You’ve heard me say it many times during the high school football season—”This year is flying by.” Well, reality has set in.
For 17 high school football teams in West Virginia, the regular season ends this weekend, and for some of those will not be extending their playing time into the postseason.
Seven are from Class AAA, four from Class AA and six from Class A. As I have said before, I love numbers, so here is a little breakdown from the 17 teams.
The seven teams from Class AAA have a combined record of 40-21. From the four teams in Class AA, that numbers is 20-16 and from the six teams in Class A, the won/loss record is a not too impressive 21-31.
Depending on how things work out this weekend, of the seven teams in Class AAA ending their regular season, six of the seven will still be playing when the playoffs begin. Only University (2-7) will be packing up its gear. But how about a big shout out to coach John Kelly and his Hawks. With all the youth and injuries this year, University started 0-7 but have won their last two. Congrats to a group of young men that did not mail in the last part of the season. Coupled in with that was the 200th coaching win for Kelly’s career. He will be the first to tell you “don’t make a big deal out of it, but it is a big deal and congrats to one of the really good guys in the business.
In Class AA, of the four teams ending their regular season this weekend, two will be making the first round of the playoffs and a third team will need some help. The Pikeview Panthers (2-7) will be out of the field of sixteen.
In Class A, only two of the six teams are guaranteed a playoff spot. One other team will have to win and then get some help to avoid being eliminated. Three teams in Class A—Hannan, Sherman and Valley (F)—are finished after this weekend.
So, are there any really good games this weekend and will we have legit chances for some of the same type of upsets we have been seeing for the last few weeks? Always. If you get a chance, be sure and check out some of the following matchups: In Class AAA, Brooke (6-3) at John Marshall (5-3); George Washington (6-2) at Spring Valley (5-3); Princeton (5-3) at Greenbrier East (5-3); Martinsburg (6-2) at Musselman (6-3); and Parkersburg South (4-4) at Wheeling Park (6-1-1). And of course the big rival game where the underdog would love an upset—Morgantown (7-2) at University.
In Class AA, we can start at the top where Fairmont Senior (7-1) visits Bridgeport (7-0-1). Another good matchup features James Monroe (7-1) at Bluefield (6-1), while Braxton County (5-3) travels to Class A Williamstown (6-2). Also, Robert C. Byrd (5-3) is at Lincoln (7-1) and Mingo Central (7-1) visits Herbert Hoover (6-2). The players at Wayne (4-4) are looking to make their season with an upset of Tolsia (7-2).
In Class A, Man (6-2) visits Tug Valley (7-2) and Pendleton County (6-2) will be at Moorefield (7-1).
We are closing in on the final games of the 2015 season and all of the kids that play and cheer, plus perform in the band need all of your support. Try and get out to a game this weekend. Don’t forget after the game, tune in for “High School GameNight,” where you will hear all of the scores of all the games played across the state. The live stream can be found at WVMetroNews.com.