By Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
I’ve contributed this regional report for a few years now, and in that time, I’ve tried to refrain from injecting personal narratives from my experiences covering high school football. I try to present pertinent facts to break down where separations lie between two opposing schools, with a dash of my own observations thrown in where applicable and available.
Allow me to step aside from that for a moment. I had the play-by-play broadcast duties of the Doddridge County-Wirt County game last week on local radio. Doddridge County didn’t lead the whole night, with the exception of a small portion of the first quarter, until the game’s final play.
David Lipscomb hit a wide-open Zach Cottrill in the back corner of the end zone with a 24-yard touchdown pass to win the game 18-16 for Doddridge County. Ever since last Friday night, I’ve had the image frozen in my mind of two seconds before the catch was made. And it was exactly the type of thing Norman Rockwell would’ve painted, but better.
Two communities were left breathless, at the edge of their seats, after what had been a hard-fought struggle between two quality football teams. No one was in a seat at that point. The ball hung suspended in mid-air, as did the very fate of the football game itself.
The emotion that would spring forth in the next few moments embodied everything I love about high school sports. The passion. The pride. The exuberance. And unfortunately, the heartache of a team that gave their all and fell just a few seconds short. Neither team had anything to hang their heads about, for they’d left their best efforts out on the field.
But, in a world where we’re so often let down by sports anymore because of money, scandal and trumped-up hype, it was a refreshing sight to see raw emotion that served as a reminder, to me at least, why its so much fun to watch and cover these games.
Here are this week’s games (all games scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise specified):
Doddridge County (4-0) at Ritchie County (3-1)
It’s been a decade since the Doddridge County Bulldogs last defeated the Wirt County Tigers, and if the Doddridge County has to wait another decade to get its next win, the memory of this one still will persist.
Trailing for all but a 35-second stretch of the first quarter, the Bulldogs pulled out a stunning 18-16 win on the game’s final play last week over the Tigers. David Lipscomb engineered a daring drive in the game’s final 1:34, taking advantage of two 15-yard penalties against Wirt County in the process.
Lipscomb broke out of the pocket to pick up a key first down with his legs before connecting with Ryan Haas over the middle to get the ball to the Wirt County 24-yard line. After Lipscomb fumbled and recovered the final snap of the game and eluded Tiger defenders, everything was perfect about his 24-yard touchdown strike to Zach Cottrill that provided the game-winning score.
But even though Lipscomb drove the Bulldogs to the win, the Bulldogs drove a Ford for most of the game. Wyatt Ford had a monster effort for Doddridge County, carrying the ball 34 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Now, the Bulldogs take their unbeaten record back on the road for the short trip down Route 50 to Ellenboro. The Ritchie County Rebels await, winners of their last three games – two of which came on the road. The Rebels relied on the ground game last week in a 14-0 win over winless Braxton County, tallying 205 rushing yards. Alex Lipscomb threw for a touchdown and ran for another one to pace the Rebels.
In Doddridge County, the Rebels will face the best rushing attack they’ve seen since they faced St. Marys in their opener. The biggest difference is that the Blue Devils have a more diversified attack, whereas the Bulldogs go predominantly to Ford. The Rebels will need to attack the ball from the time of the snap as Ford possesses an amazing amount of quickness and speed for such a big back. Doddridge will have to defend talented receivers like Dylan Frye, Austin Frashure and Jayden Allender, or else it’ll be a long night for the Bulldogs. This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) or online at www.literock93R.com.
Wirt County (1-3) at Parkersburg Catholic (3-1) (Saturday 7:30)
No one wants to be labeled the “best ____ team in the state” because that blank space is always filled with a record that isn’t a winning record. That having been said, the Wirt County Tigers are the best 1-3 team in the entire state, and it’s likely not even close. The Tigers’ three losses have come by a combined nine points this season, including a 7-6 setback to St. Marys in Week 2 and last week’s heartbreaker to Doddridge County.
So, Jason Hickman’s Tigers must pick themselves up, dust themselves off and try to get a win this weekend against Parkersburg Catholic. The Tigers were led on the ground by Jake Linville, who ran for 143 yards. Damian Rhodes showed improvement in the passing game in spots, hitting Trent Hardbarger on a touchdown connection. Justin Joy scooped a fumble and ran 75 yards for another Tigers score.
The Tigers need to shake the sting of last week’s loss away. Not an easy task, but a necessary one. That, and go back to fundamentals. Parkersburg Catholic bounced back from a loss against St. Marys that left the Crusaders battered and bruised with a 50-point win against Calhoun County. This will be another physical test for the Crusaders and they’ll have to hope attrition doesn’t take its toll. This game can be heard over the air locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Waterford, Ohio (1-3) at Wahama (3-1)
The Wahama White Falcons cruised in a 60-8 win last week over Belpre, Ohio. Kane Roush scored five of the team’s six first half touchdowns and accounted for 301 all-purpose yards single-handedly. Waterford comes into the wrong end of yet another lopsided matchup involving the White Falcons.
