— By Fred Persinger II
GAMES TO WATCH
Class AA
No. 7 Oak Hill (4-0) at No. 3 Nicholas County (4-0)
When: Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Oak Hill defeated Wyoming East in a thrilling 48-47 contest, while Nicholas County defeated Lincoln, 41-6. Both contests were played Thursday.
Why it’s important: A lot of points are on the line for both teams, who come in unbeaten while trying to make a push for homefield in the postseason in a very competitive class AA field.
Who to watch for Oak Hill: QB Khori Bass, who is 25-for-41 passing for 503 yards with eight touchdown passes. Bass has also rushed for 396 yards and seven scores on 54 carries.
Who to watch for Nicholas County: Bass won’t be the only signal caller to keep an eye on. Grizzlies’ QB Jared Sagraves is 36-for-62 passing for 525 yards and five touchdowns.
PikeView (3-1) at Shady Spring (3-1)
When: Saturday at 3 p.m.
Last week: PikeView lost to James Monroe, 13-12, while Shady Spring defeated Independence, 29-3.
Why it’s important: Both teams are sitting at 3-1, but find themselves out of the playoff picture right now. The winner of this game will get a lot of points to help. The possibility exists a 7-3 record might not get either of these teams in the Class AA playoff field at the end of the year. It is also homecoming for Shady Spring, which is why the game is being played on Saturday.
Who to watch for PikeView: Running back Evan Rose has rushed for 589 yards on 98 carries and eight touchdowns.
Who to watch for Shady Spring: Isaiah Valentine, who has rushed for 339 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns.
Class AAA
No. 13 Woodrow Wilson (2-2) at No. 16 Hurricane (2-2)
When: Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Woodrow Wilson lost to Huntington, 47-14 while Hurricane beat Cabell Midland, 40-10.
Why it’s important: For Beckley, this is a tough test as it tries to get back on the winning side after losing the last two games by a combined score of 75-21. For Hurricane, avoiding a letdown after the big win last week over Cabell Midland will be key.
Who to watch for Woodrow Wilson: The offensive unit, which has struggled over the past two weeks trying to put points on the board and keep drives going to give the defense rest.
Who to watch for Hurricane: RB Christian Hill, who rushed for 147 yards last week. QB Nathan Roy was 8-for-10 passing for 140 yards and four touchdowns against Cabell Midland.
Other games: Princeton (0-3) at Class AAA No. 2 Musselman (3-0); Greenbrier East (2-2) at Class AAA No. 10 Buckhannon-Upshur (2-1); Class AA No. 1 Bluefield (3-0) at Tazewell, Va. (1-2); Class AA No. 14 Clay County (3-0) at Liberty Raleigh (0-3); Wyoming East (1-3) at James Monroe (1-2); Independence (0-4) at Westside (1-3); Webster County (2-2) at Class A No. 1 Mount View (4-0); Class A No. 3 Fayetteville (4-0) at No. 2 Wheeling Central (3-0); Class A No. 3 Midland Trail (4-0) at Valley Fayette (0-4); Class A No. 11 Sherman (3-1) at No. 15 Ravenswood (2-1); Summers County (0-3) at Greenbrier West (1-3); Hurley, Va. (2-2) at Montcalm (0-2); Pocahontas County (2-2) at Richwood (2-2)