offensive coordinator since 2022, coach Wooten has overseen some of the most explosive offenses in the state, including the 2023 team which averaged 41.5 points per game.
The main man to run Wooten’s offense is senior quarterback Owen Burcham. The athlete has done just about everything for the Dragons, play under center, return kicks, play safety, and even play receiver in 7-on-7 scrimmages. An athlete like Burchman being paired with an offensive mind like Wooten can be the catalyst for the Dragons to return to the top of the conference.
Gallia Academy Blue Devils 4-6 (3-3):
One of the most historic programs in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Blue Devils last year looked to avenge a disappointing 1-9 the season before. Under Gallia Academy alum and first year head coach Dalton Jarrell, Gallia Academy improved to 4-6 and .500 in conference play last year. Now under the second year with Jarrell, the Blue Devils are looking to take that next step and make it back to the postseason.
Despite scoring just 21.2 points per game, Gallia had the OVC Offensive Player of the Year last year: quarterback Max Canaday. The dual-threat QB racked up over 2,300 total yards and 18 touchdowns. With Canaday going into his senior season and running back Connor Nichols coming back from injury all his junior year, Gallia Academy’s jump to playoff and conference contention will come from their offense.
Gallia Academy has a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule. They start the season in the Bluegrass state to attempt to avenge their loss to Boyd County. The Blue Devils round it out with rivals Point Pleasant and state powerhouses Jackson and Ironton.
South Point Pointers 3-7 (1-5):
Three teams in the conference have new head coaches, two schools have new head coaches and a new athletic director, only one school has the same man fulfill that role at the school. Brian Wroten came from Portsmouth West as an assistant coach with the goal to transform the South Point football program.
Former head coach Chris Davis led the Pointers to two of their three playoff appearances in program history (one of which being the 2020 season with the expanded tournament). After Davis resigned, the possible stability is lost, but South Point are putting their chips into their new head coach and athletic director.
All-Conference running back and leading rusher Landon Vance will be the center of their offense. All-OVC tackle Noah Fahey and All-conference honorable mention will lead the run blocking for Vance.
Chesapeake Panthers 1-9 (1-5):
Last season under new head coach Kevin Hutchinson was a rebuilding one for Chesapeake. With several guys graduating from the playoff team the year before, the first-year head coach had an uphill battle.
The hard work under Jarrell paid off eventually with their sole win at home against Rock Hill. The Panthers beating a team that was still in the conference title race at the end of the season is certainly a stepping point from the previous year that the squad will look towards going into this season.
An assistant coach since 2019, Hutchinson is eager to go into year two as the head coach of the team; he’s been around for eight years now.
“My biggest goal is to develop a love for the game to the players and community that I have.”
Cheseapeake’s offense that put up just 14.0 points per game last season are going to look towards twin rushers Peyton Muncie and Jayden Washington for a spark for a hopefully improved Panther team.