By Fred Persinger II for WVMetroNews.com
Bluefield (2-0) at Beckley (1-1)
Two long time rivals will meet up on Friday night at Van Meter Stadium in Beckley as Woodrow Wilson hosts Bluefield.
The two teams will be meeting for the 72nd time in a series that dates back to 1925. Both teams are coming off a win in Week 2.
Beckley bounced back after an opening week loss to Riverside with a win over Greenbrier East, 12-7. The Flying Eagles came into the game without the services of starting tailback Micah Hancock who had to sit out. Still, the Flying Eagles rushed for over 230 yards, led by senior Tyree Swafford and sophomore Lamont Lee who combined for over 200 yards in the game, helping give Beckley a 12-0 lead.
“Micah Hancock (will be back) and we’re very fortunate to have some good skill players in our backfield,” said Beckley coach Street Sarrett. “Tyree and Lamont both stepped up for us last week, too.”
After giving up over 500 yard and 45 points in Week 1, Beckley’s defense bounced back by holding Greenbrier East to just 61 yards rushing and 170 yards of total offense. The win for the Flying Eagles snapped an eight-game losing streak that went back to last year.
“We’ve been playing them for so long and it’s always been a tough game, a rival game,” Sarrett said. “It’s not going to be any different this year. It’s going to be a tough game.
Bluefield, meanwhile, opened up the season with an impressive win over Graham, Va. in Week 1 and followed that up last wee with a dominating, 62-0 win over Princeton.
The Beavers offensively were led by Mookie Collier who rushed for 155 yards and three scores. In total, Bluefield put up 370 rushing yards in the win and held Princeton to just 105 yards of total offense.
“Collier is one of the fastest kids in West Virginia,” Sarrett said. “It looks like he’s standing still and then the next thing you know, he’s gone.”
It’s the 100th year for Bluefield football and the revenge tour will continue in this matchup. Beckley’s only win in 2016 came over Bluefield in double-overtime, 33-30.
Beckley leads the all time record between the two schools 43-26-2. But since the series started back in 2015, following a 10-year break, the two teams have split a pair of games. Bluefield defeated Beckley 56-22 in 2015 before that double overtime win by the Flying Eagles last year.
It is Hall of Fame night at Van Meter Stadium and kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. You can hear the game on The Big Dawg 99.5 WJLS, online at wjls.com or on the iheart radio app.
Mount View (2-0) at Oak Hill (2-0)
Two teams that have started the season off well are Mount View and Oak Hill. The Golden Knights have had wins over Class AA opponents River View and Man, while Oak Hill broke a 19-game losing streak in Week one over Valley and then came back last week to beat Liberty Raleigh.
This matchup will feature a couple of really good offensive players. For Mount View, quarterback Elijah Collier has had a great start to the season, throwing for over 360 yards and four touchdowns, completing 64 percent of his passes. Oak Hill has been led by Khori Bass, rushing for 480 yards and five touchdowns on 42 carries — an average of 11.4 yards per carry.
Mount View and Oak Hill will battle at John P. Duda Stadium in Oak Hill on Friday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Other Games:
Greenbrier East(0-2) at Preston(0-2)
Independence(1-1) at James Monroe(1-1)
PikeView(1-1) at Liberty Raleigh(0-2)
Wyoming East(1-1) at Nicholas County(2-0)
Tazewell at River View(0-1)
Summers County(0-1) at Shady Spring(1-1)
Man(0-2) at Westside(1-1)
Richwood(1-1) at Fayetteville(2-0)
Meadow Bridge(0-2) at Midland Trail(2-0)
Covington, Va at Greenbrier West(0-2)
Narrows, Va at Montcalm(2-0)
Sherman(1-1) at Valley Fayette(0-2)
Princeton(0-2) Idle this week