— By Wes McKinney
CLASS AAA
No. 3 Capital (11-1) at No. 2 Spring Valley (12-0)
When: 1:30 p.m. Friday
Last Week: Capital rolled up 526 yards of offense on its way to a 48-14 win over Hedgesville to move into the semifinal round.
Meanwhile, Spring Valley used a balanced offense and a strong defense in blanking Huntington, 36-0, to set up a rematch of a 2016 semifinal between the Timberwolves and Capital. Will Adkins threw three touchdowns in the win for Spring Valley including two to Graeson Malashevich in the second quarter.
“We struggled in the past running the ball on Huntington,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said. “It was big for us to be able to throw the ball. It forced them to get some more guys out of the box to try and stop the pass with the big plays we were hitting on. It opened up the run for us. Will made a lot of good decisions.”
Along with the passing attack, the Timberwolves got an impressive ground attack from Owen Chafin. “I thought it was one of the most balanced offensive games we’ve had in a long time,” Dingess said.
Why It’s Important: Spring Valley is seeking to get back to the Class AAA championship game for a third straight year while Capital is looking to earn its first trip to Wheeling Island since 2015 when it lost to Wheeling Park in the title tilt.
Spring Valley won a hard-fought 21-13 decision in the regular season and also knocked off the Cougars 20-14 in the 2016 semifinals to earn its first ever trip to the championship game. The pace of play has been a friend of the Timberwolves in their recent wins over Capital, including cashing in on two late scores for the 2016 win and the victory in September.
“We have to play a perfect game to win this one,” Dingess said. “We were fortunate enough to beat them in the regular season, but it’s really hard to beat a really good team like Capital twice.
“They will be prepared,” Dingess continued. “When you get to this stage, this is like a state championship game too. In the semifinals, there’s no bad teams and hardly any weaknesses.”
Along with giving up the ball to an explosive Capital offense when punting, the Timberwolves have to be aware of the momentum-changing play ability of the Cougars.
“You can’t have three-and-outs when you play Capital,” Dingess said. “That’s where they get you — they get three-and-outs and they’ve scored a bunch of defensive and special teams touchdowns.”
Players to Watch Capital: Kerry Martin will be the focal point of the Capital offense as the Cougars’ quarterback, but when asked about the Capital roster Dingess provided this: “They have some weapons. They have so many,” Dingess paused. “Guys,” he paused again. “Everywhere.
“It seems like they have a bunch of guys they can just throw out there,” he continued. “Kerry Martin is really good at quarterback. I know they’ll be at full strength. They had a couple of kids that were out when we played them in the regular season.”
Players to Watch Spring Valley: While several Timberwolves have had game-changing moments throughout the season, and offensive lineman Doug Nester played in the 2016 semifinal against Capital, Dingess is hesitant to single out one player to focus on.
“We have to have all hands on deck,” he said. “That’s one thing about our kids—they don’t care who gets the recognition or the scores. They just want to win a football game. When you have kids like that, you have a good situation.”