PioneerPA

Wayne lost 2 starters on offense (WR and center) and 4 starters on defense (two DL, one LB, and safety). Marcum (6'4, 225) was listed as a "Junior to Watch" by Street and Smith's College Football Preview. The kid is a freak of nature...runs around a 4.8-4.9, and is getting faster. Made 100 tackles last year, 20 for loss. QB Nick Newell (6'4, 200?...he's gained significant weight since last year) returns for his junior season after throwing for 1,006 yards last year in the regular season. All of the RB's return, led by Josh Powers, who ran for 900 yards last season. Garry Roland ran for 800, and the 2 fullbacks, Jason Sanders and Daniel Runyon, combined for about 500 yards. Wayne pretty much has everyone back...only had 7 seniors last year, and only 5 of them contributed in any way. Lot of speed for Wayne...more than in years past. The line worked hard in the offseason, and despite being undersized, they held their own last year, so I look for them to be improved somewhat. Wayne's biggest problem last year was turnovers. If they remedy that, they'll be in good shape.

Wayne's opponents ranked: 1. at Lawrence County, KY- This is not exactly a shot in the dark, but they rarely ever play WV schools, so I don't exactly know how they matchup with teams on this side of the river. They would be AAA in WV. In 2001, the Bulldogs beat Cabell Midland 56-34...after losing 56-28 in 2000 to the Knights. They beat Man 43-6 last year. Normally strong, so it's really hard telling. They went 6-5 last year, and I have no clue who graduated or who is back, but it's a far cry from their normal 8-2/10-0 record. They have a scholarship LB at Tennessee who went there, as well as the starting QB from Western Kentucky's I-AA national championship team. Also have a kid on scholarship to Miami of Ohio. 2. Herbert Hoover- I suspect the Huskies will be pretty good again this year. They return their skill position players, but they lost their mammoth line. They picked it up at the end of last season, I suspect they will do the same this year. LAST YEAR: Wayne 35, Herbert Hoover 28...Wayne led 35-7 after 3 quarters and held off a late Hoover rally. Huskies won at Wayne in 2002, 35-7. 3. Poca- 3x defending state champions have lost 3 out of last 4 meetings with the Pioneers. They lose Santmyer, Sotelo, White, and Browning, so only their QB returns to the skill positions. LAST SEASON: Wayne 30, Poca 20. Dots won at Wayne in 2002, 7-0. 4. Chesapeake, OH- The Panthers are a fixture in the Ohio Division V playoffs. Would be Class A in WV (but would be about the largest Class A team). Good program, lost their best athletes from last year. Only gained about 50 yards last year against Wayne...scored TD's thanks to poor punt snaps. LAST YEAR: Wayne 22, Chesapeake 12. In 2002, the Pioneers beat the Panthers, an Elite 8 team in their division that season, 40-0. 5. at Tolsia- Rebels rejoin AA and shouldn't be too bad. Have their TE, RB's (except for Stumbo, who will suit up at LB for Wayne this fall), and QB back from last year. It's a rivalry game...there is a lot of hatred on the field. LAST YEAR: Tolsia 21, Wayne 20...Rebels scored 21 points in final 8 minutes of game to win. In 2002, the Pioneers beat the Rebels 7-6. 6. Point Pleasant- It's hard telling exactly what the Black Knights will bring in, but I've seen them on Charter against Ohio teams in the past and wasn't overly impressed. They are saying they will be weaker than normal, so I put them this low. I've never seen their varsity, but Wayne's JV beat them 40-0 a couple of years ago...for whatever that's worth. 7. at Winfield- Generals weren't very good last year, but they return almost everyone...I don't know if that is good or bad though. T.L. Asbury is a good sized QB...6'4, 225. If they would leave him alone at QB instead of trying to play Wayne Pritt as well, and found an identity on offense, they could be tough. LAST SEASON: Wayne 20, Winfield 6. In 2002, the Pioneers beat the Generals, 50-8. 8. at Sissonville- The 2-8, punchless, hapless Indians beat Wayne last year. Go figure. They have a new coach, but lost some great athletes off a poor team. Last season: Sissonville 25, Wayne 18. In 2002, the Pioneers beat the Indians 12-6 in overtime. 9. at Chapmanville- The Tigers just aren't very good...simple as that. 10. Logan- They are better than this...just don't have the attitude down there toward football anymore. Always going to have good athletes. Last year: Wayne 47, Logan 14. In 2002, the Pioneers beat the Wildcats, 36-30.

