Being #1 is always a good thing…..however, last week in high school football, unless you had the week off, it was tough being at the top!
Of the four teams that were ranked #1 by the WVSSAC ratings system (we had two #1’s in Class A), three of the four lost! The only number one that was safe was Class AAA #1 Cabell Midland and they had week number eight off! To take a look back at the games, the top ranked team in Class AA lost a narrow one point decision to a very good Class AAA team as the Polar Bears of Fairmont Senior suffered their first loss of the season dropping a 20-19 close one to Class AAA #4 Jefferson. At the end of the night, both teams were (6-1) with three games remaining. Fairmont Senior will try to get back on the winning track this Friday night when they host Class AAA Buckhannon Upshur which will arrive at East West Stadium with a (3-4) mark after defeating Lincoln County 51-15 last weekend. For Jefferson, their travel distance with quite a bit smaller however the opponent will be no fun as the Cougars will take on the Martinsburg Bulldogs. Martinsburg is now (5-2) on the year after defeating Hedgesville last week 36-0. It was the Bulldogs 5th straight win.
In Class A, last week Moorefield and South Harrison were both undefeated and both were ranked #1. After Friday night, the Yellow Jackets and the Hawks are both (6-1) and no longer #1 in the small schools classification. For Moorefield, they stayed in Hardy County last Friday night and traveled to Baker, WV where they met up with a very determined and very talented East Hardy ballclub. The Cougars went into the game (5-1) and were ranked #7 in Class A, so they needed a win over a higher ranked team. And, the Cougars were impressive as they defeated Moorefield 21-9! For South Harrison, the trip from Lost Creek to Sistersville was much more pleasant than the return trip back as the Hawks fell 13-7 in a low scoring game to the Silver Knights of Tyler Consolidated. With the win, the Silver Knights improved to (4-3) and picked up a ton of bonus points.
So, what happens in week number nine? Well, there are certainly a number of great games and anytime evenly matched teams get together you can always expect the upset. What are some possibilities this weekend? In Class AAA, maybe the hottest team in the class is George Washington as the Patriots improved to (6-1) last Friday night with an impressive 32-21 win over the Capital Cougars. Head Coach Steve Edwards, Jr.’s team has lost just the one game and that was on the road 26-25 to Paul Blazer High from Ashland, Ky., who by the way, are still undefeated! George Washington will get a stern test this Friday night as they travel to Ona, WV to battle Class AAA #1 Cabell Midland! Other good games this weekend in Class AAA will find the Capital Cougars (5-2) trying to bounce back from the loss at George Washington traveling to Spring Valley to take on the (5-2) Timberwolves! Like Martinsburg, Spring Valley has won five in a row. The Greenbrier East Spartans are looking to climb closer to a long-awaited playoff spot as they take their (4-3) record on the road to Wood County to battle the (4-3) Parkersburg South Patriots. The Spartans very potent offense has scored 56 points in two different games and put 82 points on the scoreboard in another! For Parkersburg South, they are (3-1) on the road, but only (1-2) at home. As mentioned earlier, Martinsburg (5-2) will welcome Jefferson (6-1) this Friday night.
In Class AA, Chapmanville will try to bounce back from their first loss of the season this past weekend (the Tigers lost 69-21 at home to Mingo Central) as they take on a very good Tolsia team on the road. The Rebels defeated Scott last weekend to improve to (7-0) on the season. Also in Class AA, Herbert Hoover at (5-2) will welcome the (6-2) Raiders of Roane County, while (6-2) Weir will have their hands full as they welcome (5-3) Brooke from the Class AAA field. And, some good news in Class AA, the (5-1) Bluefield Beavers will finally get back in action as they travel to Oak Hill to battle the Red Devils. Bluefield has not played a game since October 2nd when they lost to Richlands, Va.!
In Class A, #1 Magnolia will put their (8-0) record on the line as they travel to Sistersville to take on what is obviously a very good Tyler Consolidated ballclub. Also, last week’s co-#1 Moorefield will make the long distance drive to Charmco, WV to take on an always tough Cavalier team from Greenbrier West, while last week’s other co-#1, South Harrison will have to battle another very good Class A ballclub that lost for the first time last week, as the Hawks travel to take on (6-1) St. Marys.
It is so much fun to keep track of all these games because they feature some very good football teams and each game has a lot riding on the outcome. Don’t forget to join Dave Jecklin and me this Friday night at 9:30 for GAMENIGHT on over 40 great radio stations around the state and we always remind you the live video and audio of the show is always available at wvmetronews.com.