Follow MetroNews High School Sports on Twitter and on Facebook.
Lewis County (6-1) at University (6-1)
Lewis County brings one of the best defensive units in the state on the road to face a University team that has scored 117 points in its last three games.
“We’ve given up 49 points in seven games,” pointed out Lewis County coach Eddie Vincent. “That’s something we are very proud of. We work very hard on reading keys and adjusting, tackling and doing fundamental things on defense.
“Guys understand our system,” Vincent continues. “We know the system well enough as a staff now that if something goes wrong, we can fix it and make adjustments.”
Lewis County appears to be headed for the playoffs for the fifth time in six years. It was a playoff win at University in 2012 that still stands as a landmark victory for the program.
“We are to the point in our program where we expect to make the playoffs and we expect to do good things once we get there,” Vincent said. “That all stems back to that playoff game two years ago. That game was a spring board for our confidence as a program.”
The University defense has proven itself a big play unit all season long. The Hawks have forced 16 turnovers in seven games. Junior defensive back Nathan Matheny had an interception in the end zone last week to thwart a Logan scoring opportunity as UHS won that game on the road 40-8.
Junior cornerback Colin Molnar leads the team with three interceptions on the season. The Hawks have also rolled up nine sacks on the season.
“We’ve seen University play that they are as talented this year as they normally are,” Vincent said. “It’s excited for us to be in this situation where both teams are 6-1 and we get the opportunity to go up there and play an important game.”
Morgantown (3-4) at Mussleman (4-3)
Morgantown’s playoff possibilities suddenly look tenuous as the Mohigans have dropped back-to-back road games at Wayne and at Wheeling Park. Morgantown overall has lost three in a row and four of five.
Now its another long road trip to face a Musselman team that has playoff possibilities of its own. Last week, the Mohigans had a fourth quarter lead, only to fall 24-23 at Wheeling Park. Morgantown got a good performance from junior quarterback Zayne Hern who made just his second career start. Hern threw for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown passes went to senior Shea Campbell.
Morgantown has blown fourth quarter leads in three of its four losses. It had happened previously against both Parkersburg South and Martinsburg. The Mohigans still have a chance to rally as this will be their final road game of the regular season. MHS will close with home games against 3-3 John Marshall and 6-1 University.
Musselman has won two straight including a 75-14 win over Hedgesville last week.
East Fairmont (2-5) at Preston (4-2)
It will be another tough challenge for an East Fairmont offense that’s been shutout three times this season. Quarterback Jake Delany completed 10 of 19 passes for 84 yards in a loss last week to Robert C. Byrd. The Bees, however, manufactured just 17 yards on the ground.
Preston took a three game winning streak into a bye week last week. The Knights feature the leading rusher in the area as Josiah Nuse has 1,243 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Preston defense has allowed an average of just 14 points per game during its win streak. Seniors Austin Newsome and Austin Powell are among the leaders of that defense as they’ve combined for 82 tackles on the season so far.
North Marion (0-6) at Bridgeport (6-1)
Bridgeport ran its winning streak to five with an impressive 31-6 win at Keyser last week. Dante Bonimico returned to action on the offensive side of the football after missing two games. Bonimico rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown in the Keyser game.
John Wilfong also delivered a key blow in that game, a 65-yard punt return in the second half to put the score out of reach. It was Wilfong’s first career touchdown. Bridgeport will play its final home game of the regular season Friday night.
North Marion is in the midst of the toughest part of its schedule, playing three likely playoff teams. North Marion lost to Lewis County last week. Now it’s back to back games with Bridgeport and Robert C .Byrd.
Lincoln (2-5) at Robert C. Byrd (5-2)
RCB has a very good chance to close the season with momentum as the Eagles final four opponents have a combined record of 5-21. Last week, RCB rushed for 263 yards and added 151 yards passing with a couple of Julian Marino touchdown passes. The Eagles beat East Fairmont 51-0.
Lincoln snapped a four game losing streak with a 36-12 win over Ritchie County. Jerrod Keller threw three touchdown passes to Chase Riley in that one. The Lincoln defense forced three turnovers.
Doddridge County (5-1) at Philip Barbour (1-6)
Doddridge County is one of the hottest Class A schools in the state with four consecutive wins. Wyatt Ford had 216 yards rushing and two touchdowns as the Bulldogs beat Gilmer County last week.
Lincoln County (0-7) at Buckhannon-Upshur (4-2)
The Buccaneers hope to keep climbing toward the playoffs following a key road win at Hampshire last week. The combined record of Buckhannon’s three remaining Class AAA opponents is 6-13. The Buccaneers also have a week eight matchup with Class AA Fairmont Senior.
Cameron (2-4) at Clay-Battelle (6-0)
The Cee-Bees close out the home portion of their regular season schedule as they are hoping to be able to return home for the playoffs. The Cee-Bees continued to roll with the state’s top Class A offense.
Clay-Battelle outgained Parkersburg South 493-283 in a 48-21 win over Parkersburg Catholic last week. Clay-Battelle got a defensive boost from Jacoby Steele who recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass on back to back Parkersburg Catholic possessions to help the Cee-Bees put the game away prior to halftime. After this week, Clay-Battelle will finish the regular season with road games at Van, Notre Dame and Madonna.
Grafton (3-3) at Liberty (4-3)
Logan Roby continues to be a bright spot for the Liberty offense as he accounted for 133 of the Mountaineers 178 yards of total offense last week in a loss to Notre Dame. Roby averaged nearly eight yards per carry in that game.
The Liberty defense also came up with five turnovers in last week’s game. Grafton looks to snap a three game losing streak. Coming off a bye week, the Bearcats look to revert to their early season form when they started 3-3. Grafton is hoping to make a late playoff push as their final four opponents have a combined record of 9-18.
Fairmont Senior (4-2) at Braxton County (2-5)
Fairmont Senior comes off a bye week hoping to extend its winning streak to three. Braxton County has lost four in a row.
These teams met for the first time last year with Fairmont Senior winning at home 52-6.
Madonna (2-4) at Notre Dame (4-2)
The Irish take a four game winning streak into just their second home game of the season. Notre Dame overcame five turnovers to earn an important 34-14 win over Liberty last week. Notre Dame will play all of its remaining regular season games at home and three of their final four opponents currently have losing records.
Webster County (2-4) at South Harrison (3-3)
South Harrison has one of the top defensive units in all of Class A having allowed just 73 points in six games. The Hawks did not allow an offensive touchdown in a 6-0 loss to Tyler last week. South Harrison hopes to have junior running back Chase Jenkins back this week after Jenkins missed the game last week with an illness.
Other games around the region:
Elkins (2-4) at Oak Hill (1-5)
Southern Garrett (0-6) at Tucker County (2-4)