FIRE AND FLAME — Big Red will look to put plenty of fire on the horse Friday night when he opens his season with Cincinnati-area Archbishop McNicholas at Harding Stadium. – Andrew Grimm
STEUBENVILLE – After opening and playing on a Thursday a year ago, Big Red will kick off the 2024 season on Friday night at home, in its beautiful hometown.
They will do so against a new opponent, welcoming Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas to Harding Stadium at 7 p.m.
A long summer of hard work went into the preparations for Friday night, with Hall of Fame head coach Reno Saccoccia’s club staying healthy and putting in the effort.
“The summer has been very good so far,” Saccoccia, whose team is coming off a 13-2 season with two consecutive semifinal appearances, said: “The best thing was that we stayed healthy for the most part. That’s very important in high school, especially in this situation where you have to play so many games if you want to achieve what we want to achieve. You have to have a lot of depth and avoid injuries.”
McNicholas, which makes the hour-long trip across the state, is a Division III school. They are coming off a 5-7 season that ended in the second round of the playoffs after a 4-6 regular season record.
It is the first meeting between the programs.
“I often compare them to Dover on offense in terms of the way they can run and throw the ball,” he said. “Defensively, we haven’t seen many teams play defense like they do.”
“Overall, they are very well trained, disciplined and have many players from last year back in the team.
“It’s going to be a very good test for both teams. This is probably our best opening game since Columbus Liberty (2021). We expect our guys to give their best on every snap.”
The first home game is always a big event. It starts with the walk up the ramp from the dressing rooms into a guaranteed full house.
“It’s a great feeling to walk up the ramp on opening night,” Said Saccoccia. “Our children are really looking forward to it. You only realize how much it means when you climb the steps and when you get to the top you know it’s time to play.”
After the opening game, Big Red will travel to New Philadelphia and Cardinal Mooney in Weeks 2 and 3 before returning home to host Pittsburgh Obama on September 13.
The trip to Steubenville is the only trip to Eastern Ohio this season for the Rockets led by Mike Orlando.
