GALLIPOLIS — For the second (and, likely, last) time since 1925, Logan and Gallia Academy will meet in a non-league contest.

Due to the league’s unbalanced schedule because of the departure of Athens and Zanesville from the Southeastern Ohio Athletic League, the Chieftains and Blue Devils were not scheduled to meet during SEOAL play, but athletic directors from both schools stepped in to make sure the series went uninterrupted.

The Blue Devils limp into Friday night’s game with the Chieftains with an 0-3 record that includes losses to Athens (21-0), Hillsboro (35-34), and Ironton (39-6).
Coach Mike Eddy, in his first season at Gallia Academy, has installed new systems on both offense and defense, which means that the Blue and White have started slow but are getting better each week.

On offense, GAHS has dumped the spread and put the wing-T in its place. In the backfield, Ethan Moore (6-1, 180, junior) will handle the quarterbacking duties while Jared Gravely (6-4, 210, senior) is the fullback. Moore has completed 20 of 38 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception.

Kyle Dingess (6-3, 200, senior) is the leading receiver with nine catches for 154 yards and two scores. Taylor Brandon (5-11, 160, sophomore) and Tyler Eastman (6-1, 160, junior) will be the split ends for the Blue and White.

Gravely leads the Blue Devil ground game with 196 yards and a touchdown on 36 carries. To round out the backfield, Nate Allison (5-10, 185, senior) has 85 yards on 21 carries while Austin Wilson (5-8, 150, junior) has 107 yards on 20 carries.

Up front, the tackles are Xavier Lewis (6-3, 270, senior) and Bryant Bokovitz (5-10, 185, sophomore), the guards are Dylan Hunter (6-0, 195, senior) and Josh Curry (5-10, 175, junior), and the center is Nick Roach (6-1, 225, senior). Bokovitz is the son of previous Blue Devil head coach Matt Bokovitz.

Defensively, the Gallians have made the switch from a 3-3 stack defense to a 4-4 defense with an emphasis on stopping opposing running games.

Up front, Gravely, Bokovitz and Zack Tackett (5-9, 165, sophomore) will all see time at defense end with Gravely being an anchor on the line. Inside, Codie Lloyd (5-10, 330, junior), Aaron Guisinger (6-3, 335, sophomore), Nathaniel Gordon (6-4, 300, senior) and Lewis rotate at the tackle spots.

The linebacking corps is led by Allison at outside linebacker and Ben Saunders (5-10, 150, junior) at inside linebacker. Hunter will play inside with Saunders while Dalton Jarrell (5-8, 155, junior) will join Allison on the outside.

Jared Golden (6-1, 200, junior) missed last week’s game with and injury and could return to replace Jarrell on the outside.

In the secondary, Wilson and Dingess are the cornerbacks and Moore is the safety. Brandon and Eastman will also see time in the secondary.

Former LHS quarterback Alex Penrod coaches special teams for the Blue Devils. Joe Jenkins (6-5, 185, junior) handles the kicking duties while Moore is the punter. Wilson returned a kick for touchdown against Hillsboro.

Spencer Waugh of loganfootball.com offers his scouting report of the Chiefs’ opponent every week in The Logan Daily News.