As we head into week number three of the high school football season, the number of undefeated teams continue to dwindle downward. When the 2014 season began just a couple of weeks ago, there were 116 teams that were undefeated and dreaming of playing in one of those Super Six Championship games scheduled for December 5th and 6th in Wheeling. As we get ready for week number three of the season, the number of undefeated teams now stands at 34, however the good news is all 116 teams that started the 2014 season, mathmatically, still have hopes of experiencing that “Wheeling Feeling” in December!
As we look at each classification, we find there are twelve undefeated teams remaining in Class AAA. Of course one of those teams is Martinsburg and the four time reigning state champion has had little trouble so far in 2014. Certainly the return of running back Trey Boyd has been a tremendous help to Coach Dave Walker as the senior speedster accounted for 142 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns last week in their win over Sherando, Virginia! But Coach Walker knows it is a long time until December and there are several very talented teams that will continue to try and knock the Bulldogs off their high perch this season. Among those teams are Capital…..South Charleston…..Wheeling Park….Morgantown….Point Pleasant…..Cabell Midland….University…..Huntington….Spring Valley and Beckley Woodrow Wilson, just to name a few. Speaking of Woodrow Wilson, Head Coach John Lilly has a very talented defensive squad that has allowed only 12 points this season plus an outstanding quarterback in 6’2, 205 lb. senior Brent Osborne who, in the first two games, has accounted for 325 yards passing……259 yards rushing and has scored 8 touchdowns and been successful on 9 of 10 extra point attempts. Osborne has scored 57 of Beckley’s 77 points this season. Another note in Class AAA, we still have ten teams that have yet to win a game.
In Class AA, surprise…surprise…surprise….the Wayne Pioneers are pretty good again! The young men from Wayne County have started the season 2-0 and currently find themselves the #1 team in the MetroNews Power Rankings! However, the schedule does not get any easier for the Pioneers! After defeating a very good Sissonville team by six points this past Friday night, the Pioneers head to Class AAA Point Pleasant this week! And, while Wayne is very solid again this season, we also have a bevy of talented teams in Class AA including last year’s state champion Indians of Bridgeport. The boys from Harrison County fell by 4 points this past weekend on the road at Wheeling Park, but trust me a lot of teams are going to lose to Wheeling Park this year! Also in Class AA teams like Bluefield (another real surprise), Robert C. Byrd, Frankfort, Keyser, Ravenswood, Mingo Central, Scott, Grafton and Westside are off to outstanding starts! In Class AA, at the end of two weeks, we still have 11 teams looking for win number one.
In Class A, the Blue Devils of St. Marys are racking up the points as they have outscored their first two opponents 90 to 13. Head Coach Jodi Mote is excited about the fast start, but he also knows the schedule will continue to get tougher. Of course, when you talk about Class A, you have to include annual powerhouses like Williamstown, Greenbrier West, Bishop Donahue, Man, Buffalo and Clay Battelle! No, I did not forget about the likes of Wheeling Central, Madonna, Magnolia and Moorefield. But all four of those teams already have 1 loss and will have to take care of business the rest of the season!
Speaking of the rest of the season, this week alone we will be blessed with a number of great matchups in all three classes. In Class AAA, Huntington will try and rebound from last week’s double overtime loss to Spring Valley by hosting those undefeated Flying Eagles from Beckley…that Spring Valley ballclub will hit the road to take on powerful South Charleston….and as mentioned above, Point Pleasant will host Class AA power Wayne. In Class AA, we also have Robert C. Byrd hitting the road to take on Frankfort, while Keyser battles out of state threat Ft. Hill, Md. and Sissonville hosts undefeated Mingo Central. In Class A, Bishop Donahue will put their undefeated record on the line as they host the undefeated Cee-Bees of Clay Battelle, Magnolia will make the long trip to Charmco to take on undefeated Greenbrier West and Wheeling Central and Madonna will try and get back on the winning track as the Maroon Knights travel to Weirton. In a Saturday game, #1 St. Marys will pay a visit to Parkersburg Catholic!
Be sure and catch all the scores this Friday night on GAMENIGHT from 9:30 to Midnight on a number of great radio stations around the state, plus check out the live audio and video streaming of the show at wvmetronews.com.