The high school football season rolls into week number six of the regular season this weekend and we are starting to see quite a bit of separation between the “haves” and the “have not’s”!
With 116 teams playing football, we now have a total of 17 undefeated ballclub’s or 14.65%. Not far behind are the teams with just one loss and that number settles in at 23, or 19.83%. These 40 teams certainly belong in the group known as the “haves”. With just four or five regular season games left, the teams that are still unbeaten or just have the one loss certainly have the inside track to making the playoff field of 16 in their respective class. All they have to do is continue to play the kind of football they have played in the first half of the season. Now when we look a little closer at the numbers, we find we still have four undefeated teams in Class AAA…….Bridgeport, Capital, George Washington and Martinsburg. In Class AA, the six undefeated teams include…..Grafton, Point Pleasant, Ravenswood, Ritchie County, River View and Shady Spring. In Class A, the list of undefeated teams this week numbers seven and include Buffalo, East Hardy, Meadow Bridge, Wahama, Wheeling Central, Williamstown and Wirt County. Now, certainly it is no surprise to see the above seventeen teams in the position they are currently in. Last year, 15 of the 17 all made the playoffs in their respective classes and two of them, Martinsburg in AAA and Wheeling Central in A, won state titles. The two teams currently undefeated that did not make the playoffs last year are Grafton and Ritchie County, both in Class AA. Last year, the Bearcats finished at 4-6 and the Rebels were 2-8, so a great turn around by both clubs. And, as we look ahead to this weekend of play, the 17 undefeated teams are guaranteed to drop to at least 16, because in Class AA, undefeated Ravenswood will entertain undefeated Ritchie County.
Now, how about the teams that are struggling so far in 2011 and at this point of the season have to be grouped with the “have not’s”! Of the 116 teams, we still have 18 teams, or 15.52% that are looking for win number one. And, of the 116 teams playing high school football in WV, there are 19, or 16.38% that have just one victory. Going back to the eighteen teams that are still looking for their first win this season, most of them also struggled last year. Only one of the eighteen made the playoff field last year and that team was the Falcons of Frankfort that finished last season at 7-3 and were the 11th seed in the playoff field. The Falcons made it past round one last year when they defeated #6 seed River View 32-22, but lost in round two to Greenbrier West 22-15. Of the other 17 teams that have yet to win this season, last year they combined to go 27-142, so their struggles are not new to 2011. Now the good news is, at this point of the regular season, no team is mathematically eliminated however, those who have yet to win and those with just the one victory, must turn things around….and this is the week that has to start. And, when you look at this list, there are some of the “normal” playoff teams that could be in jeopardy. Teams from Class AAA that might be in trouble because they have just one win, include the Brooke Bruins and the South Charleston Black Eagles. In Class AA, one win teams right now are the Huskies of Herbert Hoover, the Panthers of Pikeview and the Dots of Poca. These three teams made the playoff field last year as did the Frankfort Falcons who are presently one of the 18 teams in Class AA still looking for win number one. In Class A, the teams that might be in trouble and left out of the playoff field this year that made the dance last season include Pendleton County and St. Marys. Now again, the season is not over and all of the teams we have mentioned are still alive, but they cannot afford another loss.
There are some really important games scheduled for this weekend and just to highlight a couple from each class……check out these match ups:
In Class AAA……Elkins is at Bridgeport……Cabell Midland, winner of three in a row, travels to Woodrow Wilson…..Hurricane will visit Capital…..and University tries to right the ship as they visit Fairmont Senior.
In Class AA…..Grafton is at Lincoln…..Wayne travels to Point Pleasant…..Ritchie County heads to Ravenswood and Westside heads to Madison to battle Scott.
In Class A….Meadow Bridge heads to Valley (F) and, Wheeling Central will welcome Oliver High School from just outside Pittsburgh, Pa.
Don’t forget, we will have the scores of all the games played on Friday night on A.A.R.P. GAMENIGHT which airs on 46 radio stations around the state. You can also follow the live scoreboard updates at our website…..wvmetronews.com.
Talk with you this Friday night!