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No. 14 Woodrow Wilson (6-3) at No. 3 University (9-1): Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
The Hawks should be healthy after having last week off. Linebacker Dylan Cole, receiver/defensive back Tristan Lucas and offensive lineman Derrick McElroy were among the players fighting through injuries to play in the MoHawk Bowl two weeks ago.
The Hawks have a well rounded offense now that sophomore fullback Isaiah Utt is back. Utt had his first career 100 yard game against Preston during week nine. He scored two touchdowns, including the overtime game winner against rival Morgantown.
Quarterback Jeremy Eckels continues to be the leading rusher on the team with 717 yards this season. Eckels has also thrown for 1,141 yards on the year, including 11 touchdown passes and just two interceptions.
Senior receiver Tristan Lucas had a streak of touchdown receptions in eight consecutive games snapped, but he still made a huge play on a catch, taking it down to the one-yard line against Morgantown.
“Everyone talks about Eckels, Utt, Lucas and Jace Neville with our offense,” said University coach John Kelley. “But the key all year has been the offensive line. You’ve got those four seniors (McElroy, center Tyler Stouffer, guard Scott Dixon and tackle Matt Minard) who have led all the way. They make us go.”
Junior left tackle Lucas Cole has also contributed to that line.
“Beckley is going to look at a lot of tape and not realize that with Utt back, things have changed drastically,” Kelley said.
Depth has been a key on defense. Seniors Dixon, Minard, Justin Hardwood and Ben Fell start up front with Cole and Eckels filling in. The Hawks rotate six linebackers and they’ve used seven different defensive backs.
“We had a lot of injuries so a lot of kids got experience,” Kelley said. “People may look at us and say with give up a lot of yards, but we don’t let people cross the goal line.”
The Hawks have forced 18 turnovers on the year and a defensive score on a fumble return by senior linebacker Jeremy Hunter was the first touchdown and got the Hawks going against Morgantown.
UHS is 3-0 all time against Woodrow Wilson in the playoffs. The last matchup came in the late 90’s when Scott Gyorko was the leader of the Hawks team.
Part of the reason Woodrow Wilson coach John Lilly chose to play Saturday was due to injuries. Quarterback Brent Osborne has dealt with ankle injuries lately.
“We’re really beat up,” Lilly admitted. “Brent has two rolled ankles and defensive leader Troy Lilly has ankle and elbow injuries. We need all the time we can get.”
No. 13 Buckhannon-Upshur (7-3) at No. 4 Martinsburg (9-1): Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Buckhannon-Upshur was rewarded for its first playoff appearance in nine seasons with a trip to face four time defending Class AAA champ Martinsburg in the first round.
“We are not a very big team,” said BU head coach Duane Stoeckle. “We have to find something to counter their size, not to mention their skill position players.”
Buckhannon has its share of speed and play making ability. Marcus Lofton had a couple of touchdown receptions — including a 78-yarder — in last week’s 41-7 win over Elkins. Lofton also enters the playoffs with a single season school record nine interceptions as well. Receiver Brandon Mallett was back in the lineup for the Bucs last week as well — he had a scoring catch in the game.
The Buccaneers finished the season strong with back to back wins over rivals Preston and Elkins, scoring 85 points in those two games. The Bucs have won four of their last five overall. The regular season for the Bucs was a marked success as it followed up a 3-7 campaign last year.
No. 9 Lewis County (8-2) at No. 8 Wheeling Park (8-2): Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Lewis County is in the playoffs for the fifth time in six seasons.
“Our guys expect to be here now,” said Lewis County coach Eddie Vincent. “Just getting here is not enough. We experienced some success (the Minutemen won a playoff game at University in 2012) and this group in particular is very competitive. It’s not the most talented group, but they are coach-able and they do what we ask them to do.”
Lewis County comes into the playoffs off back-to-back shutout wins. The Minutemen’s defense secured four shutouts on the season. It allowed more than one touchdown in in just three games. The most points allowed in a game this season was 16.
“The guys understand our system,” Vincent said. “We haven’t changed much in the seven years we’ve been there. It comes down to toughness, attitude and the fundamentals. Our guys take it seriously, do it the right way and tackle well.”
The Lewis County defense this week will face a big, physical threat in the backfield for the first time this season as they will be up against 240 pound running back Theo Blackston of Wheeling Park.
“That’s a concern,” Vincent admitted. “We’ve seen the fast kids, but we’ve yet to go up against a big, physical runner.
“We’re going to have to go up there and give our absolute best effort to win this game,” Vincent continued. “We’ve had a couple of games against Bridgeport and University that were absolute defensive slugfests. We’ve got to hang in there with our defense. We’ll have to run the ball and sprinkle in some play-action. And, of course, stay away from the big mistakes.”
Class AA No. 16 Liberty Raleigh (8-2) at AA No. 1 Bridgeport (9-1): Friday, 7:30 p.m.
These two teams will meet for the first time ever as Bridgeport begins defense of it’s 2013 state championship.
“We are as healthy coming into playoffs as we can be.” said head coach Josh Nicewarner. “We’re excited where we are at.”
And where has this team improved the most since August?
“Our adjustments,” Nicewarner said. “We are playing like a veteran group now in a sense our players are making the necessary adjustments in the middle of the game. They’re doing it on their own instead of us having to call a timeout.”
Bridgeport is another outstanding defensive team as the Indians have not allowed more than two touchdowns in any contest this season. They’ve allowed more than seven points just three times all season.
