By Fred Persinger II
Beckley (2-2) at #8 Cabell Midland (4-1)
The Beckley Flying Eagles got back on the winning side last week with a 50-10 homecoming win over Riverside. Throughout the first part of the season, junior quarterback Brent Osborne has done his damage through the air, but last week he ran the zone read to perfection, picking up 224 yards rushing.
Osborne also went 7-for-16 passing for 95 yards with two touchdowns. Running back Chase Hancock also went over the century mark, rushing with 131 yards as Beckley racked up 443 yards on the ground and 538 yards of total offense in the game. Beckley was able to overcome four turnovers in the first half, to pull away from the Warriors in the second half.
Beckley has been bitten by the turnover bug as the Flying Eagles have turned the ball over eight times in the past two games after committing zero turnovers in the first two games. Still, it wasn’t all good news for Beckley in the game, as senior receiver Donte Nabors went down with an ankle injury and could be lost for the season.
It makes the third receiver for Beckley that will miss significant time on the field – Ian Honaker was lost for the year with a preseason knee injury, and sophomore Nequan Carrington is just coming back from a bad ankle sprain that he suffered while playing summer league basketball.
This week, Beckley will go on the road to Ona, West Virginia to take on the Cabell Midland Knights, a team that has been rolling this season. The Knights are 4-1 and are ranked 8thin the latest WVSSAC rankings.
Cabell Midland has been very productive running the football, rushing for 2,380 yards through five games — an average of 476 yards per game. Cabell Midland features three backs that have rushed for over 400 yards on the season, led by senior Kasey Thomas, who has 692 yards and 11 touchdowns. Junior Donte Hendricks is next on the team with 475 yards rushing, while senior Teran Barnitz has collected 446 yards on the ground. All three backs are averaging over six yards per carry.
This will be the 19thmeeting between these two teams. They have played every year since 1996, and met twice in 2005. Cabell Midland has won 7 of the last 8 meetings, holgin a 12-6 advantage overall.
Cabell Midland won the meeting last year, 70-34. This will be Beckley’s third trip to Ona in the last four years. Game time is set for 7:30pm. The game can be heard on the Big Dawg 99.5 WJLS and WJLS.com
#6 Oak Hill (4-0) at Shady Spring (1-4)
The Oak Hill Red Devils went on the road to Buckhannon-Upshur last week and came away with a 25-10 win. Kennedy award candidate Jalen Jones suffered an ankle injury in the game, but did rush for 82 yards and scored one touchdown.
Last week, Shady Spring fell to Pikeview, dropping the Tigers’ record to just 1-4 on the season.
Kickoff from H.B. Thomas Field in Shady Spring is set for 7:30 p.m.
#8 (Class AA) Wyoming East (4-1) at #12 (AA) River View (3-1)
The Wyoming East Warriors used a balanced running attack last week in their impressive win over Mount View. The Warriors had four running backs rush for over 40 yards in the game, as the defense also stepped up with a pick-six from Jonathon Culicerto.
River View is coming off a hard fought 18-14 road win over James Monroe. River View had to come from behind late in the game to pull out the win.
Wyoming East and River View will battle Friday Night at 7:30 p.m.
Other Games:
#2 (AA) Summers County (5-0) at Covington, Va.
Richlands Va. at #7 (AA) Bluefield (3-1)
James Monroe (1-3) at #13 (AA) Chapmanville (3-2)
#13 (AA) Robert C. Byrd (3-2) at #15 (AA) Nicholas County (3-2)
Sherman (2-3) at Independence (1-4)
Webster County (0-5) at Liberty-Raleigh (2-3) – Game on AM 560 WJLS and WJLS.com
Westside (2-3) at Scott (2-3)
#5 (A) Man (3-1) at Fayetteville (2-3)
#9 (A) Meadow Bridge (4-0) at #5 (A) Valley-Fayette (4-0)
#13 (A) Greenbrier West (4-1) at Pikeview (2-3)
#3 (AA) Wayne (4-0) at #11 (AA) Mingo Central (3-1)
Van (1-3) at Richwood (1-4) – Game on 3WS 95.7 and 3ws957.com
Midland Trail (2-3) – Idle this Week
Mount View (1-4) – Idle this Week