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Southwestern Report: Week 8

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By: Wes McKinney

No. 2 AAA Point Pleasant (7-0) at No. 3 AA Ravenswood (6-0

The Big Blacks are coming off a 56-7 road win at Oak Hill.

“We had to dig in and do some things because of the weather that we normally don’t do,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst. “We had a good gameplan and we executed it. We held them to under 40 yards of total offense. Their quarterback is a playmaker. Our kids did a real good of slowing him.”

But as for the matchup with Ravenswood, the offenses will almost certainly be on display as both teams are the top scoring team in their class. Point Pleasant is averaging 52.8 per game while Ravenwood has scored 350 points over its first six games.

“They are going to hit plays on us,“ Darst said. “They have been putting up as many points as we have. We need to get a feel of what they do well. I think all coaches go into a game trying take away the other team’s five best plays.”

 

No. 6 AAA Cabell Midland (6-1) at No. 12 AAA George Washington (4-2)

Cabell Midland fell for the first time this season as Capital edged the Knights 35-28 in a matchup of the state’s top-ranked teams.

“Our kids fought the entire game and they made some more plays than us,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “I’m not disappoint in the kids’ effort, but I think we made some crucial mistakes. That game tells us where we’re at and what we need to get better at — that’s the best thing.”

No. 1 Capital edged No. 2 Cabell Midland 35-28 in week seven of the season.

When Cabell Midland goes to George Washington, it will be the fifth straight game the Knights will play a ranked team in Class AAA.

“We have a big game this week and big games for the remainder of the season,” Salmons said. “Our kids understand that we’re going to get better over the few weeks of the season.”

A win at George Washington would set up a pivotal matchup between Cabell Midland and Spring Valley next week, a game that would have a myriad of playoff implications. But, first Cabell Midland must pass the road test.

“We know this a big game for them coming off a loss to Hurricane — they are hungry,” Salmons said. “We need to match that intensity.”

 

Parkersburg (3-3) at No. 16 AAA Huntington (3-3)

One may consider this an elimination game as Huntington enters the game rank 16th and Parkersburg is just outside the top 16, ranking 18th in the state.

“I think it’s big for both programs to be honest,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said. “We’re both 3-3 and battling to get into the playoffs. I think it’s an important week for both teams.”

The Highlanders got a bye week after a gut-wrenching loss 28-25 loss to No. 1 Class AAA Capital two weeks ago.

“We worked a lot on fundamentals,” Seals said of the bye week. “The name of the game is still blocking and tackling. Offensively, we made sure our line was holding blocks and defensively we wanted to make sure our guys are wrapping up and tackling when they get to a guy. We just polished up a few things.”

Seals’ attention has now focused towards stopping Parkersburg, which is coming off a 24-0 shutout win of Woodrow Wilson.

“They are starting to look like the Parkersburg of old,” he said. “They want to control of scrimmage and win time of possession. They are very big of front and are running a lot of wing-T principles on offense. On defense, they’ve gone to a 50 defense after being a four-man front. It’s a much-improved football team–a team that has gotten better as the year has went on.”

Seals isn’t dwelling on the plays his team hasn’t made, but is focusing on the positives up this point in the season.

“We’re disappointed that we’re 3-3, but we’re just a few plays away from being 6-0,” he said. “We just have to learn to make those plays. We’ve played a rugged schedule, but we need to be 4-0 at the end of these four. We can’t be 4-0 without being 1-0 and that starts Friday night.”

 

No. 15 Herbert Hoover (4-2) at No. 3 AA Wayne (5-1)

Quarterback Grant Ferguson made his return to the field as Wayne defeated Scott, 40-7, Friday night.

The Pioneers won their 25th straight game at home with the 33-point victory and played flawlessly as Wayne did not commit a turnover for the first time this season.

Of the four games remaining for Wayne, three of them are against teams with a winning record.

 

No. 4 A Tug Valley (6-1) at Calhoun County (2-5)

Tug Valley scored the game’s final 24 point last week as they erased a 22-point halftime deficit against Valley Fayette to move to 6-1 this season.

 

Nitro (1-5) at No. 8 Spring Valley (6-1)

Spring Valley erased a six-point halftime deficit to upset-minded and winless Riverside last week to win 36-20.

It was the first time the Timberwolves had won at Riverside in the school’s 16-year existence.

Quarterback Tyler Brown, one of the most decorated players to ever grace the Spring Valley field along with 13 other seniors will be honored Friday night.

After facing the Wildcats at home, Spring Valley will be tested the final two weeks of the season with games at Cabell Midland and at Hurricane.

 

Chapmanville (4-3) at No. 7 AA Mingo Central (5-1)

Mingo Central scored a season-high 63 points as they kept Poca winless with a 63-18 pounding of the Dots.

Meanwhile, Chapmanville is coming off an emotional 26-20 overtime win over Man to capture Logan County bragging rights for 2014.

A win for the Miners could springboard them towards a home playoff game while Chapmanville needs this game to make a push at a potential playoff berth.

 

No. 11 AA Scott (5-2) at Tolsia (1-5)

After winning its first five games, Scott has dropped consecutive contests to Westside two weeks ago and a 40-7 decision to Wayne last week.

Meanwhile, Tolsia earned its first win of the season after an upset win of Roane County. The Rebels were able to score the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter to win 7-6.

Scott has won two of the last three matchups, but will be looking to avenge a narrow 14-13 loss to Tolsia last season.

 

Sherman (1-6) at No. 12 Man (4-2)

Man will attempt to rebound following an overtime loss to Logan County rival Chapmanville on the road in week seven.

The Hillbillies will playing just their second Class A opponent of the season. Earlier this year, they knocked Class A Fayetteville 28-0.

 

Other Games:

Logan (2-5) at Greenbrier East (3-4)

Montcalm (0-5) at Van (3-4)

St. John’s, Ohio (3-4) at Hannan (0-6) — HANNAN FORFEITS





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