“We’re an assignment team,” Nicewarner said. “We don’t do anything fancy. It’s a gap defense with sound tackling. It’s just getting guys to the ball. We don’t blitz much, but when we do it, it has been effective.
“That great defensive effort is what it takes to get through the next four weeks,” Nicewarner continued. “The defense has allowed our offense to get through some struggles at times. And recently, that defense has even put points on the board for us.”
AA No. 9 Keyser (7-3) at AA No. 8 Robert C. Byrd (8-2) at Lincoln High School: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
RCB rolls into the playoffs with six straight wins. The Eagles have averaged 48 points per game during that stretch.
“We’ve got weapons,” RCB coach Bruce Carey said following last week’s 57-6 win over Philip Barbour.
The Eagles were looking to find some balance against the final regular season opponent as they rushed for 303 yards and quarterback Julian Marino threw for 94 yards.
Carey is leading RCB to the playoffs for the third consecutive year. He’s been in the postseason all 18 years he’s been a head coach. The Eagles will have a very challenging first round task against Keyser.
“They’ve got great tradition and their kids are always tough and physical,” Carey said. “We are glad to have it as a home game, but it’s about as tough as a first round draw as you can get.”
AA No. 12 Fairmont Senior (7-3) at AA No. 5 Wayne (8-2): Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
It’s a young Fairmont Senior team that’s in the playoffs for the first time in back-to-back years since 2009-2010 at the Class AAA level.
“We should be in the playoffs every year,” said Polar Bears coach J. L. Abbott. “We are a young team but we’ve improved each and every week.
“It’s an opportunity,” Abbott said about the opportunity to face perennial Class AA power Wayne. “We tell the kids all the time to never pass up an opportunity because you never know when you will get another.”
Fairmont Senior has developed a dynamic pass/catch duo with quarterback Dominic Smith and receiver Nick Davisson. Davisson had a four touchdown reception game in the regular season against Buckhannon. He caught four touchdown passes over the course of the final two games of the regular season.
“They’ve really been clicking the last couple of weeks,” Abbott said of the duo. “We can line (Davisson) up anywhere and he’s very quick. He’s a tough kid for his size.
“Dominic is a good leader,” Abbott continued. “He’s done a great job leading this offense and he’s been better each week. With those two hooking up, it has opened up the ground game and then last week it opened up two more receivers.”
This Fairmont team starts two freshman and has just three seniors playing significant time.
“The bulk of our team is juniors and sophomores,” Abbott said. “There is still some growing for this team to do. We are excited about this opportunity but we are also really excited about the future.”
Last season, the Polar Bears won a first round home playoff game against Keyser before falling on the road at eventual state champion Bridgeport.
Class A No. 14 East Hardy (7-3) at A No. 3 Notre Dame (8-2) at Bridgeport: Saturday, 7:30
Notre Dame enters the postseason on an eight-game winning streak.
“We’ve got some momentum going right now,” said Irish coach Sam Alvaro. “We’ve got to keep our focus. This team has accomplished a lot this year, bouncing back from an 0-2 start the season.
“We appealed to them after that slow start,” Alvaro continued. “They got together as a group and as a team and decided they wanted to play and decided they wanted to be a playoff team.”
Santino Cava continues to lead the Notre Dame offense as one of the leading rushers in the state. Alvaro wants to make sure the defense gets credit as well.
“We allowed 84 points in those first two losses,” Alvaro said. “They’ve really improved and that defensive unit is a huge reason why we were able to accomplish what we have.”
Notre Dame normally uses Duval Rozier Field at Fairmont State University for its home field, but there is an eight team college basketball tournament there this weekend.
“The field was available, but there were no locker rooms and parking would have been a problem.” Alvaro said. “We really appreciate Bridgeport allowing us to use their facility to host.”
A No. 13 Greenbrier West (6-4) at A No. 4 Clay-Battelle (9-1)
The Cee-Bees hope to be closer to full strength with the return over quarterback Jarret Hockenberry, who has missed three games with a knee injury.
“Hockenberry is our guy,” said Clay-Battelle coach Ryan Wilson. “Everyone knows he is our leader and we are all anxious to see him play again and see where he is in terms of being able to contribute.”
Hockenberry threw for 1,046 yards with 18 touchdowns and three interceptions in the regular season. He also rushed for 673 yards and nine scores in just seven games. The Cee-Bees did get senior running back Jacoby Steele back in the lineup for last week’s win over Madonna. Steele is the leading rusher on the team.
Clay-Battelle will be hosting a playoff game at the high school for the first time ever. A new stadium was constructed last season. Previous playoff home games were held at University and North Marion.
“We are all excited for this,” Wilson said. “We’ve been excited all season long because we get to show off our facility. It’s a showcase for the team, for our school, for the band, everything. I’m was excited to be part of the first game played at the new stadium and now I’m excited to be part of the first playoff game here.”
As for the draw, Greenbrier West made it all the way to the state championship game a year ago and it played a very difficult schedule this year. The Cavaliers beat a Class AA playoff team in Nicholas County.
They lost to Class AA No. 3 Bluefield and also to James River out of Virginia. Last week, Greenbrier West had the lead at halftime, only to lose to the No. 1 ranked Class A team in St. Marys.
“They are a big team and a physical team,” Wilson said. “We should have a speed advantage and we are going to have to make some plays down the field in order to have a chance to beat a team like this.”