By: Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
AAA No. 2 Hurricane (4-0) at AAA No. 5 Spring Valley (4-1)
South Charleston dominated time of possession in the first half against Spring Valley, but the Timberwolves and Kane Morrone changed the momentum of the game as he ran back an 86-yard kickoff right before halftime to give Spring Valley a lead it would not relinquish in a 29-15 road win.
“I doubt before the game too many people predicted we would be the team running a kickoff back for a touchdown,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess joked. “It was a big momentum changer and usually that’s where the biggest plays in the game come from. Kane did a good job hitting the seam and finding some blocks downfield.”
After the intermission, Spring Valley stymied South Charleston by holding it to 15 yards of total offense.
“We really controlled the line of scrimmage,” Dingess said. “We had some long drives and made it a really physical football game.”
The matchup with undefeated Hurricane is just another one piece of Spring Valley’s gauntlet of a schedule. Friday’s Week 6 matchup with the Redskins has been named the Northside Automotive MetroNews Class AAA Game of the Week.
“They play more kids one way this year than what they have in the past,” Dingess said of Hurricane. “They’ve scaled down their offense a little bit. I know they aren’t as pass heavy as they have been. They have a couple of kids that can catch and run. James McDougale, the reigning 100-meter state champion, is the fastest kid in the state.”
And while the Redskins have been explosive on offense, averaging 35 points per game, Hurricane has been sound on defense too.
“They don’t do fancy stuff on that side of the ball, but it’s a bunch of hard-nosed kids that tackle well,” Dingess said of the Hurricane defense that shut out Brooke two weeks ago. “Coach Taylor has them believing that they are good.”
AAA No. 15 Ripley (2-3) at AAA No. 4 Huntington (4-1)
Huntington couldn’t hang onto an early 10-0 lead and then couldn’t quite complete a fourth-quarter comeback as it fell at Laidley Field to Capital, 35-18, suffering its first setback of the season.
“When we had an early lead, I didn’t think we did a good job of finishing plays on both sides of the ball,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said. “After we cut the lead to 21-18 with eight minutes left to go, we sort of ran out of gas and allowed them to get a couple of scores.”
It was the first time in five games that the Highlanders had given up more than 20 points this season.
“That’s a really good football team and for us to go on the road and compete with Capital says a lot about our football team,” Seals said. “We just made a couple of mistakes that was really the difference in the game.”
Huntington will return to Bob Sang Stadium to face an improving Ripley team that fell on the road to George Washington last week.
“Ripley is going to show us stuff that’s similar to what Cabell Midland does on offense with the backfield sets,” Seals said. “They are a hard-nosed football team that’s been in every game this season.
“Defensively, Ripley is about as sound of a football team that we will see this year and they run an odd stack,” Seals continued. “Those guys on defense have been keeping them in games all year and giving them a chance to some close games late.”
Seals spoke highly of the job Ripley coach Eddie Smolder has done in just year two in Jackson County.
“Eddie Smolder has a great job of creating a culture in that program,” Seals said. “It sort of reminds me of where Huntington was when we first took over this program. Coach Smolder has Ripley going in the right direction and we better be ready for a good opponent on Friday night.”
AAA No. 14 Cabell Midland (2-3) at Belfry, Kentucky
After consecutive losses, Cabell Midland got back in the win column in a big way with a 62-0 victory over Woodrow Wilson.
But, the schedule gets more difficult in Week 6 and again in Week 7 with Kentucky powerhouse Belfry and then a matchup with Huntington.
“It’s been a tough season for us, but at the same time we knew we had to work every week to get better,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “Young kids are continuing to step up. We had never been in a 1-3 situation before, but the kids are playing with a lot of heart and desire every game.
“Ivan Vaughn is just a sophomore and he’s got more yards to this point in the season than we’ve ever had,” Salmons said. “The whole offense is starting to click and get better. They’ve been able to overcome some of the early mistakes they made.”
The Knights get another strong challenge this week with a road trip to the defending Class AAA Kentucky state champions.
“We know how good Belfry is,” Salmons said. “They have a good program that’s proven. They’ve been doing the same thing there for a long time. They have three linemen that are capable of playing Division I football with good backs running the ball.
“We have to understand that we are playing a really good football team in a really tough environment,” he continued. “It’s going to be a huge challenge for our kids, but we can’t get caught up in that.”
Parkersburg South (2-3) at AA No. 4 Point Pleasant (5-0)
Point Pleasant slowed down the high-powered Mount View offense to the tune of 22 points, while the Big Blacks put 65 points of their own on the board in a road victory.
“Defensively, I thought we did a good job of handling those big wide receivers,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst.
The Big Blacks are in the midst of a tough stretch with games against Mount View, Parkersburg South and Bluefield.
