Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
One thing that’s certain at the midway point of the 2013 high school football season: The Little Kanawha Conference, at both the Class A and Class AA levels, is exceptionally deep this season. The matchups this week go even further to prove that, especially with a rivalry game among unbeatens taking place in St. Marys. Here are this week’s games (All games scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise specified):
Williamstown (4-0) at St. Marys (4-0)
More than a few times in the last decade, this game has been billed as the “Game of The Year” in the area. And while that wasn’t without good reason at the time, the game itself rarely lived up to the hype. That’s in large part because for nearly a decade and a half, this was a one-sided matchup.
Last year’s 22-17 St. Marys win was the first in this rivalry since 1999. To put how long ago that was into context, the number one song in the country at the time was TLC’s “Unpretty,” many of the players in that game probably spent time that previous summer trying to see the R-rated “American Pie” in theaters (and the band members were hopefully not replicating “one time at band camp…” from the film), the Pittsburgh Pirates’ streak of consecutive losing seasons was in single digits and the iPhone was still eight years away from being invented.
It was the first time St. Marys head coach Jodi Mote – now, in his 12th year with the Blue Devils – had ever beaten Williamstown as a high school head coach. It truly was a great day for the Blue Devil program.
But here’s why THIS year’s game probably lives up to that hype: Because both teams really couldn’t be coming in from much better spots. St. Marys hasn’t played since a week before last Thursday, picking up a 35-6 win over Tyler Consolidated and getting four touchdowns from David Gray in the process (two rushing, two receiving).
For St. Marys, getting Gray back was reason enough for celebration. Gray hadn’t played a full game since the Blue Devils’ opener against Ritchie County, missing a game against Wirt County entirely because of injury. His presence alone adds to an already deep Blue Devil backfield and gives quarterback Michael Stout a legitimate pass-catching threat with some size. Not only is he healthy, but he’s had even more time to heal heading into an important matchup with the Yellowjackets.
And speaking of Williamstown, they’re developing quite the reputation for the come-from-behind win. They erased a four-point deficit in the final two minutes to defeat Magnolia in the second week of the season and last week, Williamstown overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit and scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pick up a Homecoming victory against Ravenswood.
For Williamstown, the key will be stopping a St. Marys pass attack that’s as proficient as its been in years. Left-hander Stout has a big game arm and plenty of targets downfield, with Colby Brode complementing Gray nicely. For St. Marys, the key will be not to defeat themselves through poor execution and sloppiness.
Specifically, by staying away from the kinds of penalties that have stifled big drives time and time again this year. While the Yellowjackets have returning skill players in Trace Hart, Jake Tracewell and David Hastings (all of whom scored touchdowns in last week’s win), they came into the year with an inexperienced offensive line. Wins against opponents like Magnolia and Marietta have done wonders to get that unit ready for the limelight. Of the two teams, Williamstown has the better track record of not beating themselves in this rivalry.
And while St. Marys probably has the better talent, it’ll take their most crisp, flawless effort of the year if they want to win their second straight against Williamstown. This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93R.com.
Ritchie County (4-1) at Ravenswood (2-2)
The Ritchie County Rebels are starting to find their mojo at the halfway point of the season. After dropping their opener, Ritchie County has won four straight. However, HOW they won last week’s game against Doddridge County is just as meaningful as anything else and probably the best indicator of what’s to come in the second half of their season.
Dylan Frye – one of the area’s best playmakers – finally got the chance to show his athletic prowess while racking up more than 200 all-purpose yards for the Rebels. Frye scored on two long touchdown plays – one on a jet sweep pitch and another on a short pass to the sideline, both followed by lengthy Frye runs to paydirt – to help the Rebels open a 33-6 lead after three quarters. Ritchie County survived a couple window-dressing scores to hold on for a 33-22 win.
This week, the Rebels hit the road again for a matchup against a Ravenswood team that lost a 14-point lead in a loss to Williamstown last week. The fact that the Red Devils showed that kind of fight a week after a blowout loss to Wayne – something last year’s team failed to do – is as strong an indicator of the improvements within this year’s team as anything else.
The difference in this game might be in creating takeaways and specifically, which team can turn those into points. Ritchie County led the Bulldogs 6-0 at the half last week before creating takeaways on Doddridge County’s first three possessions of the second half and scoring off all three takeaways. All told, the Rebels created four takeaways in the half. The Rebels did the same thing in the third quarter of their opener against St. Marys, scoring ten unanswered points after the half to make that a seven-point game before the Blue Devils sealed the win late.
