Tucker County (2-0) at Lincoln (2-0)
Lincoln has a pair of wins over teams that it lost to last season by a combined 46-7. Last week, the Cougars turned the tables on Philip Barbour one week after avenging a loss to Braxton County from a season ago. Lincoln won just three games all of last year.
"Lincoln is a big game for us moving up in class," Tucker County coach A.J. Rapp said. "That would almost be like beating a AAA school right now with their two wins."
Tucker County has rolled past the first two opponents on the schedule 78-6.
"We knew we had a good group this year," Rapp said. "We’ve been playing this large class of juniors ever since they were freshman. They have matured together and they are playing very well right now."
Tucker County has made the playoffs three straight years and four times in the last six years.
University (2-0) at Brooke (0-2)
The Hawks have outscored their first two opponents by a combined 55-0 but things will begin to get more difficult starting with a trip to Brooke Friday.
"They are good despite their record," UHS coach John Kelley said. "If we played their early season schedule (road games at Parkersburg and St. Clairsville, Ohio) we might be 0-2 as well.
"Everything starts with their quarterback," Kelley said of 6-1, 195 pound junior Alec Buchmelter. "He is a big, strong, special athlete."
Buchmelter has rushed for 137 yards and thrown for 181 in during the first two games of the season for Brooke. Kelley expects Buchmelter and the Brooke offense to test the UHS secondary for the first time this season.
"Our defense has been terrific," Kelley said. "We stopped a power team (North Marion) running right at us. Then we stopped a speed team (East Fairmont) trying to run around us. We haven’t been fooled by anything and guys are swarming to the football. That will all change rapidly now because Buchmelter can throw it and they have 3-4 guys who can catch it."
Morgantown (1-1) at Parkersburg South (1-0)
MHS bounced back from a season opening loss at Steubenville, Ohio by beating Anacostia, D.C. 41-0. All-purpose performer Kevin Minehart. Minehart had 6 rushes for 57 yards, five receptions for 88 yards and two punt returns for touchdowns. He finished the game with four touchdowns and he even kicked a 29-yard field goal.
"Kevin is a great player," Morgantown coach John Bowers said. "He can run it, catch it, throw it, kick it. He is a pretty special player."
Bowers looks for his team to make improvements during week #3 of the season.
"The mistakes that we make are mental and very correctable," Bowers said. "When we get everybody accounted for in the blocking scheme, we do very well. But there have been too many busts. It is a different position every time and it looks like you aren’t playing very well.
"We’ve got to get everyone on the same page," Bowers said.
Clay-Battelle (0-1) at Paden City (0-1)
Bishop Donahue broke open a close game with Clay-Battelle by scoring 17 unanswered second half points to win 36-16 last week in the season opener for the Cee-Bees. A bright spot was Clay-Battelle quarterback Tristan Haught who threw for 179 yards and rushed for an additional 41.
Paden City had a bye week schedule last week. Instead, the Wildcats finished their suspended game with Van. Paden City led at Van 14-8 in the 3rd quarter back on August 26th when the lights malfunctioned. The game resumed on Labor Day with Van coming from behind to win 23-14.
Fairmont Senior (1-1) at Preston (1-0)
Preston had a bye week following a thrilling season opening win over Hampshire. Ivo Cabral, a foreign exchange student from Brazil, kicked a 23-yard game winning field goal with just seconds remaining as Preston snapped a 21-game losing streak with that 20-19 victory over Hampshire.
Fairmont Senior squared its record at 1-1 with a 28-7 win over North Marion. Trevor Link had four catches for 103 yards and a touchdown to lead the Polar Bears.
Grafton (2-0) at Frankfort (0-1)
Grafton has come from behind to win each of the first two games of the season. Last week, Blake Burnett scored twice in the fourth quarter as the Bearcats won a huge road game over Lewis County. Grafton had 315 yards of total offense in the game while holding Lewis County to under 200.
Lewis County (1-1) at Bridgeport (2-0)
Connor Kornbrath came through for the Indians again as he beat Wheeling Park with a kick for the second year in a row. The Iowa recruit hit the eventual game winning 35 yard field goal with under 30 seconds to go. A year ago, Kornbrath hit a 44 yarder to beat the Patriots. Sophomore running back Anthony Bonamico led the Indians offense with 176 rushing yards.
Last year, Bridgeport beat Lewis County 21-7.
North Marion (0-2) at Robert C. Byrd (2-0)
RCB has scored 91 points in two games so far. North Marion has had trouble scoring with just one touchdown in losses to University and Fairmont Senior.
Other games this week:
East Fairmont (1-1) at Nicholas County (1-1)
Elkins (1-1) at Buckhannon-Upshure (0-2)
Liberty (1-1) at Webster County (1-1)
Philip Barbour (0-2) at Braxton County (1-1)
Notre Dame (1-1) at Cameron (1-1)