Beloit, OH -- In Beloit, Friday nights belong to the Warriors. West Branch football has spent the better part of a decade setting a standard in northeast Ohio, and the 2026 season arrives with that standard fully intact.
Tim Cooper enters his fifth season at the helm, and the numbers speak for themselves: 43-7 as head coach, an unbeaten conference record, and a program that has not lost an Eastern Buckeye Conference game since 2019. Cooper, who spent time on the West Branch staff under Ken Harris before taking over in 2022, has built a culture that reloads rather than rebuilds, and he does it with a coaching staff that has been every bit as consistent as the results.
Last fall brought a 10-2 finish, another clean sweep through the EBC, and a run to the second round of the playoffs before the season ended against Perry. Replacing
Jeremiah Thomas is no small task. The Co-Offensive Player of the Year in the Northeast Inland District, First Team All-Ohio, and Eastern Buckeye Conference Player of the Year, Thomas leaves as one of the best to ever wear a Warrior uniform. He is not the only piece the Warriors have to replace from a senior class that helped define this run.
However, this year's roster carries 21 seniors, a group that has been part of the standard and now gets its turn to set it.
It starts under center. Senior quarterback
Grady Hirst returns after throwing for
2,660 yards and
25 touchdowns against just three interceptions, adding
533 yards and
seven scores on the ground. The season earned him first team All-Eastern Buckeye Conference, first team Northeast Inland District, All-Quad County, and second team All-Ohio honors. Now committed to Youngstown State, Hirst brings size, arm talent, and the kind of poise that turns close games into comfortable ones.
He has weapons around him. Junior Drake Stryffeler, an EBC second team selection a year ago, will be a factor at receiver and in the secondary. Landon Coffee presents a matchup problem at 6-foot-6, a tight end with the frame to win contested balls and the motor to line up on the defensive front. Senior Tyler Sprowl, an EBC honorable mention pick last season, returns as another proven piece.
The supporting cast runs deep. The roster will be filled with contributing players on both sides of the ball, from seniors who have been part of this run to underclassmen ready for bigger roles. Cooper will have options at every position.
2026 Football Schedule
West Branch opens the 2026 season on the road at St. Clairsville on August 21st, followed by a trip to New Philadelphia on August 28th. The home opener is set for September 4th against Struthers, followed by Howland on September 11th.
Eastern Buckeye Conference play begins September 18th at Marlington. The Warriors host Canfield on September 25th in a non-conference matchup that carries added weight after the Cardinals handed West Branch a loss last season. Road contests at Carrollton (October 2nd) and Minerva (October 9th) follow, and October closes with home games against Alliance (October 16th) and Salem (October 23rd).
