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By JIM COOPER
Sports Editor - Fans can only hope that the 35th Black Walnut Bowl is all it’s cracked up to be.

Two teams with playoff aspirations — Class A Calhoun County (5-1) and Class AA Roane County (4-3) — will collide Friday at County Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. LKC contest.

The Red Devils enter the game ranked No. 9 while the Raiders are No. 12 and riding a four-game winning streak.

“They’re for real,” Raider coach Tom Hardman said of Calhoun. “They bring back an experienced squad.”

Hardman noted that players including seniors Jeff Goodrich, Josh Deweese, Matt Houchin, Caleb Hart and Zac Yeager seemed to have been on the Red Devil roster forever.

Coach Bryan Sterns’ team rolled up four straight victories to start the season — 73-0 over Gilmer County, 38-0 over Ritchie County, 34-0 over Doddridge County and 19-6 over Parkersburg Catholic — before getting clobbered 33-8 by Williamstown. Calhoun responded by stomping South Harrison 42-7 in their most recent outing two weeks ago.

Houchin (6-0, 185) returns at quarterback. He has completed 41-of-86 tries for 560 yards and five touchdowns. Deweese (6-3, 166) has averaged nearly 20 yards a catch on 19 receptions.

Goodrich (5-7, 160) and Hart (5-9, 180) carry the rushing load. Goodrich has 761 yards this season on 106 carries with seven TDs while Hart has run for 285 yards and five scores.

“Their offense is very diverse,” Hardman said. “They bring a good package with some wild stuff. They might line up in a Power-I and then go trips right with all of the receivers in a line.”

Yeager (5-11, 220) anchors a 4-4 defense that has allowed only 46 points. He has 66 tackles and three fumble recoveries. Deweese has picked off three passes.

“I compare them to Tyler (Consolidated) with their team speed and aggressiveness,” Hardman said of a team that beat his 24-16 in week two.

Calhoun has had a week off to get players healthy and to come up with new schemes, Hardman noted.

The Raiders will have to be more consistent on offense and limit mistakes, Hardman said. Defensively, he said playing smart against the different Calhoun looks will be key.

Every game has been big for the Raiders this season thanks to the 0-3 hole they dug for themselves at the start. It is a similar situation to 2006, when the team started 1-3 and then closed with six consecutive victories.

“It’s no different than where we were last year,” Hardman said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I look forward to it.”

RAIDER RAP: Calhoun was 6-4 a year ago but missed the Class A playoffs. Roane topped the Red Devils 38-27 at Mt. Zion last season to take a 5-4 lead in the all-time series…

The Raiders are 2-5 in previous Black Walnut Bowls, including their last win, 43-6 over Calhoun in 2001. The Red Devils are 2-4 in the BWB and beat Roane in their last appearance, a 17-14 overtime thriller in 2005…

Friday is the final home game and Senior Night for the Raiders. Thirteen seniors and their parents will be honored with a reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. and during pregame festivities…

Hardman said the Raiders would dress in all black for the game and is encouraging fans to do the same for a “black out” of County Stadium…

A Longaberger picnic basket is being raffled to raise money for the football program. The basket has a wooden lid that can be custom designed by the winner with the Raider logo, their name, or just about anything. The winner will be drawn during this Friday’s game. Tickets are available by calling Corena Dolan at 927-5764 or Betsy Jarvis at 927-3630.