From 144 to the final 6……and those six teams are set to find out what that “Wheeling Feeling” is really all about!
For the past 21 years, the WV State High School Football Championships, better known as the Super Six, has been held in the Northern Panhandle town of Wheeling! As a part of the radio broadcast team for MetroNews, it has been my pleasure and an extreme honor to experience that Wheeling atmosphere every one of those years! This weekend, we are heading back to Ohio County for another dose of that Wheeling feeling and with the three scheduled games, it may just be one of the best ever!
In Class AA, we have a couple of “newbies” vying for the title and the two teams set to get the party started Friday night are mirror images of one another. The #2 seeded Miners of Mingo Central bring a spotless 13-0 record into the game and have a couple of 1000+ yard rushers in Joe Hunt and Jeremy Dillon who each have 23 rushing touchdowns. Dillon is also the Miner’s quarterback and he has also thrown for over 2600 yards and passed for 35 more touchdowns! Tyler Grimmette and Drew Hatfield have been the go to targets for Jeremy Dillon most of the season. The Mingo Central Miners are averaging scoring 47.3 points per game while their defense is only allowing 11.8 ppg. Their opponent this Friday night is Fairmont Senior and the Polar Bears, like the Miners, have a couple of outstanding athletes leading their team each and every week. From the quarterback spot, it’s the head coach’s son and young Mr. Jake Abbott leads his team in rushing with over 1200 yards and he has passed for over 1500 more. Combined, Jake Abbott has accounted for 38 touchdowns this season. His go to man in the backfield and in the passing lanes is Bryson Gilbert who has combined for 18 touchdowns. The Polar Bears have averaged outscoring their first 13 opponents 33.8 to 14.9. This past Friday night, Fairmont Senior defeated 3-time reigning state champion Bridgeport 22-21 in double overtime to reach the championship game!
In the Class AAA title game at high noon this Saturday, Martinsburg is back and they just may be better than ever before. If you remember, the Bulldogs won the Class AAA state championship in 2010-2011-2012 and 2013, but they have missed experiencing that Wheeling feeling the last couple of years. This year, Head Coach Dave Walker brings a young pack of Bulldogs to Wheeling Island that are hungry and talented. This season, Martinsburg has outscored their opponents 701-99, an average of 53.9 to 7.6! And, they have shutout their first three playoff opponents outscoring them 172-0! Their opponent on Saturday afternoon is Spring Valley and the 2nd seeded Timber Wolves have never played in the Class AAA title game and they want to prove they have the talent to hang with anyone! Head Coach Brad Dingess and his veteran group from Huntington won the Mountain State Athletic Conference title and their only loss came back in week #2 of the season when they were defeated by Huntington 17-13. The Timber Wolves had one of the more exciting semi-final wins last Saturday afternoon when tied at 14-14 late in the fourth quarter, they held Capital on 4th and inches inside the one yard line. Spring Valley offensively then went 99 yards for the game winning score, capped by a 49 yard touchdown run by quarterback Derek Johnson with just 36 seconds left in the game!
The 2016 Super Six will finish up Saturday night with the 7pm kickoff of quite possibly the best game of the weekend. Number one East Hardy will square off against number two St. Marys and both teams bring a perfect 13-0 record into the title game. Last season, it was East Hardy taking on Magnolia in the championship game, and the year before that, it was St. Marys in the championship game facing Williamstown. Both years, a victory was not in the cards for this year’s two championship game opponents, however this Saturday night guaranteed one of these fine teams will win their first ever Class A state football title.
So, I know you’ve heard it before…..but, are you ready for some football? And, are you ready to be treated to some of the finest hospitality in this great state of WV! If so, get to Wheeling, WV for the 2016 Super Six and if you can’t make the trip, you’ll find all three games live on the MetroNews Radio Network, plus the Class AA and the Class AAA game will be televised live on Root Sports, with the Class A game shown via tape delay on Sunday afternoon! It is a great way to wrap up the 2016 high school football season – I hope to see you in Wheeling!!