By Fred Persinger II for WVMetroNews.com
Beckley (1-8) at South Charleston (3-6)
In most years when you get to the final week of the regular season and the two teams that are playing are a combined 4-14, you would think that the two schools would start to think about the basketball season that is coming up soon.
But with the way Class AAA shapes up this season – only 29 teams and 12 of those with wining records — this game between Beckley and South Charleston has some playoff implications for the Black Eagles.
South Charleston’s road to the playoffs begins with a win over Beckley, then if Hurricane defeats St. Albans and Parkersburg defeats Parkersburg South, the Black Eagles will join Morgantown in the field of 16 with a 4-6 record. If Parkersburg South and South Charleston lose with a St. Albans loss, the final spot will come down to bonus points or a potential tiebreaker.
For Beckley, it has been another disappointing season as the offense has really struggled. In the last three games, Beckley has been outscored 139-8 to Parkersburg, Capital and Huntington. The Flying Eagles have not scored in 11 of the last 12 quarters of football.
Beckley has turned the ball over 31 times this season (16 interceptions and 15 fumbles).
Last week, South Charleston lost to Capital 55-6. The Black Eagles finished with -32 yards rushing and only 78 yards total offense in the game. It was the second week in a row that South Charleston was held under 100 yards of offense in a game.
This will only be the second meeting for the two schools as members of the MSAC, even though both teams have been members of the conference for a long time. This will also be the first time Beckley has played at South Charleston since 1981. Beckley leads the overall series 5-2 but South Charleston has won the last two meetings.
Beckley and South Charleston will play Friday night at 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.
Richwood (6-3) at Nicolas County (7-2)
The battle of Nicholas County has always been a heated rivalry, but in recent years the rivalry has been dominated by Nicholas County.
This year, though, the Richwood Lumberjacks are looking to pull an upset to secure a spot in the Class A playoffs. Nicholas County with a win and some help could jump into the top 8, but a loss could drop them to one of the final two spots.
Both teams are coming off of impressive wins the week before as Nicholas County defeated Pikeview 46-14 and Richwood defeated Summers County 28-14.
Kickoff between Nicholas County and Richwood is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday Night.
Summers County (5-4) at Fayetteville (6-3)
The Pirates have struggled after getting off to a 5-0 start, losing three of their last four games – that includes a surprising setback last week to Greenbrier West, 39-27.
Summers County has won two of its last three games, but is coming off of a 28-14 loss to Richwood. The Bobcats do have a couple of nice wins on their resume, including a 26-12 win over Class AA Shady Spring, a 28-22 win over Webster County (which is the only loss that Webster County has suffered this year) and a 24-17 win over Pocahontas County — also in the Class A playoff hunt.
Both teams have played one common opponent in Greenbrier West. Fayetteville lost to Greenbrier West 39-27 while Summers County defeated Greenbrier West 45-14.
The winner of this game will secure a Class A playoff spot. Kickoff between Summers County and Fayetteville is set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday Night.
Other Games
Greenbrier East(2-7) at Spring Valley(7-2)
Princeton(1-8) at Brooke(2-7)
Roane County(0-9) at Independence(5-4)
Westside(5-4) at Oak Hill(5-4)
Pocahontas County(6-3) at Shady Spring(5-4)
Liberty Raleigh(0-9) at Wyoming East(1-8)
Valley Fayette(3-6) at Greenbrer West(1-8)
Gilmer County(3-6) at Meadow Bridge(2-7)
Hundred(0-8) at Montcalm(3-5)
Bluefield-Idle this week
James Monroe-Idle this week
Midland Trail-Idle this week
Mount View-Idle this week
PikeView-Idle this week