Morgantown (2-3) at AAA No. 3 Musselman (4-0)
Morgantown makes a second straight trip to the Eastern Panhandle in as many weeks. The Mohigans turned the ball over five times and had two punts blocked in a 51-7 loss to Martinsburg last week.
“The same thing applies this week against a very good Musselman team,” said Morgantown coach Matt Lacy. “We can’t go over there and make those kinds of mistakes or they will expose you and make you look bad.”
There were some bright spots for Morgantown last week. Running back Alajuan Robinson had a long touchdown run as he finished with 86 yards against a tough Martinsburg defense. Lacy was pleased, at times, with the Morgantown line play as well.
“I thought we challenged them at times up front,” said Lacy. “They just have so many athletes on offense and they managed to get them the ball to make plays.”
The 2-3 Mohigans need a very strong second half to stay in the playoff picture.
“There are still a lot of playoff points out there,” Lacy said. “We need to make sure the players still understand what is at stake and that we have a good shot at making the playoffs if we can win these games. We’ve got two undefeated teams still on the schedule (Musselman and University) plus Wheeling Park and John Marshall who each have three wins.”
Musselman beat Morgantown 21-14 last year.
AAA No. 1 University (5-0) at No. 11 St. Albans (3-2)
University coach John Kelley is hoping avoid a letdown after his team has played back to back instant classics against Wheeling Park and Fairmont Senior.
“These are young kids and it’s inevitable that they would let down a little bit after the two games we’ve played back to back,” Kelley said. “It’s a long trip to a place we’ve never been. I’ve thought all along that this could be a trap game because I know they are a vastly improved football team.”
Kelley was amazed in watching St. Albans overcome 11 turnovers to rally to beat Riverside last week.
“This is a fearless offensive team with a fearless quarterback,” Kelley said of St. Albans freshman quarterback R.T. Alexander. “They’ll throw it right into the teeth of your defense and they keep taking shots over and over again until something hits.
“They score a lot of points but they give up points,” Kelley said. “They are unconventional with what they do. They’ll make mistakes and turn it over but they just keep coming after you.”
For the season, Alexander is 74-136 passes for 942 yards, five touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Alexander will test a veteran University defense that had a tough time tackling Fairmont Senior standout Bryson Gilbert last week.
“Fairmont Senior had as many athletes as anyone we’ve seen,” Kelley said. “It was like trying to tackle lightning. We’ve just played two teams with tremendous skill and St. Albans has every bit the same amount. That’s what scares me the most about them.”
Preston (1-4) at AAA No. 6 Hedgesville (4-1)
Penalties, mistakes and turnovers kept Preston from a second consecutive win. The Knights lost two touchdowns on penalties and they fumbled inside the Lewis County five yard line. Preston also had a field goal attempt blocked and returned by Lewis County for a touchdown.
The result was a 35-14 Minutemen victory, coming one week after Preston had earned a 25-23 win over Robert C. Byrd.
Preston and Hedgesville will meet for a fifth consecutive year. Hedgesville won 58-13 in Kingwood last season. Preston’s last win in the series came back in 2014, a 35-6 victory at Hedgesville.
Quarterback Dakota Holt has led the Knights offense with 719 pass/rush yards and seven total touchdowns.
AA No. 3 Liberty (4-0) at No. 13 Braxton County (3-1)
Liberty won a three overtime thriller over Grafton last week to stay unbeaten. Liberty got a huge special teams play, blocking a field goal attempt in the second overtime. Chance Howell then hit the game-winning 28-yard field goal as the Mountaineers won 24-21.
Liberty overcame four turnovers to win the game last week.
Braxton County has won three in a row following a season opening loss to Lincoln.
Liberty has won three in a row in this series.
AA No. 14 Elkins (3-1) at No. 4 Fairmont Senior (4-1)
Elkins will try and shorten the game with long possessions as it plays on the road at Fairmont Senior Friday night. The Tigers, with a single-wing offense had on drive of over 7:00 early in the game and then an 80-yard drive late during a 21-14 win over East Fairmont last week.
The Tigers controlled the game with Thomas Talkington and Daniel Romans as the duo combined for 279 yards on 44 carries last week. The duo will have to control the game again to have a chance at an upset of the Polar Bears.
Fairmont Senior will try and bounce back from its first loss of the season. Senior Bryson Gilbert rushed for 183 yards on just 14 carries last week in a 29-27 loss to University. Gilbert had well over 200 yards of total offense and he also intercepted a pass on defense.
Fairmont Senior beat Elkins 42-13 for its fourth consecutive win in the series.
AAA No. 14 Buckhannon-Upshur (2-2) at AA No. 6 Bridgeport (4-1)
Bridgeport scored a 65-yard touchdown on the first place from scrimmage, going on for a 34-20 win over RCB last week. The Indians led 27-0 at the half as they had rushed for 263 yards in the first half.
Buckhannon snapped a two game losing streak with a 25-23 win at Greenbrier East last week.
Bridgeport and Buckhannon did not play last season but the teams met every year between 2007-2015. Bridgeport went 9-0 in the series during that span.
Tolsia (1-4) at A No. 4 South Harrison (4-0)
South Harrison stayed unbeaten with a dominating win over Moorefield last week. The Hawks rushed for 430 yards while holding Moorefield to -12 yards rushing and to 72 total yards.
Tolsia enters this game on a three game losing streak.
Calhoun County (0-5) at A No. 13 Clay-Battelle (3-1)
The Cee-Bees look to stay in the playoff hunt as they host a winless Calhoun County team. Last week, Travis Dille rushed for while scoring three touchdowns in a win over Tygarts Valley. The Cee-Bees rallied after Tygarts Valley had early leads of 7-0 and 14-13.
Clay-Battelle and Calhoun County are meeting for the first time.
Other Games:
Berkeley Springs (1-3) at North Marion (3-1)
Robert C. Byrd (2-3) at Lewis County (1-4)
East Fairmont (0-4) at Lincoln (2-2)
Petersburg (2-3) at Philip Barbour (3-2)
Midland Trail (5-0) at Gilmer County (0-4)
Mount View (3-2) at Notre Dame (1-4)
Wirt County (3-1) at Doddridge County (3-2)