By Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio for WVMetroNews.com
Many wouldn’t have predicted before the season that one of the area’s most important games in Week 5 would involve a team that began the year with a seasons-long losing streak.
But that’s where things are here in mid-September when one looks at the border matchup between Ritchie and Doddridge counties. Plus, there are a few area schools that could badly use wins this week. Here are this week’s games. All game dates/times listed:
Ritchie County (2-2) at Doddridge County (2-2) (Friday 7:30)
In Ritchie County, they’re finding out that you change a culture of losing a little bit each week. After a season-opening loss to St. Marys that brought Ritchie County’s losing streak to 27 games, the Rebels broke through in Week 2 with a win over Parkersburg Catholic.
Make no mistake, that win wasn’t a fluke either – many around the Rebels felt they had a great shot to win the following week against Frontier, Ohio. Ritchie County would lose that game by two scores, but rebounded with a 40-0 whitewashing of Calhoun County. With a .500 record in mid-September for the first time since the Mike Dawson era, the Rebels hit the road this week to visit next door neighbor Doddridge County.
After two losses to start the year, including a five-point loss to Tyler Consolidated in a back-and-forth game, the Bulldogs pitched back-to-back shutouts in wins against Calhoun County and Tygarts Valley. So while the wins each school owns may not have come against the stiffest of competition, they did bring something very much needed to both locker rooms: confidence.
Ritchie County will try to duplicate a rushing attack that yielded 273 yards in last week’s win against Calhoun County. That includes 170 yards and a touchdown run from Devin Williams. Doddridge County will need to preach tenacity to a defense that’s exercised plenty in the last two weeks.
Both of these teams have manageable schedules, so this could be a springboard to a playoff run for the winner. Both also sit outside the top-20 in this week’s SSAC rankings.
Also, the winner will be able to say they’ve got a winning record at the halfway marker of this season. Now, just imagine the confidence THAT would provide…
This game will air locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
Ravenswood (2-1) at Williamstown (1-3) (Friday 7:30)
With St. Marys looming on the schedule next week, this game is absolutely a must-win for Williamstown. The Yellowjackets made strides last week in a 28-23 loss to Wheeling Central. Trailing 28-14 at the half, Williamstown got a Boston Caruthers field goal and a touchdown toss from Carter Haynes to Preston Mayer in the second half to make it close, but couldn’t completely close the gap.
Maybe the biggest positive sign for Williamstown is that the defense forced seven Wheeling Central fumbles last week. However, the Yellowjackets fell on only one of them. It’s one thing to create opportunities, but this week, Williamstown will need to get to the football a little more effectively on defense.
Ravenswood came off a bye week to pick up an impressive 26-12 win over Tyler Consolidated. The Red Devils topped 300 yards on the ground last week. Jayden Rhodes led the way for Ravenswood with 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For Williamstown, after early-season struggles defending the passing game, a run-first opponent might be just what the doctor ordered. Ravenswood will need to wear down the Williamstown defense through sheer repetition and hope the Yellowjackets fail to finish tackles.
John Marshall (2-2) at Parkersburg South (1-3) (Friday 7:00)
Defense and special teams led the way for Parkersburg South in a breakthrough 23-7 win at Princeton. The defense pitched a shutout in the second half after going into halftime with a 9-7 lead.
That lead came from the right foot of Ahmed Ali, who drilled a 49-yard field goal on the final play of the first half – believed to be a school-record. All told, Ali was 3-4 in field goal attempts (his only miss coming from 50 yards) and converted a pair of PAT tries.
On top of the work of Ali, special teams also iced the game in the 4th quarter when Zane Hinzman scooped a blocked punt and returned it for a South touchdown. All the work on defense and special teams helped support an emerging Patriot offense that really started to gain an identity in the second half. South picked up a season-high 263 offensive yards, with 219 of those coming through the ground game.
John Marshall is looking to establish consistency this year, after alternating wins and losses through their first four games. The Monarchs come in off a 38-20 win last week over Bellaire, Ohio and also have a win over Mountain Ridge, Maryland.
