By Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
Entering Week 8, some local unbeaten records will be put to their stiffest tests of the season. Here are this week’s games (All games scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday unless otherwise specified):
Parkersburg Catholic (6-1) at Valley Fayette (6-0)
Parkersburg Catholic played one of its most crisp games of the year last week in a 37-14 win over South Harrison at Stadium Field last week. The Crusaders didn’t commit a turnover, limited the penalties to just five and held the Hawks to a respectable 199 yards of offense, with most of those coming in garbage time during the fourth quarter.
Payton Sturm ran for two touchdowns for Parkersburg Catholic and threw for a third. Nick Roedershimer caught that touchdown pass and ran for a second score. In short, Parkersburg Catholic’s offense silenced any critics that may have cropped up after a 15-6 home win against Doddridge County the previous week.
This week, the Crusaders face perhaps their stiffest test (on paper) this season as they visit unbeaten Valley Fayette. However, half of Valley Fayette’s wins have come by ten points or less. The Crusaders are the winningest program on Valley Fayette’s schedule to date this year. Both teams can earn a signature win in this one.
Parkersburg Catholic’s offense is clicking right now though, and this is a hard Crusader team to stop. Sturm is a dual-threat quarterback, who can find Roedershimer or Jake Boice in the passing game. Boice and hard-hitting Kyle Bronski combine with Sturm to give the Crusader running attack a formidable three-headed monster.
It’ll take Valley’s best game to get past the surging Crusaders, but if there’s one thing Parkersburg Catholic is contending with this week that they usually don’t face, it’s the calendar. The Crusaders usually play on Saturdays and their one loss this season – a 49-20 setback to St. Marys – was played on a Friday night.
Magnolia (4-3) at St. Marys (6-0)
St. Marys and New Martinsville are separated by a little more than a half hour’s drive, but these two teams haven’t met on the football field in more than a decade, and you have to go back to 1999 to find the last time the Magnolia Blue Eagles played at Imlay Field. Magnolia won that game to give their then-rookie head coach Mark Batton his first win as head coach of the Blue Eagles.
This year’s Blue Eagles’ team has their backs against a wall because of some super narrow losses at the beginning of the year. First, Magnolia lost to Linsly by a touchdown. Then, the Blue Eagles blew a four-point lead against Williamstown in the final minutes. Finally, Magnolia lost to Wheeling Central on a blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown.
So the SSAC No. 1 team, St. Marys, faces a ballclub that’s just a few plays away from being 7-0. Needless to say, the Blue Devils had better be ready. Fortunately for St. Marys, the Blue Devils boast one of the hottest players in the area in David Gray. Gray has scored 11 touchdowns in his last three games, rushing for three scores and returning an interception 55 yards for a fourth touchdown last week in a 53-12 drubbing of winless Calhoun County.
But as much as the Blue Devils will look to their deep backfield, boasting Noah Spitzer, Jeremy Pratt and Corey Stewart as well, the passing game might be the X-factor that leads to a win over Magnolia. After failing to complete any of his three pass attempts in a win against Williamstown, St. Marys quarterback Michael Stout completed all four passes he tried for 120 yards and a touchdown against Calhoun County.
Stout hasn’t been called upon to step up and win a game in his first season starting at quarterback for the Blue Devils, but this might be the week St. Marys needs a little something extra if they want to keep their perfect record intact. This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) or online at www.literock93R.com.
Wahama (6-1) at South Gallia, Ohio (4-3)
After a whirlwind week off the field at Wahama High School, the White Falcons football team rallied behind interim head coach Dave Barr to earn a 53-12 win over Federal Hocking, Ohio. In the middle of last week, Ed Cromley resigned in the middle of his 19th year as head coach of the program by saying that the stresses of teaching and coaching placed on him by school administration were no longer worth the trouble.
As for the on-field results themselves, the details aren’t pretty for opponents. Wahama has won five straight games after a five-point loss to conference rival Trimble in week two. Aside from a two-touchdown win over Southern, Ohio two weeks ago, in what turned out to be Cromley’s last game at Wahama, the White Falcons haven’t won a game by fewer than 41 points during the winning streak. It’s a streak that likely continues this week against a South Gallia team that’s played well this season, but isn’t in the same stratosphere with the likes of the White Falcons.
Williamstown (5-1) at Wirt County (2-4)
Much like Parkersburg South, Wirt County used a bye week at the end of a disastrous first half of the year to rebound and earn a nice 48-14 win over a struggling Buffalo team. The Tigers fell in a 14-0 hole early, but rallied to score the game’s final 48 points unanswered in the win. Wes Valentine led all rushers with 135 ground yards and two touchdowns for Wirt County. Jake Linville ran for a pair of scores for the Tigers as well.
