Follow MetroNews High School Sports on Twitter and on Facebook.
CLASS AAA
No. 16 Parkersburg South (6-4) at No. 1 Capital (9-0): Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Capital enters postseason play as the top seed in Class AAA after posting its first undefeated regular season since 1991. The Cougars finished up the regular season last week with a 42-13 win over rival George Washington, keeping the Patriots out of the playoffs.
Capital running back Kashuan Haley finished with 244 yards on 21 carries, including a 93-yard touchdown run against GW. Capital quarterback Tyhree Pratt finished with a pair of touchdowns as well in the win.
Parkersburg South, meanwhile, enters postseason play at 6-4 after a couple of heart-breaking losses in a row dropped the Patriots to the No. 16 seed. After a 6-2 start, Parkersburg South fell to conference foe Wheeling Park 25-24 and then last week dropped a 17-14 decision to rival Parkersburg on a late field goal.
The Patriots are expected to be without top wideout Cody Boggs who was injured last week — Parkersburg South still has several offensive weapons, including quarterback Garrett Gilkeson and running back Brendan Schwendeman.
The winner of Friday night’s game will face either No. 9 Lewis County or No. 8 Wheeling Park next week in the quarterfinals.
No. 11 Spring Valley (7-3) at No. 6 South Charleston (8-2): Friday, 7:30 p.m.
These two teams back in the third week of the season as the Black Eagles handled an injury-filled Spring Valley team 43-14.
The Timberwolves played that game without four injured starters as South Charleston quarterback Kentre Grier ran for 132 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries, while throwing for another 135 yards and two more scores as well in the win. Dual-threat Spring Valley quarterback Tyler Brown was held to just 85 yards passing, completing just 6 of 16 attempts during the first matchup.
The Black Eagles had last week off after falling to Huntington in week 10 of the season 20-16. South Charleston on the ground will be depending on 215-pound junior CJ Perkins who has 380 yards rushing and five touchdowns on the year. Perkins is stepping into that starting role after the Black Eagles lost veteran A.D. Cunningham for the year with an ACL injury.
No. 10 Hurricane (7-3) at No. 7 Huntington (7-3): Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
After a 3-3 start to the season (all of those losses coming by a combined nine points), Huntington won four straight games to close out the season and secure a home playoff game.
The two teams met in the first week of the season as the Highlanders rolled to a 37-6 win. It’s a new-look Huntington team now, however, as the Highlanders have had to deal with the late-season loss of quarterback and standout defensive back Clark Wilson. It’s junior Dionne Jackson stepping into that quarterback role with Wilson out.
Hurricane, meanwhile, has won four of five heading into the postseason after edging Spring Valley 43-42 in the final week of the regular season. 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.
The winner of this game will face either No. 15 Parkersburg or No. 2 Cabell Midland in the quarterfinals.
CLASS AA
No. 13 Sissonville (7-3) at No. 4 Mingo Central (9-1): Friday, 7:30 p.m.
These two teams met in the opening round of the playoffs a season ago, a game that propelled Sissonville into the quarterfinals. But it was Mingo Central that won a regular season meeting between the two teams back in week three, 28-27.
Miners’ quarterback Stephen Hammond threw for 116 yards and a touchdown in the win — he rushed for 44 yards and another score as well.
That game for Sissonville was part of three straight losses before the Indians eventually won seven six straight to get into the playoffs.
“It was a great game this year and last year in the playoffs,” said Sissonville coach Eddie Smolder. “We’re looking forward to it. It’s a revenge game for us now and we’re going to be glad to wear the different hat this time. We’ve improved each week and we’re playing good football right now. They’re big up front and have some good running backs that run the ball hard. They have a good football team.”
The Indians have that one-point loss to Mingo Central, a six-point loss to Wayne and a 14-point loss to Scott. As the No. 13 seed, Sissonville has added to one of the deepest Class AA playoff fields in several years.
“We’ve been in playoff-mode for a while,” Smolder said. “Our kids have had their backs against the wall and it has brought us all together. We had to deal with some adversity and it’s a good thing — we’ve improved from that and we’re playing our best football right now. I’m excited about our chances. If we bring our A-game, we can play with anybody.”
For Mingo Central, it’ll be the school’s first home playoff game. The winner on Friday night moves on to face either No. 12 Fairmont Senior or No. 5 Wayne in quarterfinal action.
CLASS A
No. 10 Buffalo (8-2) at No. 7 Doddridge County (8-2): Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo jumped up to the No. 10 seed after beating rival Wahama for the first time since 2008, 36-18. Senior standout Jordan Tucker put his speed on display against the White Falcons, rushing for 178 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries.
Doddridge County closed out the regular season with a 22-6 loss to Parkersburg Catholic. The Bulldogs were led by Wyatt Ford who finished with 92 yards rushing in the loss, scoring his team’s lone touchdown.
Both teams lost to Tyler Consolidated on the season — a 33-30 defeat for Doddridge County and a 43-20 loss for Buffalo.
The winner of Friday’s game will face either No. 15 Man or No. 2 Tug Valley in the quarterfinals.