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Southwestern Report: Week 10

By: Wes McKinney

No. 12 AAA Huntington (5-3) at No. 6 AAA South Charleston (8-1)

Huntington took care of St. Albans last week 56-7 by rushing for over 400 yards in the win.

“We didn’t play our style of football in the first half, but we were still up 21-7 at halftime,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said. “We played faster on defense in the second half. Our defense got three turnovers in the second half and we pulled away.”

Last season, Huntington came from behind to beat South Charleston 21-17 at Bob Sang Stadium on a late touchdown run from quarterback Clark Wilson.

Meanwhile, the Black Eagles are coming off a 58-14 thrashing of Riverside.

“Everything runs through quarterback Kentre Grier,” Seals said. “He’s had a fabulous year and I think he’s the best quarterback in the state in my opinion. Offensively, they are going to spread you and try to go 1-on-1 on the outside.”

In Seals’ estimation, his Highlanders are a just a few plays away from being undefeated, but some mistakes early in games have hurt Huntington.

“Two of our three losses, we have dug ourselves a hole early on,” he said. “We’re going on the road—it’s going to be senior night for them. It’s going to be an emotional night—a big game for both programs. One of these teams has an opportunity to be playing in Wheeling.”

 

No. 3 A Tug Valley (8-1) at No. 8 A Man (6-2)

Tug Valley tied its season high in margin of victory by defeating Sheldon Clark, Kentucky 36-8 last week to set up a big showdown with Man.

“We’re extremely excited—the school and the community—to be ranked up there,” Tug Valley head coach Tony Clusky said in reference to his team’s number three ranking. “We feel like we have a pretty good ball club. We don’t have any so-called superstars. We have nights where some guys play better than others. We’ve had some guys step up.”

And the Panthers have needed some guys to step up this season as four of their eight wins have come by eight points or less.

“Good teams find ways to win close games,” Clusky said. “We’ve gone double overtime to Haysi, Virginia and triple overtime with Tolsia.”

A concern of Clusky’s heading into the matchup with the Hillbillies is the road-game factor.

“We have a hit a stretch where we have been able to win some games,” Clusky said. “I’m still not sure we are playing well on the road. We have had some trouble getting started. I don’t know what the reason is, but we have been able to put it together at the end.”

On the other side, Man is coming off a 38-10 win at Pocahontas County.

Man head coach Harvey Arms is impressed with Tug Valley on film and the challenges that they present overall.

“They’re a good all-around team,” Arms said of the Panthers. “They have four or five guys that can run the ball and they use two quarterbacks at times. We’re going to have to out and play good, fundamental team football.”

Neil Mullins collected 185 rushing yards on 21 carries for the Hillbillies in the win over Pocahontas County.

*** A High School Sportsline interview with Man coach Harvey Arms is posted at the top of the page

 

No. 16 AA Herbert Hoover (5-3) at No. 5 Mingo Central (7-1)

Mingo Central pounded Scott 55-7 last week to inch closer to a home playoff game.

“Last week’s win doesn’t really mean anything unless we win this week,” Kinder said. “Herbert Hoover has been playing some teams really tough this season. They have two or three fast players. They have a good quarterback, a good tailback and some good linemen. They probably need to win to get into the playoffs.”

Friday night will be a special night for the Miners as it will be senior night for the school’s first four-year class.

“We told these seniors when they were freshmen that if they stayed together all four years we thought we had a chance to have a pretty good football team in four years,” Kinder said. “They all have worked hard and bought into the program. I’m really proud of them because they have improved each year.”

 

No. 1 AA Wayne (7-1) at Chapmanville (4-5)

It was a record-setting night for Wayne as quarterback Grant Ferguson became the first signal caller under Tom Harmon to throw for more than 300 yards as Ferguson finished his night with 327 yards and five touchdowns as Wayne blew past Poca 44-20.

Running back Cody Stiltner caught four of the five touchdown passes from Ferguson in the win.

For the season, Stilter now has 1,080 yards of total offense with 556 yards receiving and 524 yards rushing.

Wayne has Chapmanville nine straight times dating back to the 2005 season.

 

Other Games:

No. 13 A Buffalo (6-2) at Sherman (1-7)

Logan (2-6) at Nitro (1-7)





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