MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The playoff picture, aside from a few Saturday games, sorted itself out on Friday night in all three classes during the final week of the high school football regular season.
In Class AAA, No. 1 Capital (9-0) locked up the overall top seed, cruising in the second half to a 42-13 win over George Washington (5-5). Cougars’ running back Kashuan Haley finished with 244 yards on 21 carries, including a 93-yard touchdown run. Capital quarterback Tyhree Pratt finished with a pair of touchdowns as well in the win.
Cabell Midland (9-1) likely secured home field advantage as well throughout the playoffs in the No. 2 spot as the Knights took care of Brooke 49-24.
No. 13 Hurricane (7-3) bounced back from a lopsided loss to Capital last week by edging No. 8 Spring Valley (7-3) 43-42. Spring Valley closed a 43-36 deficit to 43-42 with just 31 seconds to go in the game, opting to go for two and the win instead of playing for overtime — Hurricane came up with the conversion stop defensively, sealing the win.
“These guys played their butts off and I’m so proud of them,” said Hurricane coach Jeremy Taylor. “All good teams have a little bit of luck, and we got a little bit of luck getting the goal-line stop on the two-point conversion. The way we practiced this week was big in how we played tonight.”
Hurricane quarterback Dylan Tinsley finished with five total touchdowns in the win, three on the ground and two more through the air. He threw for 165 yards, putting him over 2,000 yards on the year. Junior Conner Watts added 154 rushing yards and scored the ultimate game-winning touchdown for Hurricane.
Spring Valley quarterback Tyler Brown rushed for 162 yards and four touchdowns in the loss. The Redskins are expected to jump up to No. 10 in Class AAA and meet No. 7 Huntington in the opening round. Spring Valley is anticipated to finish at No. 11 and face No. 6 South Charleston in the opening round.
Parkersburg (6-4) snagged a playoff berth by upsetting rival Parkersburg South (6-4) 17-14 on a game winning 30-yard field goal by senior kicker Josh Roney. Corey Burdette rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries in the win for the Big Reds.
Parkersburg is expected to finish at No. 15 in Class AAA and face Cabell Midland, while Parkersburg South should take the final playoff spot and face Capital in the opening round.
The other anticipated, unofficial, Class AAA first round playoff matchups include No. 9 Lewis County at No. 8 Wheeling Park, No. 13 Buckhannon-Upshur at No. 4 Martinsburg, No. 12 Jefferson at No. 5 Point Pleasant and No. 14 Woodrow Wilson at No. 3 University.
Musselman (6-4) finished its season last week and entered this week at No. 16 in Class AAA. The Applemen, though, are expected to be rated just outside the playoff picture as Parkersburg’s win bumps Musselman down.
In Class AA, Bridgeport (9-1) is expected to finish No. 1 after its 48-13 win over Class AAA Preston. Frankfort, meanwhile, finished the regular season 10-0 for the first time since 1996 by beating Hampshire 20-14. The Falcons should enter the postseason as the No. 2 seed.
Bluefield is likely the No. 3 seed after beating Wayne 19-14. It was the first loss at home for Wayne’s current senior class. The Pioneers had won 26-straight home games, going back to a 2010 loss to Bluefield.
“We’re very happy and proud of our players,” said Bluefield coach Fred Simon. “It’s just nice for our players to be able to pull off the win. We got a turnover early in the fourth quarter, took it in for a score. From there, we kept them in check and they kept us in check.”
Wayne led at the half 14-13. The Pioneers are expected to fall to No. 5 when the WVSSAC official rankings are released.
No. 16 Wyoming East picked up a crucial win, doubling up Liberty Raleigh 36-18. Also, No. 10 Ravenswood fell to Class AAA rival Ripley 30-20 as the Red Devils have now lost two in a row.
In Class A, Parkersburg Catholic upset No. 3 Doddridge County 22-6 and No. 12 Buffalo rolled past No. 14 Wahama 36-18.
The official WVSSAC rankings and first round playoff matchups will be released for all three classes on Sunday morning.
For all of the scores from Friday night, click on the MetroNews High School Football Scoreboard.