After a win in their opener, Waterford hasn’t lit up the scoreboard since. In those losses, the Wildcats have been shut out by a combined score of 115-0. Like Wahama’s game last week, this one figures to be over at the half as well.
Marietta, Ohio (1-3) at Parkersburg (1-2)
The Parkersburg Big Reds ran into a buzzsaw last Friday during the reopening of the newly-renovated Stadium Field. Capital quarterback Tyrhee Pratt – one of the state’s best all-around players – single-handedly racked up more than 400 yards against the Big Reds as Capital rolled to a 55-20 win over Parkersburg.
For the Big Reds, Dan Fox returned a fumble for a score and caught another one to provide most of the Big Red highlights. This week, playing their second straight game at Stadium Field, Parkersburg welcomes cross-river rival Marietta, Ohio to town.
This matchup features two teams that got their 2013 seasons off on the right foot, but haven’t been able to take the next step. Parkersburg earned a 51-40 win over Warren Local in their first game, but has been blown out by Cabell Midland and Capital – two of the best teams in the state. Marietta earned a 41-28 win over Morgan, Ohio in their opener, but has struggled to score points in three straight losses.
The Tigers have scored only 29 total points in those games, including their only other encounter with a team from the West Virginia side of the river two weeks ago when Williamstown handed Marietta a 20-0 setback.
Against a tough Capital defense, the Big Reds managed just 114 rushing yards on 50 carries. An average of just over two yards a carry won’t beat anybody, but expect Chandler Hamilton to lead the Big Reds to bigger and better things this week.
Parkersburg South (1-3) at University (3-1)
Momentum can be a funny thing in sports. One minute it’s there, the next minute you forget you ever had it in the first place. Such was the story for Parkersburg South last week in a 47-39 loss to Warren Local. The Patriots led the game 26-0 late in the second quarter before the wheels came off. The ejection of a Parkersburg South player ignited the Warriors, who rallied to win their second game of the season.
This loss was the latest in a rough stretch for the Patriots that began with two straight losses and continues with one of the strongest teams in the state in the University Hawks. Ironically enough, if there’s ever a time where University didn’t possess a ton of momentum, that time is now.
After rolling to three wins to start the year – two of which saw University top the 40-point plateau – the Hawks were grounded in a 17-6 loss to another Class AAA favorite: Wheeling Park. University won’t find as much of a challenge with this week’s Patriots as they did with last week’s group and stand a better than average chance of getting back to their winning ways this week.
Huntington (4-0) at Ripley (0-4)
One of my favorite Saturday Night Live clips of all time comes from around the late 80’s and it depicts cast member Jon Lovitz and host Tom Hanks as two wallflowers at their 20-year high school reunion.
It’s evident that neither one of them have done much more with their lives than venture out of their parents’ basements a few times a week. Anyway, despite their shortcomings, the two men are trying to be social and speak to class members that have very likely achieved more than they have in life. Suddenly, a beautiful blonde woman is about to walk past the pair when Lovitz and Hanks have the following exchange:
Lovitz: “She’s a practicing attorney, and we’re still living at home.”
Hanks: “I don’t like our chances.”
Lovitz (looking at woman): “It’s been awhile…(woman passes)…and it’ll be awhile.”
Ripley is the Lovitz/Hanks combo. Huntington is the beautiful woman. Coming off a 61-point loss to Spring Valley last week, Ripley will certainly show up and give it their best effort, but it just won’t be enough to be in the league with the elite this week.
Ravenswood (2-1) at Williamstown (3-0)
Ravenswood allowed 84 points to Wayne last year and was never the same team. They dropped their final eight games of the season, and even though there were some close ones near the end, it was as if the spark was gone.
This year, much of the same for the Red Devils. Another 2-0 start. Another matchup with the Pioneers. Last week, the 2013 Red Devils fell 57-6 to the Pioneers. Now the big test comes in finding out how they’ll compete for the rest of their season. Ravenswood has already had their bye week, so the rest of the season begins Friday night in Williamstown.
The Yellowjackets are an impressive 3-0 to start their season after wins against Tyler Consolidated, Magnolia and Marietta, Ohio. After a week off, the Yellowjackets are back to the grind against Ravenswood to start a stretch that includes four AA teams and the three other best teams in the Little Kanawha Conference.
The road is rugged, and Ravenswood possesses great skill in the backfield, but expect Williamstown to shut any semblance of a passing game down against an improving Ravenswood team, but one that isn’t quite on the same level as the Yellowjackets.
Other Games
Braxton County (0-4) at Roane County (2-2)
Calhoun County (0-4) at Tyler Consolidated (0-4)
Hundred (0-3) at Paden City (1-3)