By: Wes McKinney
No. 3 AA Mingo Central (1-0) at No. 7 AA Tolsia (1-0)
Tolsia was the high school football darling across West Virginia in week one as the Rebels earned the program’s biggest victory in quite some time, toppling Wayne 49-34 on its home field.
Tolsia got five rushing touchdowns combined from quarterback Seth McMillion and running back Luke Presley.
The win catapulted Tolsia into the top 10 of the Metronews Power Rankings.
Now, the Rebels get to face a top five team in the rankings for the second straight week in Mingo Central, who easily disposed of Wyoming East 59-7 last week.
The Miners received 319 total yards (247 passing, 72 rushing) and a plethora of touchdowns from quarterback Stevie Hammond.
“I like the way we hustled to the football,“ Mingo Central head coach Yogi Kinder said. “Our passing game is much improved, too.’
And beating the Rebels and getting off to a 2-0 start could go a long way in the Miners getting to one its goals, winning the Cardinal Conference.
“This is a big game in the Cardinal Conference,” Kinder said. “Every week in the conference there’s a tough team waiting for you. This conference is deeper than it has been in the four years we’ve been in it.
“Wayne has been the team to beat, but it’s also tough to beat other teams,” Kinder continued. “We think we have as good as chance as anyone to win this conference.”
Spring Valley (0-1) at No. 7 AAA Huntington (1-0)
In one of the best games of the 2014, Spring Valley outlasted Huntington 35-34 in overtime.
Friday night, the two programs separated by 10 miles, renew their rivalry.
“Coach Seals does a good job,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said of the Huntington program. “We had a barn-burner with them last year and I’m sure there’s still some emotion left over.”
Meanwhile, the respect is mutual from Seals’ prospective.
“I think it’s in the back of our kids’ mind, but we have to come out and play against one of the best coaches in the MSAC,” Seals said of last year’s thriller. “Coach Dingess does a lot of fabulous things with his kids and I have the utmost respect of Spring Valley and coach Brad Dingess.”
Spring Valley will try to get back on track after a disappointing week one loss to Cabell Midland.
“It was a seven-point ball game with about three minutes left to go in the third quarter,” Dingess explained. “We let them convert on a big 4th-and-8 and then gave the ball right back on a three-and-out. You can’t do that when they have that many weapons offensively. We’re a young ball club. You got to fight through adversity and that comes with experience.”
Meanwhile, Huntington escaped the northern panhandle with a 17-13 win over Brooke after a late turnover by the Bruins and a Huntington score with under two minutes left in the game.
“We felt like if we could score in that situation and put the pressure on them with under two minutes left to go, we felt good about our chances,” Seals said.
Two of the more important players on display for each squad Friday night will be Spring Valley’s Skylar Ratliff and Huntington’s Ryan Gattrell.
“They probably have the best linebacker in the state in the Gattrell kid,” Dingess said. “They are patient on offense. They aren’t fancy, but very patient. We got to play four quarters.”
As for Huntington stopping Ratliff, “They try to get him the ball as much as possible,” Seals said.
“I think Spring Valley is as good at the skill set as they have been in a while. They aren’t quite as big as they normally are. They still have some lineman that can move their feet. Defensively, I think their front seven is pretty dang good. So we’re going to have to play our best to win.”
Ripley (0-1) at No. 5 AAA Point Pleasant (1-0)
Point Pleasant cruised to a 62-7 opening week win over Lincoln County as the Big Blacks piled up 531 yards on the ground including 172 yards and four touchdowns from Cody Mitchell.
Running backs Grant Safford and Sheb Harris also reached the century mark on the ground as well.
“You can’t have enough running back in high school football,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst said. “A lot of injuries and a lot of things happen throughout a season. It’s nice that we can move kids around and give people different looks.”
Point Pleasant will now shift its attention to the rivalry game with Ripley with the Old Oaken Bucket up for grabs.
Just 30 miles along Route 2 separate the two schools in a rivalry that dates back to 1932.
