Locals have opportunity to suit up one more time in tonight’s OVAC All-Star Classic

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WHEELING - The upcoming 63rd annual Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Football Charity Classic will have a lot of hype to live up to.

Last year's hail-mary touchdown to give Ohio a 6-3 lead with 52 seconds remaining put forth enough drama to give William Shakespeare a run for his money.

West Virginia looked to steal the show on the ensuing drive, but East Liverpool's Joe Wines intercepted a pass with 20 seconds left to seal the Ohio win and set the bench mark for spectacular games.

Though this year's showdown doesn't lack star power, it has a large shadow to crawl out of.

Ohio coach Randy Thompson will attempt to utilize his team's talent to the best of his ability in hopes of adding another check in the Buckeye team's win column.

With players representing 21 different schools, the coach will have plenty of talent to choose from when putting together his game plan.

Buckeye Trail will have the most representatives playing in today's game, as four Warriors will suit up for the Ohio team. St. Clairsville follows with three selections and Steubenville, Shadyside, Union Local and Martins Ferry will each have two players participating in the game.

A handful of area standouts will do what they can to make this year's contest a memorable one.

Wellsville's Zane Carter, East Liverpool's Ryan Stowers and Edison's Cory Johnson will represent Ohio, with Oak Glen's Gary Gamble suiting up for West Virginia.

B.J. Depew will coach the West Virginia side.

Ryan Stowers

Stowers had no idea what he was in store for after arriving for OVAC practice at West Liberty College.

A full day of drilling, which includes three separate practice sessions, isn't quite what the former Potter was expecting.

"Practices have been pretty tough. I knew it would be tough coming to an all-star game, but I didn't expect to have to get up at like 6:45 every morning," he said, adding that staying in dorms for the duration of game preparations has taken some getting used to. "It's a big adjustment. I hate staying down here. It sucks. We don't have a TV. I think our toilet is sitting crooked."

Stowers comes in as the biggest lineman on the Ohio team at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds. The Potter will line up at tackle and look to open holes for the Buckeye running backs as he did for East Liverpool a season ago.

He cleared the way for a stable of Potter backs last year to the tune of 1,668 total yards and six touchdowns.

Although he knows his role on the ream, he isn't sure exactly what he'll be going up against at Wheeling Island Stadium, as he's yet to learn much about his opponents.

According to Stowers though, the Ohio coaching staff isn't just preparing the team to beat West Virginia on Sunday but in everything leading up to the game as well.

"It's kind of hostile here. I don't think anyone has talked to the West Virginia team and they don't talk to us," he said. "They're on the first three or four floors. What we're doing now, we've got to beat them at whatever we do. We go to lunch before they do. Go to the football field before they do. Go to meetings before they do.

"Everything we've done so far we've been first. It's like some subliminal messaging our coach is trying to send."

Stowers' production at East Liverpool garnered a number of accolades, including the Craig Burbick Memorial Award and the ESPN Radio Award. Stowers was also named to the Quad-County Football Coaches Team.

He will suit up for Bethany College in the fall.

Zane Carter - Wellsville

Though he might be known most for his play at wide receiver, Carter will be the starting safety come game day.

After grabbing an interception in his last all-star game appearance in the Penn-Ohio Stateline Classic, the Tiger will look to get into the act at Wheeling Island Stadium.

"That's what I was all-state for, for safety. That's a real good position for me. I like it," Carter said. "But you always want to play offense though. I mean it's offense, you score touchdowns."

At 6-foot-4 and 195 pounds, the Wellsville grad will be an imposing roadblock for West Virginia signal callers Michael Angalich and Alex Pelechutte to navigate around.

When asked what he was looking to do in the secondary, Carter said simple be disruptive.

"Couple picks ... I'm looking to make a couple big plays back there," he said.

Even though he's lining up with teammates he's never played with or against before, it's only taken a few practices for some people to make an impression.

Also lining up at wide out, Carter has been impressed with quarterbacks Robbie Davia from Harrison Central and Billy Merryman from Shadeyside.

According to the two-way star, both are great to play with.

"Both throw nice balls. Best quarterbacks that I've ever been with," he said.

His offensive production proved instrumental in Wellsville's 5-5 finish last season.

He ended the year with 25 catches for 407 yards and five touchdowns; Carter recorded one hundred-yard game last season, when he tallied 111 yards and two scores in a 27-21 loss to Leetonia in week five.

In addition to earning state honors in the secondary, Carter was also first-team all-Eastern District and all-Area.

He has yet to decide if he will attend Marietta College or Mt. Union in the fall.

Gary Gamble -Oak Glen

According to former Oak Glen coach Jeff Woofter, Gamble is well equipped to make a difference in today's border battle.

From the ability to distance himself from defenders, to being able to go up and come down with the ball, the coach believes that if Gamble is given the chance he could do great things in Wheeling.

"He has all the physical tools. He has excellent speed. He jumps real well and can go up in a crowd and get the ball," Woofter said. "Hopefully they'll be able to utilize some of those skills ... hopefully they'll throw the ball some and give him an opportunity."

Though the majority of the Ohio squad hasn't played against him, area opponents all ready know what Gamble can do.

The three-sport star was the Golden Bears workhorse last season, catching 25 passes for 550 yards and three touchdowns.

Gamble also recorded 35-yards per kick return, while also taking three kicks to the end zone.

Beyond stats, Woofter believes that Gamble's intangibles are what separate him from the pack.

"(He was) a kid that we could count on to be a team leader. He's a kid that will go out and run every sprint like it was his last sprint," he said. "He did that from summer conditioning through the end of the season. Those kind of kids are hard to find."

For all his work, Gamble was named a first-team all-Valley and all-OVAC pick. He also received all-state special mention honors.

But it didn't come easy, and his former coach can attest that the wide out worked hard for what he accomplished.

"He's the type of kid that, when he's preparing for something, he pushes himself to the limit," he said. "He gets in great condition and just works as hard as he can."

Beyond football, Gamble starred in basketball and track - finishing sixth in the 100 meter dash at the West Virginia State Track Meet during his senior year.

He plans to attend Thiel College next year.

NOTES: Edison's Cory Johnson will be highlighted in Tuesday's edition of The Review.