Week number one of the 2014 High School Football season is now in the books and after the first 63 games, for the most part, the teams that were supposed to win, did!
In Class AAA, we saw some very impressive performances by the teams that are supposed to be near the top when the official WVSSAC rankings come out on Tuesday, September 16th. Martinsburg had little trouble with H. D. Woodson High from the Washington, D.C. area……Huntington rolled past Hurricane…..Morgantown shutout another team from the nation’s Capital….Wheeling Park easily defeated a strong team from Pittsburgh, plus Cabell Midland put 63 on the board against Riverside and Point Pleasant lit the scoreboard lights for 54 in shutting out Lincoln County! In the South Charleston-George Washington game, it was not a major surprise the Black Eagles won, however to win by 42 was an eye opener as to the quality team Head Coach Donnie Mays will put on the field each week.
In Class AA, the Wayne Pioneers proved they have reloaded and are ready to fight to win another AA title after losing in the championship game last year to Bridgeport. The young men from Wayne County easily defeated the Tolsia Rebels 40-18. For last year’s Class AA champion it was business as usual as Bridgeport rolled past Buckhannon Upshur by 30! The very athletic and very quick Bluefield Beavers put up 73 against long time rival Graham, Va. and Robert C. Byrd let everyone know they plan on being around the top of the AA heap for a while as they disposed of Fairmont Senior by three touchdowns. Sissonville also proved impressive as they opened 2014 with a 42-14 spanking of the always tough Chapmanville Tigers.
In Class A, Wheeling Central waited an extra day to start their 2014 campaign, but when the game did kick off against Notre Dame the Maroon Knights left no doubt they plan on still playing in early December ad they beat a good Irish team 54-21! The Blue Devils of St. Marys opened with an impressive 47-0 shutout win over Class AA Ritchie County and Greenbrier West fought hard for a victory in week one as they defeated Class AA Nicholas County 20-14. Other impressive wins in Class A from week one belonged to Williamstown, Bishop Donahue, Madonna, Frankfort and Clay-Battelle!
Now a couple of teams that are supposed to have very good seasons this year were idle in week one but the Class AAA Cougars of Capital will get started this Friday night when they open up at 0-1 Riverside and in Class A, the Blue Eagles of Magnolia start their season with a very tough opponent as undefeated Williamstown comes calling in New Martinsville!
So, what can we expect in week number two? Well, there are several key games around the state beginning in the big school’s class as #6 Wheeling Park (1-0) welcomes Class AA #2 Bridgeport (1-0). Every year these two teams battle to a classic finish with one of them usually winning by three points or less, as the Patriots did last year 17-14. Also this week in Class AAA, the Patriots of Parkersburg South will host the Hawks of University and Huntington will travel to rival Spring Valley. In another key rivalry match that has not been played in a while, the Big Blacks of Point Pleasant will go on the road to battle the Ripley Vikings.
In Class AA, the Bluefield Beavers will welcome old foe Princeton to Mitchell Stadium this Friday night and will be looking to avenge last year’s lost to the Tigers. In 2013, Bluefield lost just two regular season games……32-29 to Princeton and 29-27 to Wayne. For Princeton last season, after defeating Bluefield, the Tigers lost four in a row to end their season at 6-4 and outside the playoff field of 16. Also this week in Class AA, #1 Wayne will head to #5 Sissonville to tangle with the much improved Indians. Last year, the Pioneers rolled over Sissonville 58-19. Also this week, the Petersburg Vikings open their 2014 season at home against Pendleton County.
In Class A, certainly the game that should be a must see is #4 Williamstown at #8 Magnolia. The Yellow Jackets are 1-0 on the season after beating Tyler Consolidated last Friday night 30-7 and as mentioned earlier, the Blue Eagles will be playing their season opener. Last year, this game was a classic as Williamstown defeated Magnolia 15-14. Also in Class A this weekend, #1 Wheeling Central will travel to Steubenville Catholic in Ohio and Notre Dame will try and bounce back from their week one loss to the Maroon Knights as they visit Parkersburg Catholic on Saturday night.
By the way, congratulations to our first AARP GAMENIGHT Scholar Athlete of the Week —–
Jarrod Kellar of Lincoln High School. A senior, Jarrod is a 4.17 g.p.a. AP Honors student and ranked among the top 10 in his class. He is a National Honor Society member and serves as Key Club president. He is the son of Mike and Missy Kellar of Shinnston.
A three-year starting quarterback for Coach Rob Hawkins’ Cougars, Kellar earned 2013 Class AA all-state football honors while passing for nearly 2,200 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior. He is a two-time all-Big 10 and all-Harrison County selection in football, and has already established career marks for the most total passing yards and touchdown passes in Lincoln High School history. He is also a two-year member of the varsity basketball team.
To nominate an athlete, male or female, for the AARP GAMENIGHT Scholar Athlete of the Week, just visit our website www.wvmetronews.com for a complete nomination form.