With the high school football regular season now behind us, all eyes are focused on the 48 teams that will move into the second season beginning this Friday night. With 24 games scheduled during week #1 of the playoffs, 15 games will be played Friday night – 6 games will be contested on Saturday afternoon and 3 more contests will feature a 7:30 Saturday night kickoff.
Here is a little trivia question for you that will be answered at the end of this column: Of the 48 teams that have made the playoffs this season, what three teams have won the most state championships?
In Class AAA, there seems to be a number of teams that could hoist the big trophy in Wheeling on Saturday afternoon, December 7th. Of course leading the way is the #1 seeded Highlanders of Huntington High and the 2nd seeded Bulldogs of Martinsburg. For Head Coach Billy Seals, 2013 has been a year of impressive defensive stats as his green and gold clad squad has only given up a total of 93 points in 10 games! And, that effort comes with playing one of the toughest schedules in the state that included five other playoff teams…..#3 Capital, #7 Cabell Midland, #12 South Charleston, #14 Hurricane and #15 Spring Valley. For the 2nd seeded Bulldogs, Head Coach Dave Walker’s Martinsburg squad has once again rolled through another regular season losing only one game by 1 point, 35-34, to Tuscarora, Virginia who just finished their regular season with an 8-2 record. Positions 3-16 in the AAA playoff field are held down by teams that could make some noise in their own right when play begins Friday night.
In Class AA, the top spot is once again occupied by two time defending state champion Wayne. The Pioneers enter the playoffs having won 33 straight games and stand just 4 games away from breaking the record for consecuetive victories which was set by Ansted High School from 1970-1974! If the Pioneers can win their 3rd state title, they would in the championship game, break that record! However, I’m sure Head Coach Tommy Harmon is not looking past his first opponent this Friday night in the Colts of Philip Barbour! You don’t win 33 straight games and two titles by looking past any opponent! In Class AA you also have to figure there are several teams than can and will stand in the way of the Pioneers picking up that championship this December including #2 Bridgeport….#3 Bluefield, who battled the Pioneers to the end this past weekend in the season’s final game before losing by just two points! Also standing in the way are a host of great ballclubs that have had great seasons and do not want to see it come to an end anytime soon.
In Class A, the cream of the crop all season long has been the Blue Dons of Madonna! Head Coach Doug Taylor’s club is led by 6’2 senior star Ross Comis who is as good an athlete as there is in the state. And, by the way, 7’2, 295 pound senior lineman Josh Martin is a load to try and block. And that is not a typo….he really is 7’2 and has a 6’7 270 little brother that is only a 10th grader! But certainly, when you take a look at the field in Class A you have to notice last year’s state champion Wahama is there with a 9-1 record and even though they have a new coach, the White Falcons would love nothing better than to repeat as Class A champs! The Class A field also features the likes of undefeated St. Marys and Valley-Fayette, and once beaten Man, Greenbrier West, Moorefield and Clay-Battelle; and then you have solid teams like Meadow Bridge, Williamstown, Bishop Donahue, East Hardy and Notre Dame! Plus, there are three teams with four losses that could easily win the title and they are Tucker County, Magnolia, and oh yes, Wheeling Central Catholic! Do you want to pick a winner in Class A right now?
All in all, the “second season” is shaping up to be one of the best ever and we at MetroNews look forward to keeping you up to date on every game! Don’t forget to check out GAMENIGHT this Friday night as Dave Jecklin and I will have all the scores of every game played that night and we will follow the Saturday games on this website!
And, the answer to the trivia question above……what 3 teams in the playoff field of 48 this year have the most state titles? Well, in 3rd place with 6 state championships is Class A Moorefield and current Class AA Bridgeport, which by the way has won a championship in all three classes…..in 2nd place with 9 state championships is Wheeling Central, who won 8 titles in Class A and 1 more in Class AA! And, the team with the most state championships in this year’s playoff field comes out of Class AA….the Bluefield Beavers have won 10 state football titles……6 in Class AAA and 4 more in Class AA!
Talk with you Friday night!