Keyser at Bridgeport highlights Week 7 in the Eastern Panhandle

Eastern Panhandle Report New03

By: Michael Minnich

Mineral Daily News Tribune

For the first time this season, Eastern Panhandle football will be fully contained in the Mountain State. And a Class AA showdown is the headliner.

 

AA No. 8 Keyser (5-1) at AA No. 1 Bridgeport (5-0-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.

It’s a game that lost quite a bit of luster with Keyser’s surprising 17-14 loss at rainy Rannells Field to Hampshire last week, but it’s still a very meaningful game in the Class AA race as the two schools continue a regular season rivalry that started in 2012 when Bridgeport dropped down a class.

Keyser won twice that year, in the regular season and again in the playoff semifinals. That was the last time Bridgeport lost to a Class AA foe; the Indians have rolled to the last two state championships, with AAA Wheeling Park the only team to get the better of them.

Bridgeport defeated Keyser in 2014, 31-6.
Bridgeport defeated Keyser in 2014, 31-6.

The Indians hung 71 points on Elkins last week and haven’t been held under 48 all year.

Keyser just never got going last week, struggling to get its outside running game and passing attack rolling in the rain.

In last year’s game, Bridgeport spoiled Keyser’s celebration of 100 years of the football program, wearing down the Golden Tornado in the second half of a 31-6 victory.

 

Tucker County (3-3) at A No. 6 East Hardy (4-1), Friday, 7:30 p.m.

East Hardy has a quick turnaround after losing at Pendleton County, 18-13, on Monday after rains prevented the game from being played on Friday.

Tucker County has won two in a row against AA-sized schools, edging Philip Barbour, 19-16, and then taking care of Southern Garrett (Md.), 32-16, last week.

East Hardy won last year’s game, 28-14.

 

Spring Mills (3-2) at AAA No. 8 Jefferson (4-1), Friday, 7 p.m.

Jefferson righted the ship nicely last week, rebounding from its only loss of the season to blank Handley (Va.), 39-0.

Jeremy Beach scored three touchdowns to lead the Cougars.

Spring Mills picked a great week to be off, resting last week while the rains fell around the region.

The two met in the season opener last year, a 48-24 Jefferson triumph.

 

Musselman (3-3) at Hedgesville (1-5), Friday, 7 p.m.

Musselman gave a ranked Morgantown team everything it could handle, building an 16-0 lead in the first half.

But a 60-yard touchdown pass from Zayne Hern to Kody Shearer with seconds remaining in the first half turned the tide in the Mohigans’ favor, and doomed Musselman to a 29-19 loss.

Hedgesville had their own business against a team from the Mon Valley, and took care of it—ending a 20-game losing streak with a 19-7 victory over Preston.

The Eagles scored all 19 of their points in the second half, a run sparked by Gavin Smoot’s 80-yard kickoff return to begin the third quarter.

 

Berkeley Springs (1-4) at Petersburg (3-3), Friday, 7 p.m.

Berkeley Springs could only manage a late touchdown against a well-oiled Moorefield machine, losing 33-7 last week under the weight of 241 rushing yards from Wil Schoonover.

Petersburg continues to improve under first-year coach Kevin Board: from 0-10 last year, the Vikings have a chance to nose over .500 on Friday after defeating Philip Barbour last week, 32-7.

Berkeley Springs won last year’s game in this series, 40-8.

 

Hampshire (1-4) at Buckhannon-Upshur (1-4), Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Very few people were giving Hampshire a chance last week. After all, the Trojans were winless and the Keyser Golden Tornado, undefeated.

But that’s why they play the games: quarterback Jordan Grapes scored the eventual winning touchdown in the fourth quarter from 16 yards out and Evan Staley was huge on special teams, nailing a 47-yard field goal in the rain to end the second quarter and punting effectively to pin KHS deep all night.

End result: Hampshire 17, Keyser 14, and the end of a 13-game losing streak in the series.

The Trojans will look to sustain the momentum against a Buckhannon-Upshur club that has lost three straight, including a 40-15 result against Lewis County last week.

 

Washington (1-4) at Frankfort (1-5), Friday, 7:30 p.m.

Washington put together its best effort ever against Martinsburg last week, but it was still a loss: 16-6.

PJ Bowlin scored a late 21-yard touchdown for the Patriots.

Frankfort, short-handed to begin with this season, have struggled with injuries and fell on Homecoming night to Mountain Ridge (Md.), 41-6, last week. Kyle Lee scored on a 60-yard interception return for the Falcons.

The two schools did not meet last year, but will resume a series that Frankfort controlled in the early days of Washington’s existence, but that swung the Patriots’ way in 2012 and 2013.

 

BYES: A No. 3 Moorefield (5-0) continues to roll; their 26-point victory at Berkeley Springs was actually their second-closest win of the year. They’ll have an extra week to prepare for what should be a great cross-county game at East Hardy next time out, while AAA No. 4 Martinsburg (4-2) is at Hedgesville next week after polishing off Washington, 16-6, last week.

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