— By Eric Little
One of the state’s biggest rivalries renews, plus, a huge showdown between Class A schools in neighboring counties will decide a playoff spot.
CLASS AAA
No. 11 Parkersburg (5-4) at No. 4 Parkersburg South (8-1)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last Week: Parkersburg South fell from the ranks of the unbeaten in a 35-27 loss at Wheeling Park. South never led in the second half. Parkersburg was dealt a 44-13 setback at home against Huntington.
Why It’s Important: City pride and bragging rights are on the line. Both teams are securely locked into playoff spots, but each wants to win to improve playoff ranking and to finish their respective seasons on a high note.
Who to Watch for Parkersburg South: The Patriot receivers have come back to life over the past few weeks. Levi Rice hauled in a touchdown pass this week, one of his five catches for 110 yards. Landon Francisco’s six grabs were a season high. Dylan Day and Jake Hogsett are steady weapons that help open space for the running game, led by quarterback Brandon Penn and top rusher Devin Gaines.
But all of those opportunities are created by the offensive line, anchored by center Tyler Wheeler. Injured in South’s game against University, Wheeler returned to his spot in the trenches a few weeks later to join the likes of Kaleb Richards, Marshall McPherson, Gabe Hendershot and Connor McCloy. Together, it’s a unit that’s led to the creation of over 4,300 yards of total offense and an average of almost 43 points per game.
Defensively, the Big Reds will want to stay away from South’s threats in the middle of the defensive line — Braxton Amos and Jeffrey Tucker. Amos, committed to wrestle collegiately at the University of Wisconsin, recorded three tackles for loss for South against Wheeling Park last week. Tucker leads the team with 9.5 sacks.
The secondary has been strengthened throughout the season, with new threats like freshman Cyrus Traugh and Williamstown transfer Donathan Taylor joining threats like John Kinnaird, who leads the team with his four forced fumbles.
Penn is a tough defender and leads the team in tackles, while linebacker Sam Schuler is cut from the same bolt of cloth of any of the game’s best defenders from your favorite era — whether that’s Ray Nitschke or Dick Butkus or Brian Urlacher or Jack Lambert or whomever. He joins guys like Trey Robinson and Brent Parkhurst to lasso ballcarriers.
Who to Watch for Parkersburg: The Big Red receiving corps is still reeling from the loss of Braeden Mason a few weeks ago. Julian Martin could be an option to fill the void, with two catches last week against Huntington, including a touchdown. The Big Reds will look to run the ball, with quarterbacks Bryson Singer and Michael Owen proving to be strong threats with their legs. Anthony Craig has performed well since his midseason return from injury, but was held to just 15 yards on six carries against Huntington.
The biggest way the Big Reds miss Mason is because he represented their best proven big play threat. Against Huntington, the Big Reds ran just 51 offensive plays and lost the time of possession battle by more than seven minutes. Home run hitters just don’t fall from the sky though, so to win Friday, Parkersburg will need to control the line of scrimmage and maintain possession of the football.
Defensively, Gage Fiore anchors the linebacking corps. His 81 tackles are second-most on the team and according to head coach Mike Byus, Fiore isn’t afraid to be a vocal leader in the locker room, but he’s not the only threat on Parkersburg’s defense. CJ Wade leads the team with ten sacks. Justin Waybright had two sacks against Huntington last week.
And then there’s Sam Potts, and his team-leading seven interceptions this season. He’s also broken up four passes this year (second-most on the team), making him someone you want to stay away from if you’re a Parkersburg South skill player or offensive playcaller.
CLASS A VS. CLASS AAA
Ravenswood (3-6) at Ripley (3-6)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Ravenswood fell 27-6 at home against St. Marys, their third straight loss and fourth in the last five weeks. Perhaps just as troubling is the fact that all four of those losses came at home, where the Red Devils completed an 0-5 campaign. Ripley also suffered its third straight loss — a 27-10 setback at the hands of Point Pleasant. Four of Ripley’s six losses have been by eight points or fewer.
Why It’s Important: This game is the annual Battle for the Hatchet rivalry game, so regardless of records, this will draw much local interest in Jackson County.
