As we get ready for week number ten of the high school football season, we are also getting ready for Halloween festivities this weekend and there are a lot of high school football teams around the state hoping no “tricks” are in store for them when they hit the gridiron this weekend!
Now the official date for Halloween is this Friday, October 31st, however there are several towns and municipalities around the state planning on celebrating on Thursday night so high school football games can be played on their normal weekday evening. Some schools though will be playing on Thursday night this week and you can check those out on our scoreboard schedule on this same website.
But, as mentioned above Halloween is being celebrated this week (Thursday or Friday depending on where you live) and no team that is trying desperately to get into the top sixteen in their class can really afford a loss in week ten. Looking back at last weekend’s games, several teams hurt their playoff chances and some their seeding positions by losing in week number nine. In Class AAA, only 11 of the top 16 won and if you extend it out to the top 20 teams, only 12 were victorious! In Class AA, 3 teams in the top 20 were idle last weekend, (#1 Bridgeport, #7 Keyser and #15 Wyoming East) but of the 17 teams that played, only 10 of the top 16 won and just 12 of the top 20 came out in the win column. In Class A, 2 teams in the top 20 were idle (#13 East Hardy and #19 Wheeling Central Catholic) but of the 18 teams that played, only 12 of the top 16 won and just 14 of the top 20 proved victorious.
So, as we get set for what will be the last week of the regular season for 16 teams around the state (Point Pleasant finished their regular season last weekend), there are several teams that have certainly clinched a playoff spot and now are just trying to win and finish as high as they can. For several others, they are in a must win mode and whether they have one game left or won’t finish play until next weekend, they know they have to win out just to have a chance to finish in the top 16! Some of the real key games in the state this weekend include:
CLASS AAA
Huntington (5-3) at South Charleston (8-1)
George Washington (4-4) at Ripley (3-5)
Wheeling Park (6-2) at Parkersburg South (6-2)
Buckhannon Upshur (5-3) at Preston (5-3)
Capital (7-0) at Hurricane (6-2)
Jefferson (5-3) at Hedgesville (0-8)
Oak Hill (1-7) at Woodrow Wilson (4-3)
University (8-1) at Morgantown (4-5)
CLASS AA
Bridgeport (7-1) at Fairmont Senior (6-2)
Keyser (6-2) at Frankfort (8-0)
Herbert Hoover (5-3) at Mingo Central (7-1)
Liberty Raleigh (7-1) at Shady Spring (2-6)
Ravenswood (7-1) at St. Marys (8-0)
Independence (5-3) at Wyoming East (5-3)
CLASS A
Wheeling Central (4-4) at Bishop Donahue (6-2)
Clay-Battelle (8-0) at Notre Dame (6-2)
Doddridge County (7-1) at Liberty Harrison 5-4)
Tug Valley (8-1) at Man (6-2)
Moorefield (6-2) at Pendleton County (7-2)
Make sure you check out the game in your area this week and then make plans to join Dave Jecklin and me for GAMENIGHT beginning at 9:30pm, or as soon as your local game is finished, on over 40 radio stations in the state and at wvmetronews.com.