Every week on the MetroNews Radio Network we spend a lot of time on the high school football athletes, their coaches and the games played under those Friday night lights. We have three shows each week that are devoted to high school football talk. Those shows are HIGH SCHOOL SPORTSLINE, which airs on Wednesday night from 7:06p to 9:00p and is hosted by Garrett Cullen, Dave Jecklin and me. On Friday night from 9:30 to Midnight, it’s GAMENIGHT hosted by Dave Jecklin and me. And, on Saturday mornings we recap all of the games from the previous night on HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD, hosted by Dave Jecklin and me. Now I told you all of this to let you know this week’s column is for Dave Jecklin, our self-proclaimed “Numbers Nerd”! Dave can throw more numbers out in the above five hours of network programming than you can fathom! So, let’s add a few more! As you can see, the title of this week’s article is 9-9-24. The first “9” relates to the number of undefeated teams in the state as we head into the 10th week of regular season action. Class AAA still has 1 undefeated team…..Martinsburg (9-0). Class AA has 3 teams that have yet to lose…..Bridgeport (9-0)…..Mingo Central (8-0)….and, Point Pleasant (8-0). In Class A, we still have five teams with a “0” on the right side of the won/loss column……Cameron (8-0)….East Hardy (8-0)…..Fayetteville (9-0)…..Gilmer County (8-0) and St. Marys (8-0)! Now the second “9” in the title of this weeks article relates to the number of win-less teams in the state. In Class AAA we have 2 teams still looking for that first win….Hampshire (0-8) and Washington (0-8). In Class AA, there are 3 teams that are struggling this season……Oak Hill (0-8)…..Phillip Barbour (0-8) and Poca (0-9). In Class A that win-less number of teams stands at 4…..Hundred (0-7)……Meadow Bridge (0-7)…Richwood (0-8) and Ritchie County (0-9). So what does the “24” in this weeks column relate to? As mentioned, we are entering week number 10 of the regular season and 24 of the 117 teams in West Virginia that play football will be playing their last football game of the regular season! That number “24” means we will have 93 teams playing next weekend to wrap up the 2016 regular season and then it is on to the playoffs!
Going back to that first “9”, what is the likelihood those teams will remain undefeated after week #10 of the season. Well, you be the judge…..in Class AAA the Martinsburg Bulldogs are having another great season! They close out the regular season this Friday night at home against a very good (7-1) Musselman team. If we were in Vegas, probably all of the smart money would be on Martinsburg, but I promise you head coach Dave Walker of Martinsburg knows how good Musselman is and he is working his team hard to stay focused and think about nothing except beating the Applemen. If they do that, they would lock up that overall #1 seed in the Class AAA playoff field. In Class AA, the Bridgeport Indians have proven all year-long how strong they are! The three-time defending Class AA State Champs have not relinquished their hold over the other Class AA teams and they would love to close out the season this Friday night with a win on the road at East-West Stadium where they will take on the (6-1) Polar Bears of Fairmont Senior. The Polar Bears had last week off to rest and get ready for this big match-up this weekend with the Indians. East-West Stadium should be packed so I would get there early! Also in Class AA, Mingo Central (8-0) still has two games to play and their last two opponents have a combined won-loss record of (12-4). This weekend, the Miners of Mingo Central will welcome the (6-2) Huskies of Herbert Hoover and then next Friday night, Mingo Central will play host to the (6-2) Winfield Generals. The other undefeated team in Class AA is Point Pleasant and the Big Blacks have been rolling over people all season long outscoring their first 8 opponents 355-105. Point Pleasant has two games remaining including a road trip this weekend to Wyoming County where they will meet up with the (3-5) Renegades of Westside and then the Big Blacks close the regular season at home against Class AAA (5-3) Princeton Tigers. In the field of undefeated we move on to Class A where we still have 5 teams with unblemished marks. The Cameron Dragons are sitting at (8-0) and they have two teams remaining that are a combined (6-12). This Friday night, Cameron will host (1-8) Bridgeport, Ohio and then on the last Friday night of the regular season the Dragons will hit the road to battle a very good Pocahontas County team that has had an up and down (5-4) season. Also in Class A, the Cougars of East Hardy have been dominate! East Hardy has an (8-0) mark right now and they have two home games remaining. This Friday night they welcome the (2-6) Blazers of Clear Spring, Md. and on November 4th, they will close out the regular season with Petersburg which currently has a record of (4-4). For the undefeated (9-0) Fayetteville Pirates, it has been a magical season and Head Coach David Moneypenny will have to keep his kids focused for one more regular season game as the Pirates welcome (2-6) Greenbrier West this Friday night. Also in Class A, the Gilmer County Titans are enjoying a wonderful season as Head Coach Steve Shuff has his team sitting at (8-0). Gilmer County has two home games remaining on the season and the two opponents remaining have a combine won/loss record of (3-12). This Friday night, the (3-5) Crusaders of Parkersburg Catholic will come calling and then on November 4th, the Titans will close out the regular season as they take on the currently win-less Meadow Bridge Wildcats. The final team still undefeated entering week #10 is St. Marys and Head Coach Jodi Mote and his Blue Devils captured a big win last Friday night as they traveled to previously unbeaten South Harrison and destroyed the Hawks 47-6! It certainly won’t be easy for St. Marys to finish at 10-0 because of the two very tough teams remaining. Coming into town this weekend is Ravenswood and although their (4-4) record might seem a little “ho-hum”, the Red Devils have been playing some very good football. On the last week of the regular season, St. Marys will hit the road to take on rival Tyler Consolidated and the Silver Knights are currently at (5-3) and will probably have to win out to make the playoffs!
So, 9-9-24………those numbers have a lot of meaning to the teams they encompass and as we head into the next to last week of the regular season, get out and support your favorite high school team! It’s fun you can find for the entire family anywhere else. And, don’t forget to join yours truly Fred Persinger and the “Numbers Nerd” Dave Jecklin for all the scores and game highlights on GAMENIGHT……9:30 to Midnight this Friday night!