By: Michael Minnich — Mineral Daily News Tribune
Only two games in the eastern panhandle this week don’t feature teams ranked or receiving votes in the MetroNews Power Rankings…will there be upsets, or holds of serve, in Week 4?
Tuscarora, Va. (3-0) at Martinsburg (3-0), 7 p.m.
Martinsburg has the chance on Friday to do something that it hasn’t had many chances to do: avenge a loss.
The one blemish on last year’s state title run came in this series last year, a tight-as-tight-can-be 35-34 game at Tuscarora, which went on to advance to the second round of the playoffs in Virginia.
Tuscarora has been just as impressive this year, allowing one touchdown in each of its three games—while putting 40+ on the board themselves. Most recently, it was a 42-7 win over Loudon Valley.
Martinsburg won a close one against State College, Pa., for the second straight year last week, with its defense making a 27-21 lead stick late.
The Bulldogs did all of their scoring in the first half as running back Trey Boyd finished with 75 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries.
Musselman (2-1) at Jefferson (3-0), 7 p.m.
Everyone’s been looking up at Martinsburg in the early days of the Eastern Panhandle Athletic Conference in football.
Who its biggest challenger is in 2014 will probably be decided this week.
Jefferson threw Hampshire to the ground last week, getting seven (seven!) receiving touchdowns from Christian Johnson to break the state record in a 51-7 win last week.
Johnson also caught two balls that didn’t go for TD’s, and finished with 246 yards.
Musselman scored on six of their last eight possessions and cruised by Spring Mills, 49-7, last week. Deonte Glover ran for 130 yards and caught a TD to lead a balanced Applemen attack.
Musselman won an offensive affair last year, 56-29.
Frankfort (3-0) at Berkeley Springs (0-3), 7 p.m.
After beating three likely playoff teams in Moorefield, East Hardy, and, most notably, Robert C. Byrd to open the season, the Frankfort Falcons will try to avoid a letdown at winless Berkeley Springs.
Trailing 14-0 last week, FHS got rushing touchdowns from quarterback Gage Shaffer and running back Noah Bible to tie the score, survived a missed field goal from RCB on the final play of regulation, then took the win home in double OT thanks to two passing TD’s from Shaffer to Gavin Mauzy and a Mauzy interception on RCB’s possession in the second overtime.
Berkeley Springs has allowed the second-most points in Class AA (137), but did play its closest game of the season last week, falling to St. James, Md., by a 34-20 score.
Northern Garrett, Md. (1-1) at Keyser (2-1), 7 p.m.
Keyser played right with defending Maryland 1A state champion Fort Hill last week, but Maryland-bound Ty Johnson scored two of his four touchdowns in the fourth quarter and the Sentinels pulled away from the Golden Tornado, 28-20, last week for their 16thstraight win.
For Keyser, Ryan Streets connected with Vinnie Cuthbertson for two touchdown passes and Cody Rodeheaver added another on the ground.
Northern is an improved club from the one that lost 47-7 to KHS last year, but they’ve won just once in 11 all-time meetings, back in 1995.
Morgantown (2-1) at Washington (1-2), 7 p.m.
After winning its opener, Washington has struggled, losing most recently to a Sherando, Va., team that was looking to rebound from a loss; the final at Sherando was 47-7.
That’s the scenario this week, too, as Morgantown was upset at home by Parkersburg South last week, 35-26.
This is the first meeting between these two schools.
A No. 9 Moorefield (2-1) at Tucker County (1-2), 7:30 p.m.
Moorefield has won two straight since dropping its opener at AA undefeated Frankfort. Last week, Wil Schoonover rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns and caught another score from 63 yards out to fuel a 34-6 win over Southern Garrett, Md.
Tucker County lost at Northern Garrett, Md., by a 32-22 score last week. Moorefield won a 33-14 decision in this series last year.
East Hardy (2-1) at Pocahontas County (1-2), 7:30 p.m.
Like its Hardy County brothers at Moorefield, East Hardy has only a loss to Frankfort—and a close one at that—to mar their record.
Last week, the Cougars dismantled Craig County, Va., 52-0. East Hardy won last year, 18-7.
Clear Spring, Md. (0-2) at Petersburg (0-2), 7 p.m.
After finishing 16thin Class AA in scoring last year, the Vikings have really struggled to put the ball in the end zone in their first two games, getting blanked by Pendleton County and scoring 13 versus Webster County in a 16-13 loss last week.
They’ll wrap up a season-opening three-game homestand against a Clear Spring team that has lost close games to St. James and Brunswick in Maryland, 34-26 and 37-26.
Clear Spring won last year’s meeting, 62-27.
Spring Mills (1-2) at Hedgesville (0-3), 7 p.m.
Spring Mills held Musselman for most of the first half, trailing just 13-7 with 2:24 left before the break before the floodgates opened.
Hedgesville faced a Mountain Ridge club that was missing their best player in RaShawn Johnson last week and still were totally out-matched, 57-14.
Hedgesville won last year’s meeting, 58-7.
BYE: Hampshire (1-2)