And just one game into the Eddie Smoulder era at Ripley, Darst has already seen a culture shift in the Vikings football program.
“I’m seeing an Eddie Smoulder let’s get tough football team,” Darst said. “He’s bringing that type of mentality back to the Ripley program. It’s a ball control team. They are more physical than what they’ve been in the past.”
But like most rivalries, a lot of pride will be on the line Friday night.
“Our kids will be jacked up and I’m sure the Ripley kids will be jacked up, too,” Darst said. “Our communities are only separated by 30 miles, and our communities both love football, so it should be a fun time.”
No. 10 AA Chapmanville (1-0) at Herbert Hoover (0-1)
Chapmanville jumped out to an early lead against perennial Class AA playoff favorite, Sissonville, and then eased its way to a 30-6 home-opening win over the Indians.
“We played well early in the game, then made a few adjustments here and there,” Chapmanville head coach George Barker said. “We did a great job of playing defense in the second half.”
The Tigers will be looking for their first 2-0 start to the season since 2011, the same season Chapmanville advanced to the Class AA semifinals.
However, the Tigers will face a Herbert Hoover team looking for its own 2-0 start after defeating Scott 39-12 in week one.
“They have an excellent running attack,” Barker said. “The fullback, running back and quarterback can all run the ball really well. We have to play assignment on defense and offensively we need to execute our gameplan.”
No. 4 AAA Cabell Midland (1-0) at Winfield (0-1)
Cabell Midland imposed its will in week one as the Knights outrushed Spring Valley 334-81.
Running back Devin Stapleton single-handedly outgained the Timberwolves as he ran for 112 yards and three touchdowns in Cabell Midland’s 41-6 win.
Caperton Humphrey tacked on an additional 84 yards in the win.
“We were a little nervous not knowing how the kids would play and having to replace a lot of kids,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “We have things to improve on, but I think a lot of teams will say that after week one. It’s a good thing to be able to improve after the first game. Most of our (corrections) are small like timing issues. I thought our defense played well and tackled well. Our offense played better as the game went on.”
The Knights will stay on the road for the second straight week as they travel to Winfield.
“They are always very well-coached,“ Salmons said. “They do a nice job of fighting off blocks. Both of their inside linebackers play hard every single play.”
Meadow Bridge (0-1) at No. 5 A Tug Valley (1-0)
After a slow start Friday, Tug Valley ended up beating Sherman 36-7 to open the season with a win.
“We had a lot of kids step up and make some plays for us,” Tug Valley head coach Tony Clusky said. “It was a typical first game for us, but I thought we played fairly well.”
Now, the Panthers will face one of the better Class A programs of the last decade in Meadow Bridge.
“They have an excellent tailback and I think they will ride him as much as they can,” Clusky said. “The offensive line does an great job of blocking for him. They get out in front and block people. They try to ball control you.”
Sissonville (0-1) at No. 9 AA Wayne (1-0)
Despite running an almost unheard of 82 offensive plays, Wayne stumbled out of the gate in week one as it was stunned by Wayne County rival Tolsia, 49-34.
Junior running back Logan Queen paced the Wayne rushing attack with 184 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow junior running back Kade Sebastian added two touchdowns and an additional 74 yards on the ground.
Senior Cody Stiltner will look to get back on track after being held to 53 yards rushing.
In recent years, Wayne has owned the series against Sissonville having won nine in a row including a gritty 20-14 win a season ago
No. 10 A Man (1-0) at Mount View (1-0)
Man made it back-to-back wins over its Class AAA Logan County rival as the Hillbillies stymied Logan 18-13 in a low-scoring defensive battle.
Now, Man will take on a Mount View squad that got a huge win of its own over McDowell County rival River View, 50-0 on opening week.
Last season at home, Man got a comfortable 40-6 win against the Golden Knights.
Other Games:
Lincoln County (0-1) at Scott (0-1)
Calhoun County (1-0) at Sherman (0-1)
Logan (0-1) at Shady Spring (0-1)
Bye Week:
Hannan (0-1)