Just got the official schedule from www.wvssac.org . I figured I would post it here because Wayne is supposed to be one of the better teams in AA this fall in WV, and I know Bluefield will be loaded again. August 27- at Lawrence County, KY--AAA-sized school. Has been a fixture in the Kentucky playoffs over the years. Produced scholarship players to UK (Gerred Parker) and Tennessee (Jared Hostetter) recently. Coming off worst season in a decade. Used to battle Fort Thomas Highlands (Jared Lorenzen and Gino Gidulgi) for KY supremecy...battles they usually lost. LAST SEASON: DNP Wayne. The Bulldogs finished 6-5, losing to Rockcastle County 14-12 in the first round of the playoffs. September 3- CHESAPEAKE, OH--Class A size...would be AA playoff participant nearly every year, but definately would not be DOMINANT in our classification. They play in D-V in Ohio, which is larger A and smaller AA sized schools in WV. They are a good program that usually makes the Ohio playoffs. Their games with Wayne are generally competitive. They made the Ohio Elite 8 in 2002, the year Wayne beat them 40-0...compared to 1999, when they went 10-0 and beat everyone they played by 28+ points...and got beat 43-8 in the Round of 16. LAST SEASON: Wayne 22, Chesapeake 12. The Panthers went 8-3, losing to Wheelersburg 40-16 in the first round of the playoffs. September 10- HERBERT HOOVER--Huskies scheduled themselves right out of the playoffs last season. Should have been there. LAST SEASON: Wayne 35, Herbert Hoover 28. The Huskies won their last 5 games to break even at 5-5, including a 30-6 win at Poca. September 17- at Winfield--Generals have talent...T.L. Asbury is a very good QB. They just have to find an identity on offense. LAST SEASON: Wayne 20, Winfield 6. The Generals finished 3-7. September 24- at Sissonville--The Indians have a new coach, but have to replace a lot of players on a 2-8 team. Everyone remembers their actions at Wayne after they upset the Pioneers. This could be very intense. LAST SEASON: Sissonville 25, Wayne 18. The Indians went 2-8, beating only Shady Spring the rest of the way. October 1- POINT PLEASANT--The Big Blacks are out of the SouthEast Ohio Athletic League (SEOAL), which will do nothing but help. How good are they? We'll find out. LAST SEASON: DNP Wayne. The Big Blacks finished 5-5. October 15- at Tolsia--The hated Rebels return to AA and the rivalry will pick up after they scored 21 points in 8 minutes to win at Wayne last year for the first time since 1997 (Wayne's last 0-10 team). Revenge is a dish best served cold. LAST SEASON: Tolsia 21, Wayne 20. The Rebels went 9-4, beating Fayetteville and Parkersburg Catholic in the playoffs before falling in the semifinals at Williamstown. October 22- POCA--They're the 3x-defending state champs...and two of those teams lost at home to Wayne. These teams have combined to play in the last 4 state championship games. They lose a lot, but they know how to win and have good coaching. LAST SEASON: Wayne 30, Poca 20. The Dots beat James Monroe, Ravenswood, Mount View, and Bluefield to claim the AA state championship. October 29- at Chapmanville--The Tigers weren't too good last year. Losing three of their top players won't make them any better. LAST SEASON: Wayne won a scrimmage pretty soundly. Tigers finished 3-7. November 5- LOGAN--The Wildcats don't have the defense they used to. LAST SEASON: Wayne 47, Logan 14. The Wildcats finished 1-9. First game should be interesting...Wayne hasn't lost on an opponent's home field since a Week 3 loss in 1999 at Poca in OT, and that streak will be severely tested. If Wayne somehow wins that game (and good Cabell Midland teams have gone over there and gotten obliterated), the streak will pass 5 years somewhere in the September 10 area. Wayne has lost in that time period to James Monroe in Princeton, Bridgeport in Wheeling, and Westside in Beckley. Wayne has lost 7 home games in that time (odd stat, isn't it?). As for the Pioneers, Wayne returns 17 starters from last year's 8-4 fumble plaugued team that lost in the quarterfinals to Westside (and prolly set a playoff game record for turnovers in the process), 24-16. With all the key players back on offense with the exception of WR Kyle Wellman, the Pioneers running attack should be much stronger this year. Last year's small line will be a year older, a year bigger, and a year stronger, which can't hurt an offense that scored 28 ppg last fall. The program is strong in each class...and next year's freshmen will be great if they keep working. Players to watch (next year's class): Jr. QB Nick Newell (6'3, 195)-Threw for over 1,000 yards in Wayne's "archaic" offense. Sr. RB Josh Powers (5'10, 170)- Should run for 1,000 yards this year. Jr. TE/MLB Trevor Marcum (6'4, 225)- This kid runs a 4.8 and will get D-I looks before he's done. He's still growing. Sanders, Gilliam, Roland should all contribute heavily as well. On paper, this is Wayne's best team since 2001...but games aren't won on paper...they're won by 365 days of hard work and dedication by players and coaches. Good luck to everyone next fall!