By Sean McNamara – Times West Virginian for WVMetroNews.com
Week 5 in the Eastern Panhandle features several out-of-state and out-of-region matchups, with only Keyser at Jefferson serving as a matchup between two Eastern Panhandle teams.
Martinsburg, East Hardy and Musselman all have the chance to remain undefeated with Jefferson, Moorefield and Washington each seeking their first wins of the year.
Morgantown (2-2) at Martinsburg (4-0), Friday
Potentially the most intriguing matchup in the Eastern Panhandle, and one of the bigger games in all of Class AAA, this week will take place at Cobourn Field in Martinsburg — and it has little to do with either teams’ record.
The 4-0 Martinsburg Bulldogs, fresh off a 56-0 win over Spring Mills, will host the 2-2 Morgantown Mohigans, who may see the return of quarterback Logan Holgorsen, who recently rejoined the team after transferring to St. Frances Academy in Maryland.
The Mohigans have won two-straight games, most recently defeating Brooke, 35-6, in a game in which they did all of their damage on the ground. So far this season, the Mohigans has just 70 yards passing, so the offense could receive a boost with Holgorsen back in the lineup.
If Holgorsen does get called upon to start, he will do so against a stout Martinsburg defense that is coming off a 56-0 shutout win over the Cardinals. In four games, all wins for Martinsburg, the Bulldogs are allowing just over seven points per game.
Leading the way for Martinsburg in the victory over Spring Mills was quarterback Tyson Bagent, who completed 15-of-19 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Dewayne Grantham pitched in 143 yards on eight carries with two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs and Mohigans faced off twice last season, with Martinsburg winning, 33-6, and, 51-0, the latter coming in the Class AAA semifinals.
East Hardy (4-0) at Southern Garrett, Maryland, Friday
The undefeated East Hardy Cougars handed Pocahontas County its first loss in Week 4, 42-6, and will look to move to 5-0 against an undefeated against a 3-0 Southern Garrett, Maryland squad.
Defense has been the calling card early on for East Hardy, with the Cougars allowing just 10 points per game through four games, forcing 11 turnovers in the process.
Offensively, East Hardy has leaned on the talents of quarterback Cole Skovron and wide receiver Brett Tharpe, with the duo each contributing to an offense that’s scoring 34.5 points per game.
Against Pocahontas County at home in Week 4, Skovron passed for 249 yards and four touchdowns, two of them finding the hands of Tharpe, who has eight touchdown receptions through four games.
This week’s opponent, the Southern Garrett Rams, are 3-0 on the year and are averaging 33 points per game. The Rams are coming off a 27-0 shutout win over Catoctin High School in a game where they ran for 297 yards and did not turn the ball over.
With a win, East Hardy would advance to 5-0 for the second consecutive year.
Musselman (3-0) at Princeton (0-3), Friday
Coming off a bye week, the Musselman Applemen will take the long trip of more than four hours to Princeton Friday to take on the winless Tigers.
The Tigers have lost their first three games of the season, falling to Buckhannon-Upshur, 20-19, in overtime in the opener before losing to Bluefield, the top-ranked team in the Class AA WVSSAC playoff rankings, 62-0. After a bye week, the Tigers lost to a then-winless Parkersburg South team, 23-7.
Musselman, now well-rested following a week off, will look to move to 4-0 this week before a matchup with Morgantown at home in Week 6.
In doing so, the Applemen will likely lean on Jacob Northcraft, who set the school’s all-time rushing record two weeks ago in the team’s win over Jefferson.
Keyser (2-1) at Jefferson (0-4), Friday
In a matchup of two teams trending in different directions, the 2-1 Keyser Golden Tornado will travel to Jefferson this week to take on the winless Cougars.
Keyser’s only loss of the year came at the hands of Maryland powerhouse Fort Hill, and the Golden Tornado are coming off a thrilling come-from-behind win over a Weir team that was ranked in the WVMetroNews Class AA Power Rankings in Week 4.
After trailing, 18-14, in the fourth quarter, a 3-yard run by 2016 all-state performer Brady Ours gave the Golden Tornado the victory.
As Jefferson (0-3) looks to get in the win column for the first time this year, it will have to not only shut down Ours in Week 5, but also Christian Ravenscroft, who ran for 189 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
The Cougars may look to take advantage of the talents of Scooter Gaskins this week against a Keyser defense that allowed 188 yards passing against Weir on 10-of-20 completions.
Hedgesville (3-1) at James Wood, Virginia, Friday
The Hedgesville Eagles are off to a hot start in 2017, and fresh off a 42-20 win over Jefferson, the Eagles will take a 3-1 record in Winchester, Virginia, to take on James Wood High School.
James Wood is 2-2 so far this season, with lopsided losses to Sherando (Va.) and Warren County (Va.) in Weeks 1 and 4, a rout of Park View (Va.) in Week 2, and a close win over Skyline (Va.) in Week 3.
With the exception of a Week 2 loss to South Hagerstown where Hedgesville scored just two points, the Eagles have been lighting up scoreboards to the tune of 37 points per game, led by quarterback Jason Plotner, the leading passer in the Eastern Panhandle.
These two teams matched up in Week 5 of last season, with Hedgesville earning the 39-14 victory.
South Hagerstown, Maryland, at Spring Mills (2-2), Friday
After a 56-0 loss to Martinsburg in Week 4, the 2-2 Spring Mills Cardinals will return home this week to take on South Hagerstown, Maryland.
Eastern Panhandle football fans have heard from South Hagerstown earlier this season as the Rebels handed Hedgesville its only loss, defeating the Eagles 12-2 in Week 2.
South Hagerstown is 2-1 on the season and coming off a 48-6 win last week over South Carroll.
After opening the season with a loss to Musselman, the Cardinals won two straight games before falling to Martinsburg las week.
This week’s matchup against the Rebels is the first of two consecutive home games against out-of-state opponents with Boonsboro, Maryland, coming to town in Week 6.
Petersburg (2-2) at Weir (3-1), Saturday
After opening the season 2-0 with wins over Berkeley Springs and Pendleton County, the Petersburg Vikings are the losers of two straight, falling in Week 3 to Grafton before losing a 33-27 game last week to Hampshire.
As the Vikings look to get back on track this week, the test will be tough as they take the long bus ride to Weir to face the 3-1 Red Riders.
Through four games, Jacob Hartman, who became the school’s all-time leading passers this season, has completed 51-of-94 passes for 546 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Hartman also leads the ground attack for the Vikings, collecting 513 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season.
As mentioned, Weir is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season after falling to Keyser in Week 4.
Hampshire (2-1) at Mountain Ridge, Maryland, Friday
Fresh off last week’s 33-27 win over Petersburg, the Hampshire Trojans will look to keep rolling this week as they host Mountain Ridge, Maryland.
Hampshire, which can improve to 3-1 for the first time since 2013 with a win, got touchdowns from Trent Corbin, Brad Sigley and Ricky Moreland in Week 4.
The Frostburg-based Miners are 0-3 this season with losses to John Marshall, Hedgesville and, most recently, Allegany (Md.) 63-7.
Other games:
Frankfort (1-3) at Northern Garrett, Maryland, Friday
Clarke, Virginia, at Washington (0-4), Friday
Pendleton County (1-3) at Madonna (3-0), Friday
Moorefield (0-4) at South Harrison (3-0), Friday