Basketball Game Preview: McDonald Blue Devils vs. Struthers Wildcats

McDonald hasn't had much luck against Struthers recently, but that could start to change on Friday. The Blue Devils are taking a road trip to face off against the Wildcats at 7:00 p.m. McDonald is currently enjoying a perfect season and no doubt wants to keep things rolling.

McDonald can't be too worried about heading out to take on Struthers: they just beat Mineral Ridge at home, who had been dominant on their own court up to that point. The Blue Devils strolled past the Rams with points to spare last Tuesday, taking the game 68-51. Given the Blue Devils' advantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 243rd, while the Rams are ranked 546th) , the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Drew Zajack

Points

02/03/26 @ Mineral Ridge	29
01/31/26 @ Memorial	15
01/30/26 @ Lowellville	14
01/22/26 vs Jackson-Milton	11
01/20/26 @ Waterloo	18
+ 14 more games

It was another big night for Drew Zajack, who shot 65% from the field to rack up 29 points and eight rebounds. He continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played. Joey Cappuzzello was another key player, putting up 16 points and five boards.

McDonald was working as a unit and finished the game with 20 assists. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Mineral Ridge only racked up seven.

Meanwhile, Struthers took a blow against Poland Seminary on Tuesday, falling 65-31. The Wildcats haven't had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team has come up short the last seven times they've met.

Struthers' defeat dropped their record down to 2-18. As for McDonald, their record is now 19-0.

McDonald ended up a good deal behind Struthers in their previous meeting back in February of 2023, losing 79-65. Can the Blue Devils avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.