The first round of the 2016 high school football playoffs begin this Friday night and while a few games will feature two opponents that are not familiar with each other, we will have five games that feature a repeat of games played earlier this season.
In Class AAA, top seeded Martinsburg (10-0) will meet up with a familiar opponent when they welcome #16 seed Hedgesville (5-5) to Coburn Field Friday night. Back in week number eight, Martinsburg handed the Eagles a 63-0 defeat and that game marked only the 2nd time Hedgesville was shut out during the year. The Eagles will certainly have to play their best game of the season if they hope to turn the tables on the Bulldogs. Also in Class AAA, we will have another repeat game take place in the Eastern Panhandle when #14 Jefferson (5-5) travels to Musselman to battle the 3rd seeded (8-2) Applemen. Back in week #3 of the regular season, Musselman traveled to Jefferson’s home field and defeated the Cougars 40-15. Musselman was coming off a 38-30 defeat to Chestnut Ridge, Pa. and that win over Jefferson started a six game winning streak for the Applemen. Jefferson has a very high-powered offense that seems to be clicking in high gear heading into the playoffs. The Cougars put 77 points on the scoreboard last Friday night when they defeated Washington. The 6th ranked Capital Cougars will be looking to bounce back from a loss this past Friday night to George Washington when they welcome the 11th ranked Knights of Cabell Midland to Laidley Field. Back on September 16th, Cabell Midland made the same trip to Laidley Field and after the game headed back to Ona with a 42-23 loss handed to them by the Capital Cougars. Certainly Luke Salmons Knights are playing better heading into the playoffs, while Capital is in the middle of losing 2 of their last 3 games. Another repeat game in Class AAA this weekend will find the 7th ranked Huntington Highlanders playing host to the #10 seeded Black Eagles of South Charleston. Just two weeks ago, Huntington went on the road and was handed a 34-23 defeat by South Charleston so this game shapes up to possibly being the best game in the first round for Class AAA teams.
In Class A this week, we also have another repeat game from the regular season as #4 Tolsia will play host to #13 Tug Valley. Back in week number five of the regular season, the Rebels defeated the Panthers by a final score of 36-16 and these two rivals certainly expect the game to be a little closer this Friday night.
All other first round games will be first time match-ups this season and it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that the higher seed will win. Every team knows going in the records don’t really mean anything……it’s which team is playing their best heading into this weekend’s play.
With 19 of the 24 first round games being played this Friday night, the crew at GAMENIGHT will certainly be busy and we invite you to tune in the show after your game and check all the scores. We will also be looking ahead at the five first round games scheduled for Saturday. If you can’t find GAMENIGHT on a radio station in your area, tune it in at www.wvmetronews.com.
Talk to you Friday night!