Parkersburg High School and Parkersburg South High School are two of the top five largest schools in West Virginia and they have met on the football field 50 times previously over the years. Every year, the teams battle it out to take home the Corbitt Cup Trophy as the winner of the Crosstown Showdown. The annual regular season finale between Parkersburg High School (7-3) and Parkersburg South High School (3-7) was anything but just a another game, and a playoff berth was on the line for Parkersburg South. Parkersburg High and Parkersburg South played a football game Friday night that saw both squads give it their all, but the visiting No. 7 Big Reds tallied the last two touchdowns to overcome the Patriots 27-24 at the Erickson All-Sports Facility to secure a home first- round Class AAA playoff game vs. No. 10 John Marshall next weekend.

MVP

Brenton Strange
Parkersburg

SCHOLAR ATHLETES

Wyatt Strobl

Parkersburg South

Wyatt is a three-year letterman on the varsity football team, Captain of the football team, a three-year academic letterman, and three-year acapella and Chamber Choir member. Wyatt was an All-State Chamber choir member his junior year, and also President of the PHS National Honor Society and member of the Spanish Honor Society. He is an active member of the JETS team, Science bowl team, and Senior Leadership. He is undecided on his college choice but plans to study business finance with an emphasis in economics.
Avery Eddy

Parkersburg

Avery is a three-year letterman and a captain this season for the Patriots. Avery is also a public relations officer for the National Honor Society, a member of the French Honor Society, the Drug Free Clubs of America, the editor of the school’s social media page, and was selected to All-State choir. Avery has achieved a 4.2 GPA while taking classes at WVUP. He currently plans to attend WVU as a member of the Honors College.

HALL OF FAME

Garrett Gilkeson

Parkersburg South

As a three-year starter in the rivalry, Garrett completed 65% of his passes that covered 470 yards. He grew 4 touchdown passes while rushing for 195 total yards, averaging 5.5 yards per carry and 1 touchdown. Garrett was also the starting kicker and punter in this rivalry, averaging 40 yards per punt. Garrett was a three-time All-Conference player, and in 2015 he was selected to the All-State team and USA All-West Virginia team. Garrett was also a two-time All-Conference and All-State basketball player. He currently plays basketball at VMI and is pursuing a degree in business and economics.
Rick Marshall

Parkersburg

In the biggest game of the season, Rick Marshall played the best game in the long and storied history of Parkersburg Big Red quarterbacks. A senior who earned all-state honors, Marshall set the all-time school record for single game passing yardage against Parkersburg’s biggest rival every year, Parkersburg South. In a 48-7 victory, he completed 15 of 27 passes for 343 yards with two touchdowns. His total offense total of 414 yards is also the school single game record. Marshall, who is now a youth pastor, also directed the Big Reds to a 28-12 win over South as a junior as he ran for one touchdown and a two-point conversion while passing for 60 yards.

GAME SUMMARY

The game started out fast-paced, as Tyler Moler from Parkersburg rushed in for a touchdown to put Parkersburg ahead 6-0. Parkersburg South drove the ball down the field and Ahmed Ali kicked a field goal to ease the deficit 6-3. In the second quarter, quarterback Brayden Mooney connected with receiver Nick Yoho on a 28-yard pass to put South ahead 10-6 at halftime. Parkersburg rallied right back and moved the ball down the field while Kam Mace rushed in to make the score 12-10. Parkersburg South’s Tyee Gibson returned the kickoff 79 yards for a touchdown to make the score 17-12. On South’s next possession, Nick Yoho scored again to make the score 24-12. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter, Parkersburg’s Tyler Moler scored on a 3-yard rush to make the score 24-19. In the 4th quarter, MVP #16 Brenton Strange caught the winning pass for Parkersburg in the end zone to make the score 27-24, while Parkersburg continued to hold back the Parkersburg South Patriots.

GAME GALLERY