TENNERTON – Two teams looking to get over the .500 mark early in the season will meet Friday night when the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers host the Philip Barbour Colts at Freal “Red” Crites Memorial Stadium.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
The Bucs (1-1) are coming off a 13-7 win last week against Ripley and Buckhannon-Upshur head coach Zach Davis said his squad is coming off a good week of practice heading into the Philip Barbour game.
“Practice has gone well, but it’s really the same like it was after the Bridgeport game,” noted Davis. “What we do on a Friday night, win or lose, doesn’t have much to do with how we get after it in practice. Our coaches do a great job of preparing our players and our players do a great job of responding.”
Philip Barbour will also enter the game 1-1 after blowing out Grafton by a 52-7 score in a home contest week one but they lost a 36-30 verdict on the road last Friday to Clay County.
“Philip Barbour is a good football team,” noted Davis. “They are very similar to last year’s team as they didn’t lose many players. They are well coached and I expect it will come down to whoever makes the least amount of mistakes, and we hope to be that team.”
Last year, the Bucs defeated Philip Barbour by a 27-16 score when Bryson Johnston picked off a pass in the final seconds of the game in the end zone and returned it for a touchdown.
“Philip Barbour will be ready for us,” stated Davis. “Last year’s game was a back-and-forth battle. I have no doubt they will be fired up and ready to go. I think it’s a contest of two evenly matched football teams.”
For the Colts, most of their offense is centered around senior running back DaShawn Webster.
“He is an all-state caliber player,” said Davis about Webster. “He is a talented running back who is all over the field on both offense and defense.”
Davis remarked that going to 2-1 on the season would be a huge step for his team.
“This is a chance for our guys to have a winning record,” stated Davis. “It has been a while since we have been in that position. Our guys are fired up for that. It is something they talk about a lot without the coaches bringing it up.”
Davis said there are two keys to victory for his Bucs and that is to win the turnover battle and win the rushing battle.
“We need to limit their explosive, big plays,” concluded Davis. “Especially with DeShawn. He can go. If we can limit him I think we will be okay.”
Following Friday’s battle with the Colts, the Bucs will return to action next Friday in Moundsville as the visit John Marshall for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
