By: Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
AAA No. 3 Capital (6-1) at AAA No. 2 Spring Valley (7-1)
Spring Valley rolled up 47 points in a 41-point win over Ripley in Week 8, setting up a showdown of top three teams in Wayne County Friday night.
“We scored 26 points on them real quick and were able to pull the starters out with about six minutes left to go in the second quarter,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said.
“I was glad that we got off to a fast start. The last couple of games we’ve finished strong, but haven’t started as fast. It was good for us to go out and take care of business.”
Spring Valley welcomes Capital for what Timberwolves’ quarterback Derek Johnson called the biggest game played at the Wolves Den.
“It should be a crazy environment and we should have record numbers there,” Johnson said. “We knew coming into the season that this would be a big game and it’s the biggest game so far, No. 2 vs. No. 3. Our practices have been going a little longer and a little harder this week. We’re just getting ready.”
While Johnson, who is 59 rushing yards shy of 1,000 yards for the season, and Capital quarterback Kerry Martin, Jr. will likely capture the headlines, this contest may very well be won in the trenches.
“Everyone wants to talk about their speed, but I think they are really good up front,” Dingess said. “They can use that line to go power football on people. I think they are underrated on defense as far as people talking about them. I think this is the best defensive team we will play this season.”
However, the Timberwolves, themselves, own the second-best defense in Class AAA in terms of points allowed. Spring Valley has only given up 99 points in 2016.
“Every time the offense comes off the field, we know our defense is going to stop them,” Johnson said. “I think we have the best defense in the state.”
In Dingess’s best estimation, the team that wins the line of scrimmage walks away with a critical win Friday night as potential for home field advantage throughout the playoffs will be on the line.
“I think pound-for-pound, it’s a pretty even matchup,” Dingess said. “Capital rotates in a lot of defensive linemen, so they stay fresh as the game goes on. It’s going to be a little bit of a chess match.”
AAA No. 6 Huntington (6-2) at AAA No. 10 South Charleston (4-3)
While Huntington has playmakers all over the field, perhaps, the biggest weapon for the Highlanders is its place-kicker/punter Cason Kessinger.
With Huntington clinging to a 17-13 lead against Hurricane last week, Kessinger booted away a punt that sailed inside the Hurricane 20-yard line. A big hit by Huntington on the return and an Andrew Spears fumble recovery for a touchdown with under three minutes left in the game gave Huntington a 24-13 lead as it secured win number six on the season.
“Cason Kessinger was huge for us,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said of Kessinger’s ability to kick a 41-yard field goal and pin Hurricane inside the 20 three times on punts.
“Field position is always huge in a game like that and we felt as though we won the field position battle.”
Huntington’s opponent this week barely got out of St. Albans with a win as South Charleston escaped with a 39-38 win over the Red Dragons.
“It’s a typical South Charleston team that has kids making plays all over the field,” Seals said. “They are big, rangy athletes. The biggest difference between us and a South Charleston or a Capital is the fact we have kids that are 5-10 or 5-11 and they have 6-3, 6-4 guys,”
A win over South Charleston would virtually lock up a home playoff game for the Highlanders with a Week 10 matchup against Woodrow Wilson to close the season.
“For us, a win on Friday night would put us in the driver seat for a home playoff game,” Seals said. “Our kids understand that concept.”
And Seals also knows the Black Eagles aren’t going to commit the number of mistakes they did against St. Alans when they turned the ball over eight times.
“If South Charleston is going to have eight turnovers and still win the football game, they aren’t going to do it two weeks in a row,” Seals said. “Whenever we play South Charleston, it’s a close ballgame.”
A No. 8 Van (6-1) at A No. 6 Cameron (7-0)
Van running back Brady Grant has been a mainstay for the Bulldogs over the last two seasons that has seen Van go 12-5 in regular season games, but the biggest reason for the hot start in 2016 for the Bulldogs has been their offensive line.
“Our biggest improvement is up front on the offensive line,” Van head coach Steve Price said. “We have four new linemen. They are starting to understand things a lot better—probably more than in years past.”
Van is coming off a big 30-13 win over in-county rival Sherman before a bye week.
“When it got to crunch time in the fourth quarter, he made the right decisions, pulled the down and got a couple of crucial first downs for us,” Price said of his quarterback Caleb Green.
“I can’t praise our guys enough. We usually have around 25 guys each year with 13 or 14 of them going both ways. They play their hearts out every night.”
With the emotional win behind it, Van can now concentrate on an important game that forces the Bulldogs to travel 210 miles to Marshall County.
Last season, Grant ran for five touchdowns in a 46-20 win over Cameron in Boone County.
“Last year, Cameron did things we typically don’t see in southern West Virginia with spread offense and the reads,” Price said. “Luckily, a couple of teams on our schedule have switched to that type of offense.”
The winner of this game will position itself for a potential home playoff game as Van finishes the regular season against Man in two weeks.
