By: Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
Before we start, a special recognition this week for Parkersburg High School. The Big Reds earned the 800thwin in the history of their program with their 41-22 win over Warren Local, Ohio. Parkersburg is idle this week. PHS is just one of eight schools in the country to have their football program win 800 games. A huge tip of the cap to head coach Don Reeves and all Big Reds players and coaches, past and present.
Here are this week’s games:
A No. 4 Williamstown (1-0) at A No. 8 Magnolia (0-0)
For the much-anticipated head coaching debut of Blue Eagles head coach Josh Sims, Magnolia welcomes the Williamstown Yellowjackets to New Martinsville. Sims has quite the lineage to follow after his two predecessors – Dave Cisar and, most recently, Mark Batton, have combined to hold the head coaching job at Magnolia since the mid-1970’s. To put that into perspective, Cisar had already been Magnolia’s head coach for more than a decade when former Magnolia quarterback Sims was born.
For the Yellowjackets, it’s their second straight trip north after a 30-7 win over Tyler Consolidated a week ago. Williamstown scored 23 unanswered points to close out the Silver Knights after the two teams were tied at seven heading into the locker room at the half. Yellowjackets quarterback Dakota Watson had a successful debut under center for Williamstown. He completed eight passes for 138 yards and ran for a team-high 162 yards and three touchdowns.
Magnolia has a young team this year. With a first-year head coach and many new faces around the program, this is probably a team that stands to benefit from having week one as their bye week. The Yellowjackets will be looking to get out to a hotter start than what they were able to do a week ago against Tyler Consolidated.
The Blue Eagles will need to contain Watson in the running game – much easier said than done in relation to the former running back. If they can keep this game close into the fourth quarter, they’ll have a fighting chance to make a winner out of Sims in his first game as head coach at Magnolia High. And if he’s successful, there’s a solid chance he’ll receive hearty handshakes postgame from both Cisar and Batton.
Wirt County (0-1) at A No. 2 St. Marys (1-0)
The Blue Devils absolutely rolled on live television in a 47-0 win over Ritchie County last week. St. Marys showcased a suffocating defense that chased Cory Farley all night long. Offensively, the Blue Devils used speed and power to run past and run over the Rebels. On the way to 427 total yards, St. Marys was led by the three touchdowns on the ground from Jeremy Pratt, an impressive bulldozing run out of Bret Fetty for a 61-yard score and a rushing touchdown from quarterback Wesley Parsons.
In a relief effort due to an ankle injury to projected starter Evan Illar, Parsons completed five passes for 108 yards. Most importantly, he executed the St. Marys offense to such perfection that it looked like a well-oiled machine despite the fact that Parsons has had first-team reps at the position for only the week leading up to Friday’s game. It remains to be seen whether Illar or Parsons will start under center this week against Wirt County.
The Tigers come to Imlay Field fresh off a 30-15 loss to Valley-Fayette. Valley claimed a 17-point lead by halftime on the way to the blowout win. Most impressively, they overcame four lost fumbles and nine penalties in the win. Wirt County was held to just 186 total yards in the loss and if Valley was able to stifle the Tiger attack so severely, St. Marys figures to do the same after such a dominant effort a week ago.
This game will air locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
AAA No. 9 University (1-0) at Parkersburg South (1-0)
The Patriots got their season started on the right foot with a 35-27 win over Ripley a week ago. Quarterback Garrett Gilkeson tossed three touchdown passes as part of a 255-yard passing night – connecting with Cody Boggs for all three scores.
This game will tell everyone a lot about the kind of team University has this season. The Hawks come in off a 21-12 win against John Marshall – a narrow victory against a team that’s struggled in recent years. This game might come down to Parkersburg South’s defense. Ripley racked up 18 first downs and nearly 400 yards in a losing cause.
Gilkeson can throw the ball, and if the Patriots choose to do so, they can rely on his throwing arm. Parkersburg South also ran for 211 yards as a team in the win. A breakout effort by one of the talented backs in the Patriots stable might just lead Parkersburg South to an upset win and a 2-0 record.
AAA No. 7 Point Pleasant (1-0) at Ripley (0-1)
In one of the more entertaining games of the night, Ripley fell by eight points to a Parkersburg South team that’s on the rise. The Vikings held their own offensively with 381 total yards. Jake Martin ran for two touchdowns as part of a 106-yard night. Quarterback Trevor Tucker ran for score and threw for another.
