Beaver Local runner Zaiven Riley gets an escort from Lane Jones (21) and Nathan Stull (66) as St. Clairsville’s Kale Fisher pursues Friday. (The Review/Gary Leininger)

CALCUTTA — St. Clairsville’s football team is coming off a campaign that went 14 weeks and ended with a loss to eventual Div. IV state champion Indian Valley in 2024.

Beaver Local knew on Friday that despite the Red Devils losing their season opener to Norwayne that a big onslaught might be coming.

It didn’t help that the Beavers did not have strong practices in the lead up.

Using a tremendous performance from senior quarterback Sam McLean, St. Clairsville showed why it will be in the thick of it in the Div. IV playoffs again with a 38-7 win over the Beavers.

McLean hit all eight of his passes thrown in the first half for 235 yards and touchdowns to four different receivers.

You’d think he’d be the one in line for the game ball, but Sam and his other brother Ian handed the game ball to their dad Brett who earned his 200th career coaching win.

“That wasn’t even in my mind coming up here,” Brett McLean said. “We just wanted to play our best and be ready.”

Beaver Local coach Mike McKenzie had a few run-ins with McLean and St. Clairsville (2-1) over his career at Beaver and Edison.

“Brett is a heck of a coach,” McKenzie said. “The first time I played him was in 2006 when I was at Edison. He’s got a great program down there.”

Beaver Local (2-1) came into the game with wins over Cleveland Shaw and Brooke to start the season, but this was another level.

“That is a great team but it was bad on me for us not coming out and playing like we are capable of,” McKenzie said. “We had a bad week of practice every day. When you have a bad practice that is the coach’s fault.”

McKenzie said the problems in the practice included energy and focus.

“Everything that happened tonight, happened in practice,” McKenzie said. “There were assignment mistakes and not getting downhill and not being the physical team that have always been. There were too many lackadaisical practices and it was mentally lazy. It comes back to me and I have to hold them more accountable.”

Beaver Local was down 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and that ballooned to 31-0 with 8:56 left in the half after 38-yard touchdown pass from Sam McLean coupled by a Dalton Neff 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“We had a loss in that Norwayne game that was a scar we will carry forever,” Brett McLean said. “We had to get right and I think we got some things last week and it showed more tonight. Our schedule is such a meat-grinder and it gets tougher as we go.”

Sam McLean’s final touchdown pass — a scrambling 18-yard heave to Niko Jacob with 5:49 left in the second quarter — was perhaps his best of the night.

“I’m proud of the way our seniors played today because they have a big encore to follow,” Brett McLean said.

Beaver Local’s lone touchdown came on a Wade Foster to Jack Nocella 81-yard strike on the last play of the third quarter during a second half that featured a running clock.

The Beavers needed that one as a building block for next Friday’s rivalry contest against East Liverpool at Beaver Local.

“I haven’t seen them yet, but they’re going to be good,” McKenzie said. “Coach Cusick is a phenomenal coach and being it is his third year the program is installed. I know they have had a lot of talent coming up through the years when we played them in middle school. It’s a rivalry week and it’s a big week.”

McKenzie said the logistics of this week’s practice won’t change, but there will be an added intensity to things.

“I told them I am going to coach them hard and that’s because I love them and not because I am mad at them,” McKenzie said. “That may be a little different than last week, but we take every week as the same. We shouldn’t prepare harder than we did last week because that means we cheated last week.”

He said the main difference next week will be when the Beavers walk out at 5:30 p.m. there will already be a lot of people in the stadium.

“This place will be packed,” McKenzie said. “There are so many things that are different, like the ambient noise from people talking. You don’t let that moment get too big. You can’t let the energy in the stadium then use up all of adrenaline. We have to learn how to control those emotions early.”

Game notes

¯ One of St. Clairsville’s key pieces was 6-5, 295-pound offensive tackle Mason Wilt. Wilt received an offer from Ohio State in June and was at the Buckeyes’ 14-7 win over Texas last Saturday.

SC: 17-21-0-0–38

BL: 0- 0-7-0– 7

SCORING

SC–Parker Galloway 31 FG

SC–Jaxon Starks 50 pass from Sam McLean (Galloway kick)

SC–Luke Schafer 45 pass from McLean (Galloway kick)

SC–Ollie Muhly 38 pass from McLean (Galloway kick)

SC–Dalton Neff 7 interception return (Galloway kick)

SC–Niko Jacob 18 pass from McLean (Galloway kick)

BL–Jack Nocella 81 pass from Wade Foster (Brayden Hall kick)

——

SC BL

First downs 14 6

Total Yards 339 155

Rushes-yards 27-101 23-67

Passing 238 88

Comp-Att-Int 9-11-0 3-19-2

Punts 2-35 5-33

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0

Penalties-Yards 10-95 6-70

——

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING–St. Clairsville, Ollie Muhly 5-48; Beaver Local, Wade Foster 11-19, Lane Jones 9-27, Nick Marra 2-25.

PASSING–St. Clairsville, Sam McLean 8-9-235-0; Beaver Local, Wade Foster, 3-13-88-2, Reid Schwerha 0-6-0-0.

RECEIVING–St. Clairsville, Muhly 2-51, Jaxon Starks 1-50, Luke Schafer 1-45, Kaden Clifford 2-54; Beaver Local, Jack Nocella 1-81.

INTERCEPTIONS–St. Clairsville, Dalton Neff, Luke Schafer.