Tim Ward, Licking County Ready to Halt Muskingum County’s All-Star Winning Ways

HEATH, OH – As we close in on kickoff for the 43rd annual Muskingum vs. Licking County all star football game in Zanesville, it’s impossible to not overstate the results over the last number of years. Dating back to the 2020 season, the Muskingum all-stars have been on a tear.

That is something that Heath head coach Tim Ward and the Licking all-stars are ready to end, right here and now. Licking County’s finest have ramped up practice this week at Heath, the site for next year’s all-star festivities.

Local area players from Granville, Heath, Lakewood, Licking Valley, and Newark are among the all-stars on this team, of course under the watch of coach Ward. They have been taking advantage of their short preparation time to install the brand new playbook for this clash.

And with revenge on their minds, these all-stars, nor their coach, are lacking any motivation to take down Muskingum County, even while playing alongside some other faces they know pretty well.

“We always root for our county schools as they play throughout the season, even though we are rivals” says Ward.

“When they go against those local counties, we want to win, so this game is no different. As an All-Star game, it’s obviously intended to be fun and be exciting and things like that. But I think there’s a little bit of that, that chip on our shoulder that we haven’t won in a few years, and we need to get back in the winning column.”

2021 might feel like a lifetime ago to some, as Licking County looks to get back in the win column on Friday night from Sulsberger Stadium at Zanesville High School. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM with pre-game at 6:30 on Z92 radio, which will have all the coverage of the game.

Highlights and reaction from the game can be seen on WHIZ TV for the 11 PM broadcast.