WILLIAMSTOWN — Williamstown is set to open its 2020 football season at 7 p.m. Friday night at home against Marietta.

While the Yellowjackets are hoping to start their season off on the right foot, the Tigers will be looking to bounce back from a season-opening loss to Warren

Marietta fell 28-6 Friday night to the Warriors and struggled to get much going offensively, especially in the running game (17 rushes, 23 yards). More alarming though to head coach Jason Schob were his team’s miscues. MHS had multiple botched snaps and were penalized 13 times for 81 yards and couldn’t overcome those mistakes against a good team like Warren.

“We need to get back to the drawing board and focus on discipline and effort,” Schob said.

The majority of Marietta’s offense against Warren came via the passing game, as Reece Gerber completed eight passes for a 166 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown to Tyson Shaffer. Gerber was injured during the game, but did return. Zach Bartlett and Braden Talbott are Marietta’s primary ball-carriers, while Tony Munos is a threat to score as a runner, receiver and returner.

Williamstown will be under new guidance after the retirement of Terry Smith, who helped turn the program into perennial contenders for the W.Va. Class A state title. Chris Beck has taken over the program, and Friday will be his first game as a varsity head coach.

“It should be an exciting game,” Beck said. “It always is when we play them. The first thing that jumps out to me is (Marietta’s) size compared to ours. They’re very big up front and that could be an issue for us. They’ve got athletes in Gerber and Munos. They can definitely make plays.”

Brayden Modesitt returns as the ‘Jackets’ quarterback after throwing for 1,000-plus yards and running for 700-plus as a junior in 2019. He’ll guide the Williamstown offense, while junior Trevor Oates will get the bulk of the carries out of the backfield. TJ Billingsley and Rickie Allen also could get touches as well.

Williamstown has won the last two meetings against Marietta, including a 34-7 triumph last year at Don Drumm Stadium.

It’s an interesting situation, as Beck has game tape on Marietta whereas there is no game tape on the 2020 Yellowjackets. However, the Tigers have a game of experience under their belts and Williamstown doesn’t.

“I really believe that most teams show the most improvement from game one to game two,” Beck said. “Coach Schob will have all that stuff cleaned up.

“Our kids are excited for the opportunity to play. This is the eighth year we’re played (Marietta). It’s a nice little rivalry we’ve got back going.”