Week 5 of the high school football season proved to be costly for several teams ranked in the top 16 of the WVSSAC ratings.
Last Friday night, there were a total of seven upsets, with four coming in AAA, two in AA and one more in Class A.
In the big schools division, co-No.1 Morgantown traveled across I-68 and lost 17-16 to No. 13 Martinsburg. The end result came when Morgantown had a 36-yard field goal blocked with time running out. It marked the 10th straight loss for Morgantown in the series.
Another ranked team from the Eastern Panhandle did not have the same good luck: Third-ranked Jefferson could not get anything going against Sherando, Va.(5-0).
In the Northern Panhandle, No. 14 Brooke traveled to Wheeling Island Stadium for a 21-18 upset of No. 6 Wheeling Park.
In the central part of the state, unranked North Marion (2-2) from Class AA rolled past No. 10 Preston 40-13.
In Class AA, the ninth-ranked Independence Patriots fell 19-0 to Westside (2-2), while 10th-ranked Nicholas County lost at Clay in overtime 42-34.
In Class A, the upset happened in Sistersville as Tyler Consolidated defeated 12th-ranked Calhoun County 54-12. That loss dropped the Red Devils to 4-1 while the Knights improved to 3-2.
So, what’s in store for Week 6? Once again we have some great games scheduled starting with Class AAA as Capital (4-1) will host Huntington (5-0) at University of Charleston Stadium. Last year, the Cougars barely slipped by the Highlanders 28-25 in Huntington.
Also in Class AAA, the undefeated and high-scoring Big Blacks of Point Pleasant will get a real test this Friday night when they visit Parkersburg South (3-1), whose only loss came by three points to Morgantown.
In Class AA this weekend, Nicholas County will try to bounce back against undefeated James Monroe, and Mingo Central will look to cool down Wayne (2-2).
In Class A, Tug Valley will look to bounce back after last week’s loss to Class AA Tolsia when the Panthers host Bishop Donahue (5-0). Also in the small schools division, once-beaten Pendleton County will face a tough test when second-ranked East Hardy comes to town.
All in all, in looks like another great weekend of high school football so get out and support your favorite team. And, don’t forget after the game, tune in High School Gamenight and catch all the scores. If you can’t find the program on your local radio station, just log on to WVMetroNews.com and watch the show.