“We didn’t play well against Parkersburg South on the road last year and our kids remember that,” Darst said.
This year, Point Pleasant will welcome the Patriots to Mason County on homecoming.
“Parkersburg South’s offense reminds me a lot of us,” Darst said. “They do a lot of things we do and they do it well. Defensively, they are active and they are coming after you from every direction. I saw film on them in their first game of the season when they played Ripley and I’ve watched film on them from their game last week and they are improving every week,”
The three losses for the Patriots have come against Morgantown, University and Ripley, with the losses against UHS and Ripley coming by a combined 14 points.
“They are the kind of team that if they catch a break or two they are going to take the ball to the house,” Darst said. “They have a huge running back in the backfield. Their quarterback is doing a good job of making decisions on when to run the ball and when to pass it. Their defense has held them in some games and I think their offense is starting to come around.”
AA No. 5 Mingo Central (4-0) at Wayne (1-3)
Mingo Central quarterback Jeremy Dillon had quite the night against Nitro as he threw for 462 yards and seven touchdowns, with three scores going to Drew Hatfield, as the Miners rolled to a 60-6 win.
“He could have thrown for more yards,” Mingo Central head coach Yogi Kinder said. “He had one touchdown dropped and two more called back on penalties. The only thing I would like to see him do more is protecting the ball.”
At the half way point of the season, the Miners’ passing game, led by Dillon, is firing on all cylinders, but Kinder knows the running game has to continue to improve as well.
“I know you have to be able to run the ball late in the season when the weather gets cold and the balls get hard, but throwing the ball makes everything easier,” he said. “We have three or four kids that can catch it. We can be very balanced, but we have been working our passing game and it’s been paying off.”
Meanwhile, Wayne had a potential win fall out of its grasp last week as Winfield stopped a late Pioneers’ drive to hang on for a 23-22 victory.
Kinder is looking to Wayne’s overall tradition, not the Pioneers’ 1-3 record through four games.
“When we become a school, Wayne was the team to beat in Class AA along with Bridgeport,” Kinder said. “They whipped us pretty dang good the first couple of years. We didn’t like it, but we didn’t feel bad either. They have a bunch of good, young players. They are always ready to play especially when they play at home.
“We know Wayne has to win to keep their playoff hopes alive and we know they will be out to beat us,” he continued. “Wayne has a lot better football team than its record shows I can guarantee that.”
AA No. 14 Man (3-1) at Lincoln County (0-4)
Man goes on the road coming out of its bye week as it takes on Lincoln County.
Before the open date, the Hillbillies were on the winning end of a 7-0 overtime game at River View.
It was the second overtime game of the season for Man after it defeated Mount View, 45-44, in Week 2.
Lincoln County, meanwhile, will look to get on track after falling on the road, 31-8, at Princeton prior to its own bye week.
Chapmanville (3-2) at Nitro (1-3)
After starting the season 0-2, Chapmanville has rallied around first-year head coach Rob Dial and picked up three straight wins, including a convincing 29-8 win over rival Logan in Week 5.
Tristan Browning rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns in the win for the Tigers. Chapmanville, meanwhile, was stingy on defense as it held Logan’s David Early to 90 yards through the air.
The win over Logan marked the third straight in this long-running rivalry for the Tigers.
Entering Week 6, Chapmanville sets on the heels of the playoff picture as it checks in tied for 17th with Keyser.
Richwood (0-5) at A No. 13 Van (4-1)
Van went into Fayette County and won a matchup of previous one-loss teams as the Bulldogs downed Midland Trail 35-20.
The Bulldogs will come home to play a winless Richwood team this week, but a huge rivalry game with Sherman looms on the road in Week 7.
After this week’s game, Van closes the season with Sherman, Cameron and Man – all teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. The Bulldogs also have two bye weeks in the final five weeks of the season.
Sheldon Clark, Kentucky at A No. 13 Sherman (4-1)
Speaking of Sherman, the Tide got back on track with a road win at Wirt County, 59-6.
Like many teams in the southwestern coalfields, Sherman added Sheldon Clark, Kentucky to its schedule in 2016.
The two teams have never met dating back to 2004.
Tug Valley (3-2) at A No. 4 Buffalo
Tug Valley was limited to 16 points in a loss against Tolsia, 36-16, as the Panthers fell out of the playoff ratings for the time being.
TVHS will be looking to bounce back from last week’s defeat as well as last year’s loss to Buffalo in which the Bison shut out Tug Valley, 19-0.
Other Games:
Hannan (1-3) at Bishop Donahue (3-1)
Bye Week:
A No. 5 Tolsia (3-1)
Logan (3-2)
Scott (1-4)