By: Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
We need to have a talk…
We’re starting to get to the point with these kickoff times where someone needs to step in and make one uniform decision for the entire state. Do we go at 7? Do we go at 7:30? It’s getting a little cumbersome to sort out on a week-by-week basis at this point. Honestly, I no longer care which one we go with anymore.
And yes, I understand that parts of the state have gone with 7 p.m. kickoffs for many years now. This is not one of those parts, until fairly recently. I’ve written this report for several years, and I used to write “All games Friday at 7:30, unless otherwise stated” at the bottom of this opening statement. Over the last two or three years, the exceptions started to increase. Then this season, I realized 7 p.m. was more the norm.
I won’t get into opinions that try to push the virtues of one time over the other. Again, I no longer care enough to advocate for one start time over another. I will say that the constant back-and-forth between the two times is hurting the high school game. Set one uniform time so that people know if they want to see or hear high school football in West Virginia, this is the time to be there.
It’s a marketing thing. In this era with more entertainment options than ever before, we need to be doing everything possible to make it easy for people to consume high school football and spend their money to support high school athletics. And it’s time, once and for all, we made a final decision.
All games Friday, kickoff times listed. Except where there’s a Saturday game this week. You know what? Just read below…you’ll figure it out:
Williamstown (2-0) at Marietta, OH (2-0) (7:00)
Trenton Tallman’s senior season is off to a pretty nice start. The Yellowjacket signal caller ran for 301 yards and three scores, while throwing for another in Williamstown’s 34-12 win over Magnolia. While Magnolia clearly has some things to solve on both sides of the ball, you can’t knock a Williamstown offense that racked up 469 total yards on the Blue Eagles.
But it’s the defense that’ll be put to the test this week against Marietta, Ohio. The Tigers have scored at least 50 in each of their first two wins this season, including last week’s 50-13 win over Warren, Ohio. Dominic VanFossen reached the end zone on half of his six carries, totaling 95 yards in the contest for Marietta. As we inch closer to the first official SSAC rankings of the year, this is a huge contest for Williamstown.
Williamstown is the first of three Class A teams Marietta will face this season. (The Tigers have a contest next week against St. Marys and one against Magnolia later this season.) And even though this game will be played in the state of Ohio, it’s as close to a home game as it gets for Williamstown.
For those of you that aren’t local, Marietta’s Don Drumm Stadium sits at the foot of the bridge that connects these communities. For Williamstown head coach Terry Smith, playing this game in Marietta each year is a coup.
It’s practically a home game anyway for the Yellowjackets and it’s valuable experience on an artificial surface. With two teams from right across the river facing off, it’s also boosted interest among football fans in the two communities.
Capital (1-1) at Parkersburg (1-1) (7:00)
After splitting their first two games of the season, Parkersburg opens at home against perennial power Capital. After falling in Week One, the Cougars bounced back last week with a 40-0 thrashing of Riverside. PHS impressed people with an opening week win against St. Albans, but slipped last week in a 31-18 loss to Hurricane.
The Big Reds picked up 16 first downs and nearly 300 total yards of offense, but couldn’t keep Hurricane out of the end zone late. After the Big Reds cut a 17-3 halftime deficit to seven points early in the 4th quarter, Hurricane scored twice to put things on ice.
The Big Reds will need to play strong defense for 48 minutes to pull the upset this week. They’ll also need to get a strong game from quarterback Ethan Airhart, who threw for three scores on Opening Night.
St. Marys (2-0) at Parkersburg Catholic (1-1) (7:00 Saturday)
St. Marys was able to flex its offensive muscles in a 60-6 win over Wirt County on Friday. Jaden Smith ran for three touchdowns and returned a punt for a fourth for St. Marys. Pretty impressive, given Smith only had five offensive carries all night.
The Blue Devils were also able to play their starters for three quarters, something they didn’t do last week against Ritchie County. Those reps will be huge for a team that faces Marietta next week, and then Williamstown two weeks after that. Parkersburg Catholic got into the win column with a comfortable 41-14 win over Ritchie County.
The Crusaders picked up 22 first downs and 361 total yards of offense. Ryan Roedershimer ran for 213 yards on 29 carries and three scores for Parkersburg Catholic. The Crusaders won’t have nearly the abundance of rushing lanes open to them this week.