Who to Watch for Ripley: Noah Westfall is a steady hand in the Viking passing attack, but can also hurt teams with his legs. Cameron Ramsey and Jacob Fouty are top rushing threats. The Vikings will be looking for answers from anywhere though after Point Pleasant limited them to just 112 rushing yards on 37 carries and only 194 total yards.
Who to Watch for Ravenswood: Like their opponents this week, this is also a team with an offense that struggled last week. St. Marys limited Ravenswood to 156 total yards of offense. The Red Devils will try to use Jacob Anthony and Chase Hood on the ground.
CLASS AA
Roane County (4-4) at Sissonville (6-3)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Roane County pulled off one of the most impressive upsets in the state last week with a 34-15 win over Liberty Harrison. Sissonville routed Nitro, 51-27.
Why It’s Important: After all the Roane County Raiders, and the Spencer community, have been through this year, a winning season would be a nice way to finish things. It won’t heal all, but it certainly would make for a nice finish. To do it, the Raiders would need their second straight win against an opponent with a better record. Sissonville is battling for playoff positioning and needs a win and help to get into the top 16. The Indians are No. 18 ahead of this matchup.
Who to Watch for Roane County: Shadraq Greathouse fired four touchdown passes for the Raiders, three of them to Cameron Bennett, in Friday’s win against Liberty.
CLASS A
Tyler Consolidated (6-3) at No. 6 St. Marys (7-2)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: St. Marys dominated Ravenswood 27-6 with a defense that’s starting to make a name for themselves. The Blue Devils have held their last four opponents to only a touchdown each during a four-game winning streak. Tyler Consolidated routed Valley 32-6. The Silver Knights have won six of their last seven contests.
Why It’s Important: Based on nearly all projections, Tyler Consolidated will not get into the playoffs unless they win against St. Marys on Friday. For the Blue Devils, a playoff home game hangs in the balance. And with their game against Ritchie County coming midseason, this represents a nice border war type of matchup at the close of the regular season for St. Marys, and for Tyler Consolidated as well.
Who to Watch for St. Marys: Dylan Patterson’s 33-yard pick-six put icing on the cake for the Blue Devils last week against Ravenswood, but also was a nice sign to show that this Blue Devil defense is so potent it can create points through the takeaway.
St. Marys lacks a backfield horse, but has a lot of running options that can step up and play big roles in any given game. Ben Long ran for two touchdowns and 102 yards on just 14 carries in last week’s win against Ravenswood. Brennan Boron also ran for a St. Marys touchdown against the Red Devils.
Who to Watch for Tyler Consolidated: If you need to be told at this point of the season that this offense runs through Mark Rucker, you haven’t been paying attention. Rucker toted the rock just 13 times against Valley last week for 93 yards and two scores. He also caught three passes for 70 yards and a third touchdown. With dominant wins in back-to-back weeks against Magnolia and Valley, the Silver Knight coaching staff has been able to limit Rucker’s use to save mileage on their talented back. Expect his workload to be heavy this week against St. Marys.
Defensively last week, the Silver Knights were led by Case Landis, with ten tackles in the win against Valley.
No. 2 Ritchie County (8-1) at Calhoun County (2-6)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last Week: Ritchie County steamrolled Gilmer County 66-26 to earn their fifth straight win. Calhoun County fell 20-6 to Meadow Bridge. The Red Devils scored first before Meadow Bridge ripped off the game’s final 20 points.
Why It’s Important: Ritchie County can finish the season with six straight wins and nine wins in the regular season. That would represent the most regular season wins for Ritchie County since the Rebels completed a 10-0 regular season in 1995.
Who to Watch for Ritchie County: Still without backfield threat Garrett Owens and receiver Gus Morrison, the Rebels leaned on Tre Moss last week against Gilmer County. Moss delivered, with 248 yards and four touchdowns on only 17 carries. Ethan Haught also ran for a score and threw for another. The Rebels also got kickoff return touchdowns from both Graden McKinney and Kayden Procacina.
Who to Watch for Calhoun County: Adam Parsons completed half his passes last week against Meadow Bridge and ran for Calhoun County’s only score. Titus McIntyre caught six balls for 88 yards to lead the Red Devil receivers.
Other games: Valley Wetzel (2-7) at Paden City (3-6); Wahama (3-5) at Buffalo (5-4); Trinity Christian (2-7) at Wirt County (3-6)