Parkersburg’s Zane Lewis (1) glides into the end zone during last week’s game against St. Albans at Stadium Field. (Photo by Brian Cox Photography)

PARKERSBURG — The 29th all-time meeting between Huntington and Parkersburg will mark the first contest in the series where both Mountain State Athletic Conference programs are in Class AAAA.

The No. 4 Highlanders of head coach Billy Seals enter the 7:30 p.m. Friday affair at Stadium Field with a 7-1 record and riding a six-game winning streak as the Big Reds sit at No. 16 with a 3-5 mark.

“It’s a great challenge. A really good football team, really well coached,” said PHS head coach Matt Kimes. “They do really good things offensively and defensively. They create problems for you, but we’re excited about the challenge, too, because with a great challenge comes a great opportunity.

“We know what’s in front of us. We keep telling people and the kids we haven’t played our best football yet. Hopefully, if we can put it all together for four quarters in all three phases we’ll have an opportunity to compete.”

In a series which is even at 14 wins apiece, the last time the Big Reds bested the Highlanders was back in 2020 by a 25-14 score.

Highlander running back Zah Jackson (25-251-5) has missed the last two games, but George Washington transfer Keegan Sack (94-755-13) leads the way on the ground.

Dual-threat signal-caller Avonte Crawford has completed 74 of 102 aerials for 1,248 yards with 15 touchdowns against four interceptions. Jamari Tubbs (28-379-5) and Tavian Chandler (12-269-3) have been his top targets.

“They are really good. I mean they got Division I players across the board,” admitted coach Kimes. “You can’t focus on one guy because they do have so many threats out there. What you have to do is try and be really sound in what you are doing.

“You also have to try and mix your looks the best you can and try to raise some confusion with them, and try to be to where you are making some plays on defense as well because if you just sit in your base they are too talented and too well coached and they will find a way to exploit you there.”

The Big Reds had a key pick-6 from linebacker Zane Lewis during last week’s victory versus St. Albans. Lewis’ 56 tackles trails team leader Devin Widman (69) and ranks ahead of Parkersburg’s third leading tackler Javel Chandler (41).

“We know it’s a challenge,” said the coach. “We know it’s a big challenge, but we feel like if we play to our capabilities we have good enough football players to go out there and compete.”

Jakel Shelton had led the PHS ground attack with 684 yards and eight trips into the end zone. Ethan Jones and quarterback Cooper Cancade, who has completed nearly 64% of his attempts for 1,217 yards and five TDs, have rushed for 302 yards and scored three touchdowns apiece. Brady Thorn (17-272-3) has been his top receiver.

“We’ve moved the ball on everyone this year and done some good things offensively, so it’s going to be the same type of thing,” continued coach Kimes. “We got to posses the football, sustain drives, convert third downs and score when we get to the red zone. Those are the things we got to do and obviously taking care of the football.

“If we can do those things and try to keep the ball out of their hands as much as possible and maybe limit their possessions a little bit and have some success running the football, then I think we can keep it close for a while and get a break here and there and have a chance in the fourth quarter to win it. That’s going to be our message to the kids. Do what we can to shorten the game a little bit and try to maximize our possessions and limit theirs.”

Big Red kicker Quinton Wright had converted seven of his eight field goal attempts. He’s now two makes away from tying the school record shared by Tyler Warner and Connor Louden.

“We’re about as healthy as we’ve been all season. We are getting (Sylas) Cheuvront back this week, which is a great added bonus,” said Kimes, who noted Cheuvront will play linebacker, be on special teams and also add to the tailback depth chart. “We’re about as healthy as we are going to be this time of year. Trying to get guys in the right spots now and putting your pieces where they fit best to have success is kind of where we are at now.

“We’ve had to piece together so much over the season and we’ve kind of played guys out of position at times, so now we’re trying to figure out if we should put them back or leave them where they are at. It’s just one of those chess match things you do as a coach every Sunday to try and get your guys in the best places to be successful, but we’re still grinding. These kids still believe in what we are doing and I expect us to have a great week of practice.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com