By: Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
Several teams can take huge leaps forward and advance their playoff chances with wins in showdown games this week. All games set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, unless otherwise noted:
John Marshall (4-1) at Parkersburg South (3-2) (7:00)
If Parkersburg South head coach Mike Eddy could change the end result of just a few plays in his team’s two losses this season, his team would probably be 5-0. But he can’t do that. None of us have that power, last time I checked.
The Patriots hit new levels of frustrating in a 27-20 loss Friday to Point Pleasant at the sparsely-populated Erickson All-Sports Facility. What makes the loss so difficult for South are the number of chances the Patriots had late to change their fortunes and erase a 21-6 deficit.
That included a fourth quarter no-catch that was instead ruled a catch and fumble to end a South possession inside the five-yard line? (And the video’s here on this website…see for yourself?) A season-high ten penalties – the third time this year the Patriots have hit double-digits – killed South drives and came seemingly at all the wrong times.
There were highlights for the Patriots, most notably, Josh Wolfe’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown. Parkersburg South will look to turn this around when they stay at home this week to face a resurgent John Marshall team that almost knocked off the Patriots in Moundsville last year. T
he Monarchs advanced to 4-1 in a 63-6 rout of Buckeye Local, Ohio. Both teams are desperately in need of a win to boost their chances of hosting a home playoff game, or maybe, even reaching the Field of 16.
Given their tendency for mistakes to this point in the season, the fact the Patriots will be home for just the third time all year and the urgency this game presents, this may well be the week where Parkersburg South irons out the wrinkles. This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
St. Marys (5-0) at Calhoun (4-2) (7:00)
The Blue Devils stayed perfect on the season in a 22-6 win over rival Williamstown in a game that, truthfully, wasn’t as close for most of the game as the scoreboard would indicate. Despite being outgained 270-218, the game was largely played on the St. Marys end of the field. The poise with which the Blue Devils operate on offense made the difference.
St. Marys looked like a team with plenty of options on every down. Williamstown looked like a team that will have those options by the time the playoffs arrive, but they just weren’t there last Friday. Bret Fetty ran for a touchdown and caught one from Will Billeter on a night where Fetty ran for 100 yards. Braden Barnhart ran for the other St. Marys score.
For the first time since Week 2, St. Marys hits the road to face Calhoun County. The Red Devils got out to a quick 4-0 start, but have since fallen to reality in back-to-back losses to Tyler Consolidated and South Harrison. St. Marys looks every bit as good on both sides of the ball – with a much-improved kicking game – than the team that went to Wheeling Island last December.
Although Calhoun is better than they’ve been in recent years – a 70-0 loss to St. Marys in 2012 is a distant memory – they just don’t have the talent to be on the same level as the Blue Devils. But things are encouraging for the Calhoun County Red Devils, and look for continued growth in this program.
This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R and online at www.literock93r.com.
Buffalo (5-0) at Wirt County (2-3) (7:00)
Wirt County suffered a 20-8 loss to Doddridge County in a true toss-up game for the Tigers. After an eight-yard Cam Nelson touchdown run pulled the Tigers to within six points early in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs got a late insurance score to seal away their second straight win.
Opportunity looms large this week for the Tigers, as they welcome unbeaten Buffalo to Elizabeth. Buffalo stayed undefeated with a 19-0 blanking of Tug Valley. Wirt County can get right back in the playoff race, and shuffle the Class A pecking order, with an upset win this week.
If the Tigers are to shock the state, they’ll need to do more offensively than they did against Doddridge County. Wirt managed just 216 yards of total offense. They’ll need to do a little more than that to pull this upset.
Toronto, Ohio (5-1) at Paden City (1-4) (7:00)
Paden City’s one win is a one-point victory in their season opener. Toronto comes in with an offense that’s scored five touchdowns or more in four of their six games this season. The only loss this year for the Red Knights came two weeks ago in a 14-9 setback to Shadyside.
The one knock on Toronto is their remarkably weak schedule. The Knights don’t have anyone they’ve played – or anyone left, for that matter – with more than two wins this season. Toronto will prevail this week, simply for lack of challenge and for the fact that in the always-tough Ohio Division 7, Region 23, it’ll take nine wins with that soft of a schedule for the Red Knights to lock up a playoff spot.
This game can be heard locally on WXCR-FM (92.3 FM) and online at www.wxcr.com.
Lincoln (4-1) at Ritchie County (0-6)
Ritchie County may have watched their best chance for a victory this season go by the wayside in a 39-21 loss to previously-winless Ravenswood. This week, after a few weeks away from home, the Rebels return home to welcome four-win Lincoln.
They’ll come into this matchup off a bye week that followed a 12-7 loss to Class A South Harrison. Lincoln opened the season with wins against four struggling programs before the loss and bye week. With stiffer tests down the road like Roane County (next week) and Robert C. Byrd (Week 10), the time is now for Lincoln to stockpile wins – a task that shouldn’t be too hard this week against a rebuilding group of Rebels.
Roane County (5-1) at Clay County (3-2)
With bonus points against a Class AAA opponent at stake, Roane County came away with a 40-20 win over Lincoln County. At 5-1, this looks like one of the strongest Raiders teams in recent memory.
Aside from a season-opening loss to Wirt County (one that, honestly, looks like a bit of a head-scratcher at this point), this team has played improving defense and has displayed a prolific offense led by touchdown machine Tyler May. This week’s opponent is Clay County. The Panthers are above .500, but have struggled against their strongest opponents early in the season.
For Clay, this game will be the test to see if those early issues have disappeared or if they just aren’t at the level to knock off stronger foes. Roane County has a showdown next week with Lincoln, and a matchup with Williamstown at the end of the year, so this is an important one for the Raiders to grab as well. May will likely, once again, be the difference-maker.
Other Games:
St. Albans (1-4) at Parkersburg (1-4)
Ravenswood (1-4) at Braxton County (3-3)
South Charleston (2-3) at Ripley (1-4)
Wahama (2-4) at Eastern, Ohio (2-4)