AA No. 3 Point Pleasant (7-0) at Man (4-3)
Point Pleasant turned a narrow halftime lead into a substantial 45-24 win two weeks ago against Bluefield as the Big Blacks remained perfect prior to its bye week.
“We worked on our offense a lot,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst said of the open date. “We tried to get some things fixed. The big thing for us is taking a look at building depth. We spent a lot of time with our younger kids.”
Point Pleasant travels to Man to face a team that could easily be 6-1 heading into this game.
In their last two games, the Hillbilles let a first half lead against Chapmanville slip away, while a fourth-quarter special teams touchdown by Bluefield cost Man last week, 24-21.
“Man is a big, strong football team that loves the power running game,” Darst said. “The offensive line is absolutely huge. They play four across the front on defense and are very active.”
“They were in both the Bluefield and Chapmanvilles game and could have won both of them,” Darst said alluding to Man’s near misses the last two weeks. “They are one of those football teams where we better take care of the football and execute because if we don’t they will get things going and it’ll be a long night for us.”
St. Albans (1-7) at AAA No. 12 Cabell Midland (4-4)
Cabell Midland carried the momentum of its victory over Huntington two weeks ago to a 56-8 win over Parkersburg in Week 8.
“I’m excited that we have our kids in the right spot,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said of his team reaching .500. “We are usually rolling at this point in the season, but we are playing really well right now. Our kids are playing the best they have all year.”
With its brutal schedule, a fifth win for the Knights would most likely secure a playoff spot—Cabell Midland has 7-2 Jackson, Ohio to close the season next week.
And while CMHS is in a somewhat unfamiliar spot, Salmons has embraced it.
“We’ve had teams that have been ranked number one or two,” Salmons explained. “These kids have grown so much because we had to replace so many kids. But the expectations never change for us. Our kids are enjoying themselves here in Week 9.”
St. Albans nearly knocked off South Charleston last week, so Salmons knows the Red Dragons are capable.
“We have to be prepared for everything they are going to throw at us,” Salmons said. Their quarterback Carter Lantz is a playmaker.”
AA No. 3 Mingo Central (7-0) at Scott (2-5)
Mingo Central made short work of Chapmanville in a battle of top 10 teams as the Miners rolled to a 47-8 home win.
“I thought it was going to be a little better game than what it ended up being,” Mingo Central head coach Yogi Kinder said. “Chapmanville had been playing really well the last five games. We got after them early and changed the tone of the game.”
Scott has won two of its last three games and appears to be gaining some momentum as it host the undefeated Miners.
“We saw Scott early in the season at the conference grid-o-rama and I thought they were the second or third best team there,” Kinder said. “I know they took a couple of losses early, but I figured by the time we played them it was going to be a big football game.”
A No. 4 Tolsia (5-1) at Braxton County (3-4)
Tolsia got past a scrappy Scott team, 28-8, to run its record to 5-1.
This week finishes up the road portion of the schedule for the Rebels that seen trips into Mingo, Wyoming, McDowell and now Braxton Countyt.
The win at home against Scott was just the second time the Rebels played in Fort Gay this season.
After the contest in north central West Virginia, Tolsia comes home to finish the season against Boyd County, Kentucky before the regular season finale against Williamstown.
AA No. 6 Sissonville (6-1) at Logan (3-4)
Logan could not hold onto an early 8-6 lead on the road against Greenbrier East last week.
After starting 3-0, the Wildcats have lost four in a row and are in search of a marquee win against Sissonville.
While Logan isn’t completely eliminated from the postseason race, the Wildcats must win out and get some help as they sit tied for 24th in the WVSSAC Class AA Ratings.
AA No. 13 Winfield (5-2) at Chapmanville (5-3)
After falling to Mingo Central 47-8 last week, Chapmanville is in must-win mode in its final two games of the season with no guarantees of a 6-4 team making the final 16 in Class AA.
The loss against Mingo Central also snapped a five-game win streak for the Tigers.
Heading into the matchup against Winfield, the Tigers have only win against a team above .500 this season, Man. A victory over the Generals would go a long way for Chapmanville as it has a date with one-win Wayne to close out the season in Week 10.
Even though the Tigers were 10th in the Class AA Ratings at the start of last week, CRHS fell just one spot out of the postseason race to 17th.
A No. 13 Sherman (6-2) at Greenbrier West (2-5)
The Tide got back on track as they won with ease against Phelps, Kentucky, 51-22.
Week 8’s victory clinched a winning season for Sherman for the first time since 2009.
Sherman closes the season with two-win squads Greenbrier West and River View, but in the final week of the season the Tide will have to sit and wait to find out their postseason fate.
Other Games:
Poca (0-8) at Wayne (1-6)
Nitro (1-6) at Lincoln County (1-6)
A No. 7 Gilmer County (7-0) at Hannan (1-6)
Montcalm (1-6) at Tug Valle (5-3)