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MOUNDSVILLE -- The John Marshall Monarchs have certainly put together an impressive first half of their 2026 football season, sporting a 5-1 record to this point in the year, winners of three straight. But their opponent Friday is a team that has stretched their own win streak not just through a whole season, but through three separate seasons.
The Monarchs will attempt a feat that no team has been able to do since 2023-- beat the Frankfort Falcons, winners of 33 straight games and a 5-0 ballclub heading into a high-profile meeting at Monarch Stadium this Friday.
"A 33-game win streak, it means they’re doing something right," John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar said. "Their program has been outstanding the last several years. Their coach has been there a long time. The kids have bought into their system. They do an outstanding job of running their offense. And the same thing with their defense. They got tough kids. I mean, they bought in and they are playing extremely well. This is obviously a very good opponent and they’ve won two state titles in a row. We’re excited about the challenge. We’ll see where we’re at this week."
Frankfort, competing in WVSSAC Class AA, where they stand as the No. 1 rated team in the state's playoff rankings heading into Friday, is coached by Kevin Whiteman, who last lost in a November 2023 game against Weir. The Falcons have excelled on offense and defense. They've allowed more than 13 points in a game just once this year-- in last week's 43-21 victory over Mountain Ridge-- and their offense is powered by a physical offensive line that Frankfort runs multiple players behind. Senior Braydn Tyler has posted a team-high 549 all-purpose yards, 361 rushing and 116 receiving, while Cole Shanholtz paces the team on the ground with 429 stripes, including 141 last week against Mountain Ridge. Tyler has seven rushing touchdowns, Shanholtz five.
Frankfort's opponents, though, have a combined record of 11-14, and three opponents (Allegheny, Northern Garrett and Mountain Ridge) hail from Maryland, where they compete in the state's smallest classification, 1A. The Falcons' other two opponents, Hampshire and Moorefield, compete in AAA and AA, respectively, in West Virginia.
"You’re preparing for a team that knows how to win," Cisar said. "You’re preparing for a team that expects to show up and win. Obviously they’ve done it right. They know how to do it. They’ve been doing it right for several years. It’s a challenge.
"They expect to win, so the stakes go up a little bit. Is this a big game for both of us? It’s a big game for them. It’s a big game for us. Both teams are playing well, and it has a lot to do with playoff points. But, it’s a game this week. We got to take care of it. We can’t think about the next week or whatever. We got to be ready to go this week."
John Marshall is coming off a dominant showing against the Warren Warriors, a game where the Monarchs put up over 400 yards of offense while holding their opponents to under 200 yards of offense in a 44-18 win. The Warriors had just 56 total yards of offense until racking up two late touchdown drives against the John Marshall reserves.
Monarchs quarterback Jacob Cisar completed 7-of-9 passes for 143 yards and a 23-yard touchdown to Landen Snyder, who now has 537 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on the year, but the real star of last Friday was junior running back Dalton Cooper, who turned 16 carries into 178 yards and four touchdowns.
The Monarchs seem to be improving as the weeks wear on.
"What impressed me the most was how consistent we were on both sides of the ball," Cisar said of his team. "I thought offensively, it’s probably the best we’ve blocked. I thought we did a lot of good things. We didn’t throw it a whole lot, didn’t need to throw it a whole lot, and our line played extremely well.
"Defensively, we came out and tackled extremely well. That might have been our best defensive effort we’ve had this year. We played assignment football. Guys did what they were expected to do and were in the right spots. Hopefully we do the same things again this week. But it’s tough. You’re playing a team where, sometimes you don’t know where the ball is going. It’s assignment football. Our guys have to be disciplined. They’ve got to be where they need to be. But, you know, when you get both of those things working like we did last week, it’s enjoyable to watch where both sides of the ball are playing extremely well."
John Marshall is currently rated No. 9 in WVSSAC Class AAA. Kickoff Friday is set for 7 p.m. at Monarch Stadium. The game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.