It’s another full weekend of high school football playoffs throughout the state as it’s the quarterfinal round. So, with that said let’s look back at some of the best opening round games in each class and some of the key matchups this week in the quarterfinals.
CLASS AAA
OPENING ROUND BEST GAME:
No. 7 Bridgeport 23 No. 10 University 14
The Indians pounded the ball behind running back Corey Wagner. He rushed for 225 yards on 36 carries as Bridgeport held off the Hawks. It sets up an interesting matchup this week for Bridgeport at No. 2 and unbeaten Martinsburg.
OPENING ROUND MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN:
No. 4 South Charleston 62 No. 13 Parkersburg 7
Black Eagles head coach John Messinger called his team’s 62-7 win over Parkersburg one of its best defensive performances since he’s been with the school. The Big Reds completely shutdown Parkersburg running back Allan Wasonga, holding him to just 36 yards on 14 carries. Meanwhile, last year’s Kennedy winner Tyler Harris of South Charleston was absolutely dominant. He finished the game with four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns. In the end, the two-time defending state champs handed Parkersburg its worst defeat in school history.
BEST QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP
No. 6 Capital at No. 3 Morgantown
Morgantown head coach John Bowers was rather disappointed with his team’s opening round effort against Robert C. Byrd. Sure, the Mohigans won 45-29 with the game never really in doubt – but included in that score were five costly turnovers that helped lead to Flying Eagles scores. Capital, meanwhile, is coming off of a 35-16 win over Fairmont Senior last week. Morgantown also owns a win over the Polar Bears – the Mohigans defeated Fairmont Senior back in September 45-21. It’s an interesting matchup of Morgantown’s wildcat-similar formations behind Joey Musick and Chris Glover running the football against Capital’s lethal quarterback-running back combo of Josh Sharp and Keion Wright.
CLASS AA
OPENING ROUND BEST GAME
No. 9 Roane County 33 No. 8 Point Pleasant 28
Point Pleasant trailed for most of the contest, but came back late to take a 28-27 lead with just over four minutes to go. But in the end, the Raiders were simply too much behind talented quarterback Dylan Cottrell. He led the Raiders down the field for the eventual game winning touchdown with just 23 seconds to go. Overall, he finished with 195 rushing yards on 28 carries.
OPENING ROUND MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN
No. 3 Greenbrier West 42 No. 14 Herbert Hoover 10
While this could also easily go to No. 11 Frankfort’s upset win over No. 6 Riverview, you’ve got to give Greenbrier West its due credit after an impressive win over the Huskies. Sure, it’s a three seed beating a 14 – the Cavaliers are supposed to win by 32. But Herbert Hoover wasn’t your typical 14 seed. The Huskies came in with close losses on the year to No. 1 Ravenswood, No. 5 Wayne, No. 16 Poca and Class AAA Logan. They also impressive wins over No. 8 Point Pleasant, No. 9 Roane County and No. 10 Chapmanville. Regardless, Greenbrier West made a resounding statement and continued to do what it has all season – score a bunch of points. The Cavaliers also jumped out early in this contest by taking the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. They lead Class AA on the year with 501 points scored on the season.
BEST QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP
No. 9 Roane County at No. 1 Ravenswood
Initially looking at the Class AA quarterfinal matchups, the game that stands out is No. 5 Wayne at No. 4 Bluefield. The Pioneers, however, were dominated by Bluefield in the regular season finale 47-6. Meanwhile, No. 9 Roane County at top ranked Ravenswood has all the makings for a great game. The two teams met back in week number three, a 10-6 Ravenswood win. The Red Devils, meanwhile, also needed a late game score to beat Point Pleasant, knocking off the Black Knights 27-24 in overtime back in October.
CLASS A
BEST OPENING ROUND GAME
No. 7 Matewan 40 No. 10 Buffalo 34
The Tigers finished Buffalo’s once very promising looking season with a third straight loss after an exciting back and forth opening round contest. The Bison led 22-12 at the half, but couldn’t hold off a strong second half Matewan rally. The Tigers’ Justin Bradford finished the contest with 174 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries. He also returned a punt 65 yards for another Matewan touchdown.
OPENING ROUND MOST IMPRESSIVE WIN
No. 4 Wirt County 38 No. 13 Madonna 24
Don’t sleep on the Tigers. Wirt County not only eliminated defending state champion Madonna in week one of the playoffs, the Tigers also scored more points against the Blue Dons’ defense than any team since a 2007 47-6 Madonna loss to Wheeling Central. Overall, the game was tighter than the final score indicates – it was a tied at 17 heading into the fourth quarter. Still, Wirt County’s Dalton Brindo scored two touchdowns early in that fourth stanza to give the Tigers the advantage. A 62 yard scamper by Aaron Orr clinched the win for Wirt County with just over five minutes to go in the game.
BEST QUARTERFINAL MATCHUP
No. 5 Williamstown at No. 4 Wirt County
It’s a rematch of an excellent game from earlier in the year – if you’re a Tigers fan – won by Wirt County 13-7. For the Williamstown faithful, it was a long evening to say the least as the Yellow Jackets simply couldn’t hold onto the football. Wirt County forced six Williamstown turnovers and held the perennial Class A power to just 175 total offensive yards. It was the first win for Wirt County over Williamstown since 1997. There’s no doubt both teams will have plenty of extra motivation heading into this rematch of top five teams.
For a complete look at all of the times and dates, you can click on the Wendy’s MetroNews High School Scoreboard.