This past weekend was the 6th week of the high school football season and for a lot of teams the week was good…….for several teams, the week was bad….and for just about everyone who was outside this past Friday night the weather was ugly!!
First, we will talk about the bad and save the good for last because I always like to end on a high note. Week six was bad for those teams that got surprised and it was terrible for those teams that really needed a win and failed to produce. In Class AA the Bluefield Beavers traveled to Richlands, Va. to take on the Blue Tornado and while that team had won 3 games in a row, they had also lost to Gate City, Va. by 11 points….the same Gate City team that Bluefield had defeated in week four by 23 points. The Beavers lost the game to Richlands 28-14 proving that you have to be ready to play every week! Now there were three other teams in week six that had a “not so good” of a performance, but it would be very tough to say they played “bad”. In Class AAA, the Huntington Highlanders lost a heartbreaker to #2 Capital when the boys from Cabell County came up just a little short in the final minutes and left University of Charleston Stadium with a 28-25 loss. That defeat dropped last year’s Class AAA runners-up to 3-3 on the season. Also losing heartbreaking games, but playing great in the loss, was Class AA Scott, losing on the road at Westside in double overtime 36-34 and Williamstown in Class A dropping a two point game to #1 St. Marys 20-18. In all three of those aforementioned games, you have to give credit to Capital, Westside and St. Marys for playing great and being a part of the “good” in last weekend.
In Class AAA, it was a great effort displayed by the Morgantown Mohigans as they traveled four hours to battle a very good Class AA team in the Wayne Pioneers before losing 28-9. I mentioned on GAMENIGHT last week how ridiculous I personally think it is for a team to have to travel that far just to play a game! Think of all the Class AAA teams Morgantown had to drive by last Friday night in their 4 hour, 250 mile bus ride to Wayne! And, in reverse, think of all the Class AA teams the Wayne Pioneers will drive by next season when they return the trip to Morgantown. Certainly don’t blame Morgantown or Wayne…..blame the teams that refuse to play! I have never thought an organization like the WVSSAC or the WV Athletic Directors Association or even the WV Coaches Association should ever get involved in scheduling games for high school sports. However when we have young men and women on the roads traveling that far and getting home that late, then someone has to step up or better yet, administrators have to get a little smarter. We always hear how expensive high school athletics are and it’s certainly true football helmets are not cheaper today than they were last year! So, if you can find a team that is 50 miles away to play instead of 250 miles away, everyone wins! The coaches, the players, the fans and yes, even the budgets!
Ok….I am now stepping off my soap box to tell you we have several great games once again this weekend that would be worthy of high school fans buying a ticket for. In Class AAA, undefeated Capital will travel to Ona to take on undefeated Cabell Midland, while 3-3 Morgantown will make a trip to Wheeling to take on the 4-1 Wheeling Park Patriots. Beckley Woodrow Wilson also finds themselves in need of a win as they leave Raleigh County and head to Wood County to take on the always tough Big Red of Parkersburg. In Class AA, the once beaten Indians of Bridgeport will travel to Keyser to meet up with the once beaten Golden Tornado in what should be a great game. Both teams have lost only to quality Class AAA opponents. Also in Class AA, the Scott Skyhawks will try and bounce back from last week’s tough overtime loss to Westside when they welcome the 4-1 Wayne Pioneers to Madison. Wayne is coming off that impressive win over Class AAA Morgantown. In Class A, Notre Dame, winners of three in a row, will try and keep it going as they take on a good Class AA Liberty-Harrison team and Clay-Battelle will try and stay undefeated as they welcome Parkersburg Catholic to Blacksville.
Don’t forget we will have all the scores and all the stories at our website at wvmetronews.com and Dave Jecklin and I will keep you up to date on Friday night with a week seven edition of High School GAMENIGHT.
Talk to you on Friday!