Remember, the first half of the season was only disastrous for the Tigers because they came tantalizingly close to a much better record, dropping three of their first four games by a combined nine points. That includes an 18-16 loss to Doddridge County on the game’s final play. So even though the Tigers are a much better football team than their 2-4 record might indicate, they’ll have their hands full – and then some – against a Williamstown Yellowjackets team that’s having a stellar season.
After slipping up against St. Marys two weeks ago, Williamstown picked up a nice bounceback win over Oak Glen. Quarterback Jake Tracewell had a field day, mauling the Golden Bears to the tune of five touchdowns – three passing, two rushing – on a night where he racked up 264 total yards of offense. Dakota Watson caught two of those touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Yellowjackets worked him back into the offense for the first time since an injury sidelined the talented threat. Trace Hart ran for two scores for Williamstown to help balance the attack.
As good as Wirt County might be and as much fight as the Tigers still possess, this has the makings of a special year for Terry Smith’s Yellowjackets and even in enemy territory, the edge still goes to Williamstown unless Wirt County forces the Yellowjackets into mistakes. This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Huntington (6-0) at Parkersburg (2-4)
The phrase “Close, but no cigar” seems rather trite when you see it play out in real life. That’s how the Parkersburg Big Reds feel after dropping their last two contests – both of which came on the road – by a combined three points. The latest, a 27-26 loss to Woodrow Wilson, saw the Big Reds twice pull to within a point in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game on a PAT. Parkersburg elected to go for the two-point conversion on both occasions, and missed twice.
The Big Reds can’t afford to hang their heads for long though as they return home following two road games that were within their grasp to welcome their toughest test of the season in Huntington. Sure, Huntington’s offensive numbers have been spectacular and the Highlanders can score points with the best teams from around the state, even hanging 77 on poor Ripley. But the defensive numbers are what stick out the most when you look at Huntington’s resume.
The Highlanders haven’t surrendered more than a touchdown in any game this season and have allowed just 38 points all year. Parkersburg’s offense has shown signs of life this season and improvement, but they’ll have to avoid the mistakes made in the first half of last week’s game when quarterback Aaron Roberts was intercepted three times.
It’ll take a perfect effort for the Big Reds to pull the massive upset this week – and maybe even that won’t be enough – but the Big Reds are continuing to fight in a disappointing season, which is surely a positive sign for the health of the program.
Parkersburg South (2-4) at Brooke (1-5)
Parkersburg South responded from a bye week to pick up their second win of the year, a 42-32 Homecoming victory over John Marshall. The offensive stars for the Patriots in the win were abundant. Three of Cody Boggs’ four catches went for touchdowns as part of a 111-yard effort. Garrett Gilkeson connected with Boggs for those touchdowns on a night where he threw for 170 yards. Cody Smith ran for 141 yards and a touchdown to provide balance to the attack.
But before you look at the sub-.500 record of Parkersburg South’s opponent this week and chalk up another “W” in the win column for the Patriots, take a closer look at the Brooke Bruins. Their losses have come to Morgantown, University, Steubenville, Wheeling Park and unbeaten Point Pleasant. Talk about a gauntlet!
Brooke hasn’t proven they can score points with any regularity, with a single-game season-high of only 21, but you have to wonder how much of that is the strength of Brooke’s schedule placing strain on an already struggling offense. If Brooke hasn’t packed it in yet after that tough run of games, expect the Bruins to give the Patriots plenty of fits.
Ravenswood (4-2) at Point Pleasant (6-0)
Opportunity is a key word to remember this week if you’re a fan of the Ravenswood Red Devils. Not only will Ravenswood step up to face a team from the Class AAA ranks, but that team is unbeaten Point Pleasant – a team that’s proven they can rack up points at a lightning rate. Point Pleasant has scored 49 points or more in half their games this season, once topping 60 points and hitting the 70-point plateau on one occasion.
Ravenswood scored plenty of points themselves in a 53-16 shellacking of Braxton County last week, setting a new single-game season high. Devon Crews ran for two touchdowns and caught a third on a night where the speedster finished just shy of 200 rushing yards. At 4-2 and with plenty of opportunity left on their schedule, Ravenswood is nicely positioned to make their first postseason under head coach Mick Price.
While a win against an unbeaten Class AAA foe may be a little too tall of a order for these Red Devils, make no mistake – they’ll not only come out fighting in this one, but they’ll lay it on the line the rest of the season for the chance to be in the top 16.
Other Games
Calhoun County (0-7) at Roane County (4-2)
Paden City (3-4) at Bishop Donahue (3-3)
South Harrison (2-4) at Tyler Consolidated (2-4)