Parkersburg quarterback Cooper Cancade warms up prior to last Friday’s game against Hurricane at Stadium Field. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — Another opportunity is at hand for the Parkersburg Big Reds to win a football game.

Come 7:30 p.m. Friday inside Erickson All-Sports Facility the red and white will take on rival Parkersburg South as head coach Matt Kimes’ program seeks back-to-back victories in the series.

Things have been different in 2024 for the Big Reds, especially considering the graduating class from 2023 and having to deal with a plethora of injuries thus far.

PHS seniors Cooper Cancade, who has completed 64% of his passes on 48 of 75 attempts for 475 yards with one touchdown and three picks, and receiver/outside linebacker Zane Lewis understand it’s a long season.

“We are 1-2, but we’re happy with the way we played,” admitted Lewis, who has 14 total tackles and five grabs for 54 yards.

“We just need to finish games, get guys back healthy and get our team back playing together.”

Lewis has moved from an outside receiver to the slot.

“It’s going good,” Lewis admitted. “I think me and Coop are getting a connection down and getting everything going now, and adding some new plays in. Morgantown, I mean we did dominate the game, but obviously didn’t win so we’re not happy about it.

“That was a good building block for the season. We lost a couple guys after that game, played South Charleston and had an alright game. Then Hurricane, one of the best teams in the state, stayed with them for two quarters, but just couldn’t finish it.”

Cancade, who attempted one pass in the middle of last year’s affair when David Parsons had to leave, offered his thoughts on the season to date.

“It’s been good,” he said. “I mean we have had nice long consistent drives, but just haven’t been able to have very many big plays to get into the end zone very much. They are definitely capable of coming. We just haven’t been able to strike on them yet. I mean it’s (Morgantown) definitely a heartbreaker.

“You can be upset about the loss, but you have to come back and practice and focus on the next game. It (South Charleston) was alright. We ran the ball really well. We didn’t really pass the ball too great. They (Hurricane) are a great team and we stuck right with them for the first half and kind of just didn’t come out at half.”

After falling behind the Redskins 14-0, freshman Brady Thorn returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as the Big Reds only trailed 21-14 at halftime.

“It was massive,” Cancade said of Thorn’s return. “It switched the whole energy for us.”

As far as Friday night’s key against the Patriots the signal-caller admitted “I think just keeping the ball and doing what we can do to make sure the ball is safe and not having stupid turnovers that are not necessary.”

Lewis added of the kickoff return “it is demoralizing going down 14-0, but we do put a lot of trust in Brady and we’re glad that he’s doing good and that kick return really helped us with a spark on all sides of the ball.”

Lewis said he only got to play a little bit during his sophomore season in the rivalry game before making his first start last year.

“The atmosphere was amazing and obviously we got killed the year before and the whole emphasis on the offseason was to get the bragging rights back from last year and them killing us. Coaches let us know,” continued Lewis, who said his top memory from last year’s tilt was “the student section being able to storm the field at the end of the game.”

Although Cancade will make his one and only start on Friday night in the rivalry game, he also was the holder for kicker Casey Stanley both his sophomore and junior campaigns.

“It’s definitely a big game. Pretty much the Super Bowl for some of these kids here,” Cancade said. “It’s what everybody looks forward to during the year. I mean it’s great. Definitely been a long time waiting.”

The quarterback added of his memories from 2023 “not very much defense being played. A very high scoring game. I’m hoping some defense is played by us. It’s always nice when the defense has your back.”

Cancade added of the rivalry and the players “I just know some of the kids over there. I’m friends with them and I used to play baseball with some of them.

“It’s completely different. We’re competitors now. Friendship is in the past and the future not the present.”

Lewis feels the same way when it comes to PSHS.

“Offseason, yeah, I mean off the field obviously we can be friends, but as soon as we step between those lines everything goes out the window,” he said. “The whole town comes and watches this one game.

“It’s one of the biggest games in the whole state and the biggest rivalry that’s traditional. We love playing the game every year and being able to get the bragging rights for at least a year.”

Lewis said as a senior leader he’s just trying to do his part for the team.

“You got to allow them to ask questions,” Lewis said of helping out the underclassmen. “You have to be as a senior, know what you are doing. Everything on the field, even if it’s not your position you need to know what’s going on.

“They are always asking me questions on the defensive side of the ball and me and Coop try and help them on the offensive side of the ball.”

Cancade felt the underclassmen have “filled in pretty dang well. I mean not much you can expect from some of these younger kids, but they’ve really came in and did what they could.

“They did their assignment and did what they had to do. Two in a row is really the main goal. Trying to keep the streak going. I feel like we don’t need unnecessary penalties. Those really kill our drives.”

The quarterback also said he doesn’t mind scrambling when he has to and there are some designed runs for him.

“I like it,” Cancade said of running when needed. “I feel like whenever I get hit I feel like I play better when I get more contact. When the pocket breaks down you just got to try and make a play. I think it’s (passing game) coming along. We haven’t had Ty(tan Parsons) for two weeks now. The kids subbing in are getting a good grasp of what the offense is like.

“I think the chemistry is definitely coming along. I think we’re just going to get stronger and stronger as the year goes on. I think at the end of the year we’re going to be a completely different team than what we were to start the year.”

No matter the result of Friday’s contest, Lewis fully understands the big picture.

“Just one week at a time,” Lewis stressed. “We have to focus on one team at a time. We can’t look past anybody.

“We can’t think of one team being any better than any other team in the state. Getting the seeding for the playoffs is all we are playing for right now.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com