For Ravenswood to pull the win, they’ll have to keep the ball on the ground in the steady hands of Devon Crews and Heath Burgess and eliminate turnovers. The Rebels will need to use the edges of the field offensively to open running lanes up the middle. This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Doddridge County (4-1) at Parkersburg Catholic (4-1) (Saturday 1:30)
The magic finally ran out, at least for the time being, for Doddridge County in a 33-22 loss to Ritchie County last week. After pulling off a heart stopping 18-16 win on the final play of their game against Wirt County two weeks ago, the Bulldogs committed turnovers on each of their first three possessions of the second half to fall in a hole they couldn’t escape in their first loss of the year.
They’ll try to regroup against a Parkersburg Catholic team that’s also trying to run the same LKC gamut as the Bulldogs. Last week, Parkersburg Catholic exploded for 22 points in the second quarter in a 43-24 win over Wirt County that all but sounded the death knell for any remaining playoff hopes the Tigers had. Quarterback Payton Sturm ran for two touchdowns and threw for another in the win. In addition, Jake Boice ran for a score and caught another for the Crusaders while Nick Roedersheimer’s 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the final minute of the first half gave Parkersburg Catholic a 13-point halftime edge.
It wasn’t all roses for the Crusaders though, as Parkersburg Catholic allowed nearly 220 yards on 40 carries against Wirt County. That’ll likely have to improve this week, because look for Doddridge County to pound the rock with almost similar frequency with big, fast running back Wyatt Ford. The Bulldogs will need to win the field position battle, because the Crusaders excel when they’re within striking distance of the end zone. Four of Parkersburg Catholic’s five offensive touchdowns came on plays of fewer than 20 yards.
Doddridge County stands their best chance if they can keep the Crusaders out of the Red Zone and control tempo through time of possession. Either way, expect both teams to be physical in what should be a matinee slugfest.
Parkersburg (2-2) at South Charleston (3-2)
For the first time since the opening week of the season, the Parkersburg Big Reds found themselves in the win column with a 35-10 win over Marietta, Ohio. It really couldn’t have been a much better effort for the Big Reds.
The 10 points were the fewest surrendered all year by the Big Reds. Parkersburg’s offense produced 378 total yards in the win. The run game was particularly strong, producing four of the five PHS scores – two on runs from Chase Shank and one each from Chandler Hamilton and Aaron Roberts. This week, the challenge is once again a stiff one for the Big Reds. Both of South Charleston’s losses have come by a touchdown or less, including a 34-31 overtime loss last week to Capital.
With games against Winfield and Huntington looming, South Charleston needs to shake off the close losses and pick up wins in the games they’re supposed to win. This game falls into that category for the Black Eagles. The Big Reds will have their hands full defensively trying to stop a prolific South Charleston offense that’s been responsible for 40 or more points three times this year and hasn’t failed to score 27 or more all year. Parkersburg will also need more out of a passing attack that yielded an anemic 40 yards against a one-win team last week.
Wahama (4-1) at Southern, Ohio (5-0)
Wahama racked up another easy win last week, downing Waterford, Ohio 54-6. Aside from a loss to Trimble in their second game of the year, the White Falcons are firmly in the portion of their season where they win games by racking up points in totals seen primarily in video games.
Wahama has scored 54 or more in all four wins, hitting the 60-point plateau twice. They’ll receive another test this week against unbeaten Southern. The Tornadoes have allowed just 24 points all season, pitching two shutouts on defense along the way. But despite the fact that Southern has defeated three teams that currently have winning records, the combined record of Southern’s five opponents this year is just 11-14, a stat that raises questions about the strength of their schedule.
If Wahama can slow a Southern offense that’s scored an average of nearly 30 points per game, the offense stands a better than average chance to equal or surpass the 24 points allowed by the Tornadoes defense this season.
Paden City (2-3) at Cameron (1-4)
It was a happy Homecoming in Paden City as the home team won their second straight with the latest coming in a 67-6 victory over Hundred. Freshman Hayden Hizer caught a touchdown pass, and returned a punt and kickoff each for scores.
Brandon Cross added three touchdown runs for the Wildcats while Kane Pyles pitched in with two others. Against a one-win Cameron Dragons team, the Wildcats stand a solid chance to make it three wins in a row. A .500 record would be a great springboard for Paden City and a winning record is not at all out of the question for the Wildcats.
Other Games
Ripley (0-5) at Nitro (1-3)
Calhoun County (0-5) at South Harrison (1-3)
Buffalo (0-5) at Tyler Consolidated (1-4)