Published: August 28, 2008 11:26 pm         

Line will decide Fayette County rivalry

FAYETTEVILLE — When push comes to shove, Fayetteville will have a distinct advantage tonight when the Pirates host county rival Oak Hill in the season opener for both teams.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

That’s because of Fayetteville’s huge and, more importantly, experienced offensive line.

“Fayetteville does return an experienced line, on offense and defense, and that scares us,” Oak Hill assistant coach Jason Blankenship said on the eve of the opener. “That’s because we’re inexperienced on the lines.

“We scrimmaged Winfield and Wyoming East and they both had huge lines. But we’ve already told our guys that this is the best offensive and defensive lines they’ll face this year. It’s a big test for us right off the bat.”

Fayetteville coach Dave Moneypenny didn’t disagree.

“We feel that, against Oak Hill or anybody else, our success offensively comes from whether or not we block together. We run the wing-T and each of those guys has an assignment, and if they do that together, it’s an advantage for us.

“It should be, but you still have to play the game. We do feel we have a good front five, and even six and seven with a couple kids coming off the bench. We have some depth there.”

So Oak Hill is in a conundrum, right?

“Well, we feel that we have just as good if not better skill position players as Fayetteville,” Blankenship, the Red Devils’ wide receiver/linebacker/special teams coordinator, said. “We’re putting it on their shoulders — Chris Lawson, DeAndre Leonard and the McFarlands (Marcellus and Marcus). We need a big game from our skill guys.”

First-year Oak Hill coach Casey Crane was returning home Thursday night and was not available for comment.

For Fayetteville, players to watch include first-team all-state running back Drew Weis, who rushed for over 1,600 yards last year, FB Brian Trofy, QB MichaelAngelo Hernandez and first-team all-state lineman Chase Lafferty, who anchors that experienced line.

“We want a big game from Drew Weis,” Moneypenny said. “That usually occurs when our line has a big game, and Drew will be the first to tell you that. But he is also capable of changing the momentum and outcome of a game if he chooses to do that.”

It is a big game for both teams.

“This is a big game for us, right off the bat,” Blankenship said. “It’s a rivalry, a lot of emotion and Fayetteville is obviously a Top 5 team in single-A. But you have to beat the single-A teams to get respect in double-A.”

“Fayette County teams always play well against each other,” Moneypenny said. “It’s a big game because they are a good team and we have to prepare well to beat them. But yes, it’s definitely a rivalry.”

— E-mail:

demorrison@register-herald.com