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It’s Championship Week!

It’s the final week of the high school season and at weeks end, the state will have crowned three champions and at least two of the three will be different than last year.

In last year’s championship games, the Bridgeport Indians won the Class AA title on a very cold and very snowy Friday night in Wheeling as they defeated the Wayne Pioneers 14-13!  The afternoon sun came out the following day and warmed everything up enough so that players, coaches, fans and broadcasters could enjoy a superbly played Class AAA championship game that saw Martinsburg win their 4th straight title as they narrowly defeated Huntington 9-7.  The cold air of December returned that same night in Wheeling as Madonna defeated Greenbrier West 24-14 to grab the Class A State title.  When the games kick off this Friday night, we are looking at the weekend’s only possible repeat champion as Bridgeport will battle Frankfort.

Bridgeport, the top ranked team in Class AA, will be trying to win their 8th State Championship in football and their 5th in the Class AA ranks.  It has been the defense that has played the biggest part in the Indian’s success this season as their only loss came back in September in the second week of the season when they traveled to Wheeling Island Stadium and lost by four to Class AAA Wheeling Park.  Since then, Bridgeport has won eleven in a row and during that time the defense is averaging giving up just a little over 8 points per game.  However, in the semi-final game this past Saturday afternoon, the offense found some rhythm as Bridgeport ran past Wayne 48-7!  This Friday night, the Indians will tangle with the #2 seed in the Class AA field as the Frankfort Falcons will be playing in their first state football championship in school history.  Falcons Head Coach Kevin Whiteman is in his 7th year as the head football coach and he say’s the “excitment is over whelming for everyone involved in the program.”  Frankfort’s playoff run has been impressive as the Falcons have outscored #15 Wyoming East, #7 Nicholas County and #6 Westside a combined 114-36, a per game average of 38-12.  Frankfort looks to 6’7, 205 .lb quarterback Gage Shaffer for a lot of leadership on both sides of the ball.

In the Class AAA game scheduled for high noon on Saturday, it will be the very familiar orange and black colors on the sideline at Wheeling Island Stadium, however the name on the jersey has changed.  Over the last four years, the orange and black has been worn by the Martinsburg Bulldogs, however this past Saturday their reign came to an end as the #1 seeded Cougars of Capital eliminated Martinsburg 35-7!  But, as mentioned the orange and black will still be on the sidelines this Saturday and the team name is South Charleston.  The 6th seeded Black Eagles defeated #7 Huntington in the semi-finals 35-21 to avenge an earlier late season loss to the Highlanders.  For Capital and South Charleston it will be a rematch of a game played on September 26th that saw the Cougars prevail 45-21.

In the final game of the weekend, the top ranked and undefeated Blue Devils of St. Marys will be in the Class A championship game for the first time in school history.  Riding high this season with a great mix of a high scoring offense and a shut down defense, the Blue Devils have defeated eight playoff teams this season and own a narrow two point win over their opponent this weekend.  It was on October 3rd when St. Marys traveled the short distance to Williamstown and defeated the Yellow Jackets 20-18.  The 6th seeded Yellow Jackets will be looking to turn the tables on the Blue Devils this Saturday night and win their 2nd Class A State Title.  Williamstown is making their 7th appearance in the championship game, having won it all in 2008 when they defeated last year’s champ Madonna.

This will be the 21st year the fine folks in Wheeling have hosted the Super Six and hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will all be treated to three great championship games.  Just a reminder, if you can’t make the trip to the Northern Panhandle, the MetroNews Radio Network will be there and have all three championship games live on many radio stations across the state.  If you can’t find the broadcast in your area, the games will also be streamed live at wvmetronews.com.







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