With Week 11 of the 2015 high school football season here, some 17 teams will not play in the last week of the regular season. However, only seven of those are guaranteed to be putting their equipment away this week.
In Class AAA, there are seven teams scheduled for their open week: Brooke, Capital, Huntington, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Musselman and University. Of those seven, only University (2-8) has fully wrapped up their rebuilding year. Five of the six teams listed above are well into the field of 16 and only Musselman, which should be ranked No. 14 when the WVSSAC rankings come out this week, has any reason for concern.
In Class AA, only four teams are idle in Week 11: Chapmanville, Liberty (Harrison), Pikeview and Weir. Of these four, Chapmanville and Weir will be in the field of 16, while Liberty (Harrison) and Pikeview will not Liberty should be ranked No. 21 this week and Pikeview with a 2-8 finish is well outside the field.
In Class A, six teams will not play this week: Calhoun County, Hannan, Pendleton County, Sherman, Tug Valley and Valley (Fayette). Of those, Pendleton County and Tug Valley look to be moving on in the playoffs, while the other four may come up a little short. Calhoun County should be ranked 20th this week, Hannan finished their season at (0-8), Sherman at 1-9 and Valley (Fayette) at 1-9.
What are the exciting games this weekend? In Class AAA, Hurricane is at Cabell Midland, South Charleston travels to George Washington, Wheeling Park is at John Marshall and Point Pleasant makes the trip to Princeton. And, of course there is the big rival game in Wood County that will feature Parkersburg at Parkersburg South. No playoff berth is riding on the line in this one, however the bragging rights for another year is always on the board.
In Class AA, Wayne will try to secure a playoff spot as the Pioneers travel to Bluefield. Considering Wayne was 3-4 just a couple of weeks ago, this is a considerable turn around for the Pioneers. It won’t be easy to grab the win on the road at Mitchell Stadium because the Beavers (7-1) have outscored their opponents 389 to 205 and that includes winning their last two games by outscoring their opponents 125 to 6.
Also in Class AA, Liberty (Raleigh) will travel to Wyoming County to take on the Wyoming East Warriors and will be looking to solidify their playoff spot, Mingo Central will make the trip to Wyoming County to battle a very good Westside team and Roane County may have the toughest opponent of all as they will travel to Williamstown to take on the Class A Yellow Jackets (7-2).
Looking ahead to this week’s schedule in Class A, (7-2) Bishop Donahue will travel to Wheeling Jesuit Stadium where they will meet up with Wheeling Central (8-1) , and the Man Hillbillies (7-2) will welcome the Van Bulldogs (7-2) and the Buffalo Bison will try to complete an undefeated regular season as they welcome Wahama.
Certainly every game played is important, so take the family and enjoy watching your favorite team compete under those Friday night lights. And, after the game, tune in to “High School GameNight” to catch all the scores. You will also find us at WVMetroNews.com!