Consistency is also a word Parkersburg South head coach Mike Eddy has been preaching to his players for most of the season, at least in regards to the offense. That unit began to find some of that in the second half against Princeton.
If they can continue to do so, the Patriots may find themselves on the winning end of a matchup that comes at a fortuitous time on the schedule. After playing three of their first four on the road, Parkersburg South plays their next two at the Erickson All-Sports Facility.
This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Marietta, Ohio (3-1) at Parkersburg (1-2) (Friday 7:30)
Marietta, Ohio finishes their tour of West Virginia with a trip to Stadium Field in Parkersburg to face a Big Reds team that hasn’t been home in nearly a month. Since then, PHS has faced stiff Mountain State Athletic Conference opposition with back-to-back matchups against Capital and Huntington.
Last week, PHS quarterback Kam Mace – finally healthy after an injury in the Big Reds’ last scrimmage – threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-21 loss to No. 2 Huntington. Two of those connections came to Brenton Strange, who finished with more than 120 receiving yards.
Most importantly for the Big Reds, Parkersburg rallied after trailing 14-0 at the half. Unfortunately, they also surrendered 21 points and were unable to gain a defensive foothold after putting points on the board.
Huntington picked up nearly 550 total yards of offense, which might spell trouble for the Big Reds when it comes to facing Marietta this week. The Tigers have a strong passing attack in quarterback Corbin Alkire and one of the area’s best running threats in Dominic VanFossen. And the Tigers are mad after a humiliating 63-19 loss to Class A St. Marys.
If the Tigers can get things going quickly against the Big Reds, it may not be such a happy evening for PHS. But if the Big Reds get a couple stops on defense and a strong start from Mace and Company, this may be one of the area’s best games of the week.
Ripley (2-2) at George Washington (1-3) (Friday 7:30)
Ripley fell in an early 20-0 hole last week against St. Albans before a second-half rally. Still, the Vikings fell short in what had to be a disappointing loss to St. Albans in a game Ripley probably feels they needed with tougher opponents left to play.
The good? The Vikings likely shook a lot of the “they aren’t built to come from behind” stigma that comes with the territory when you’re a running team.
The Vikings started their rally halfway through the second quarter. Ripley also got solid games on the ground from JT Kemp (121 yards, three touchdowns) and Brayden Campbell (two rushing scores on just nine carries). But the best part? Eddie Smolder’s team didn’t quit and played until the end.
Unfortunately, Ripley’s first two losses last year were close and were likely the difference between a playoff team and a team with a losing record. This year, the Vikings’ losses are both by five points or fewer. Expect Ripley to come out focused and ready to dominate the early part of Friday’s game.
Even though George Washington is 1-3 this season, a win against them would be a huge momentum gain for a Ripley team that’s on the edge of taking that next step.
Calhoun County (0-4) at Tyler Consolidated (1-3) (Friday 7:00)
Tyler Consolidated may be the area’s “Cardiac” team this season. It seems there’s always one team that ends up in a slew of games that come down to the fourth quarter. So far, Tyler picked up a win against Doddridge County through a late score, before falling to Webster County on a fourth quarter touchdown.
Last week, Ravenswood ran the Silver Knights into the ground in a 26-12 loss. Tyler Consolidated trailed just 17-12 after three quarters, but the Red Devils got a field goal and a rushing touchdown in the final period to seal the deal.
The Silver Knights surrendered more than 300 rushing yards, a total that likely left that unit a little worn in the latter stages Friday. And for a team that already struggles with low numbers, that’s not the ideal way for the game to play out.
This week though, Tyler Consolidated faces a struggling Calhoun County ballclub that’s only scored six points all year. This might be time for the Silver Knights to “get right”.
This game can be heard locally on WXCR-FM (92.3 FM) and online at www.wxcr.com.
Other Games:
Braxton County (2-1) at Roane County (0-4) (Friday 7:30)
Federal Hocking, Ohio (0-4) at Wahama (0-4) (Friday 7:30)
Paden City (0-3) at Hundred (0-4) (Friday 7:00)
Bye:
St. Marys (3-0)
Wirt County (3-1)
Parkersburg Catholic (0-3)