Point Pleasant comes in off an opening week 54-0 shutout over Lincoln County. The task will surely be greater for the Ripley defense this week than it was a week ago against Parkersburg South. With a few early stops, the Vikings can show they’re ready to play, but it won’t be easy against a Point Pleasant team that’s put up points in bunches over the last few years and looks poised to do the same this year.
AA No. 9 Ravenswood (1-0) at Webster County (1-0)
Ravenswood scored 27 unanswered points in a 27-6 drubbing of 2012 Class A state champion Wahama. Red Devil Rhys Jelich ran for 188 yards and a touchdown to lead all rushers last week. Jelich also completed nine of his ten pass attempts in his debut as Ravenswood quarterback, including a first quarter touchdown.
Despite the fact that these two schools aren’t geographically close, this is still the first conference matchup for both of these Little Kanawha Conference foes. Webster County comes in off a thrilling 33-32 win over Richwood last week. One thing you won’t find a lot of on Webster County’s schedule is 2013 playoff teams.
Ravenswood is one of their tougher opponents all year. If the Red Devils can get another solid performance at quarterback from Jelich, they’ll stand a good chance to move to 2-0 against a Webster County team we’ll likely be talking about again in November.
Ritchie County (0-1) at Roane County (1-0)
After a 47-0 loss to St. Marys last Friday, it’s back to the drawing board in many respects for the Ritchie County Rebels and head coach Mike Dawson. Two things are certain offensively: the Rebels must find a way to protect Cory Farley with more success than they had last week and they must find ways to get the ball into the hands of speedy playmaker Jayden Allender.
With no time to throw, Farley was only able to find Allender once. Allender has game-changing speed and playmaking abilities, but all the ability in the world doesn’t help much when you can’t get the ball in the first place. Line play will need to improve for that to happen, but the Rebels will also have to get a little more innovative in the play-calling – as a way to sort of meet the situation in the middle. Defensively, the Rebels struggled to finish tackles Friday against St. Marys and they’ll need to do a better job to stay competitive with the Raiders this week.
Roane County cruised out to a 24-0 lead before picking up a ten-point win last week against Clay County. Cody May found Steven McGinnis for two touchdowns on a night where Clay County actually outgained the Raiders in total yards, 313-283. Expect Ritchie County to have a little more success offensively against a Roane County defense that isn’t as suffocating as the St. Marys unit. But the Rebels are still very much a work in progress and have a long road toward a fourth straight Class AA playoff berth.
Tyler Consolidated (0-1) at Doddridge County (1-0)
Doddridge County got their 2014 off to a winning start after a 27-23 win over LKC foe South Harrison last week. Wyatt Ford had a monster game for the Bulldogs, carrying the ball 31 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns. New quarterback Christian Arbogast threw for a score and ran for another in his starting debut at the position. The ground touchdown came with just over two minutes left and proved to be a game-winner for the Bulldogs.
Tyler Consolidated went as its quarterback went last week in a 30-7 loss to Williamstown. Jordan Baker led a Silver Knights team that was tied with the Yellowjackets at halftime. But Baker was battling cramps in much of the second half, and that opened the door for Williamstown to pull away to the victory.
Tyler Consolidated was able to accumulate 255 total yards in the loss and if they can keep Baker on the field more often than not, the Silver Knights stand to benefit from his playmaking ability. This game will air locally on WXCR Radio (92.3 FM) and online at www.wxcr.com.
Sherman (0-1) at Calhoun County (1-0)
Special recognition for the Calhoun County Red Devils after they broke a school-record 18-game losing streak in a 41-30 win over next-door neighbor Gilmer County. In their first win in nearly two full calendar years, Calhoun County racked up more than 400 yards on the ground in the landmark win. Cole Ritchie led the way with 202 yards and a pair of scores.
Seth Moore added another 146 yards and two more scores. This week, the Red Devils face the Sherman Tide, a team coming off a 20-14 loss to Tug Valley in their opener. Unless the Tide have an answer for such a prolific running attack, Calhoun County might make a habit out of this winning thing.
Other Games
Wahama (0-1) at Waterford, Ohio (1-0)
Notre Dame (0-1) at Parkersburg Catholic (0-1) (7:30 Saturday)