They’ll face a St. Marys defense that limited Wirt County to just SIX rushing yards on 27 carries last week. SIX!!! If this were a video game, I’m pretty sure the St. Marys defense would’ve just unlocked something pretty cool with that sort of effort. This game will air locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
Parkersburg South (0-2) at Morgantown (2-0) (7:00)
The good news for Parkersburg South? Their defense has allowed just 30 points all season. The bad? Their offense has scored just 16 in back-to-back season opening losses. The Patriots once again fell by one touchdown in a 16-9 loss to University as Hawks quarterback Clay Bailey came off the bench to fire two touchdown strikes in the second half to lift a sagging University offense.
Things don’t get easier this week as the Patriots go on the road for the first time this season to face Morgantown. The Mohigans have pitched back-to-back shutouts to start the year and have an offense that’s clicked nicely under quarterback Logan Holgorsen. The defense will have their hands full, but for the offense, it’s time to find some answers.
One bright spot has been the emerging connection between quarterback Brandon Hall and wide receiver Derek Thompson. The two connected for a 52-yard touchdown play in the fourth quarter on a night where Thompson hauled in five of Hall’s eight completions. It’s a Patriots team that’s more talented than the record will indicate, and the schedule does get easier.
But South will need to play at their highest level yet to pull the upset against a Morgantown team that’s already shaping up as a state championship contender. This game will air locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Ravenswood (0-2) at Roane County (2-0) (7:30)
Roane County’s Tyler May broke the Raiders’ career rushing and scoring records in a 43-7 win over Lincoln County last week. May ran for 299 yards and five touchdowns on 37 carries in Roane County’s second win of the year. For Ravenswood, the defense has held both prior opponents to fewer than 30 points this year, but the offense has scored just 28 points total in both contests. They’ll need improvements in both categories to get the win this week.
Ripley (1-1) at Riverside (1-1) (7:00)
If Ripley didn’t have your attention after an opening week win against Parkersburg South, they have it now after taking Point Pleasant to the brink in a 19-17 loss last week. Ripley carried a slim 17-16 lead until halfway through the fourth quarter when Point converted the eventual game-winning 19-yard field goal. Make no mistake though; Eddie Smolder’s Vikings have what it takes to approach a winning season this year.
But to do that, they’ll need to take care of business on the road this week in a winnable game. Some people say the mark of a program that’s turned the corner is the ability to close out games, and maybe that’s also true. I feel a real indicator is the ability to turn the games you should win and the so-called “toss up” games into W’s on the ledger.
This game will tell us a lot about where the Vikings are and what we can expect out of them for the rest of 2016.
Webster County (2-0) at Tyler Consolidated (1-1) (7:00)
Tyler Consolidated entered the win column with a 42-12 blowout win over Doddridge County. The Silver Knights led 30-0 at one point and scored on both sides of the ball, getting a 38-yard interception return for touchdown in the second quarter from Tyler Anderson.
This week’s opponent is a Webster County team that’s picked up two narrow wins this season against Richwood and Ravenswood. Expect Tyler Consolidated to bring the wood this week in what’ll be Webster County’s toughest test to date. This game will air locally on 92.3 FM and online at www.wxcr.com.
Racine Southern, OH (2-0) at Wahama (1-1) (7:30)
Ever have someone wake you up by throwing a bucket full of ice water on you as you slept. Me neither, but I imagine it would be about as shocking as what Wahama faced in a 58-0 loss to Waterford last weekend.
The White Falcons host for the first time this season and welcome a Southern team out of Meigs County, Ohio that won 27-6 over Frontier, Ohio last week. After Frontier scored first, Southern put the final 27 points on the board to come away with the win, finishing just shy of the 300-yard mark in total offense. Unless Wahama has some answers, they could be in for another rude awakening this week.
Wirt County (1-1) at Gilmer County (2-0) (7:30)
Gilmer County is 2-0 after a 28-14 win over Richwood last week. This week, they’ll face a Wirt County team that’s still rebounding from a 54-point loss to St. Marys a week ago. With several winnable games left on the schedule, we might be looking at a playoff-bound Gilmer County team this year. And they’ll be led by an offense that’s totaled 83 points in those first two wins this year. Unless the Tigers have some answers on defense, the Titans might pad that total this week.
Other Games:
Doddridge County (0-2) at Calhoun County (0-2) (7:00)
Paden City (0-1) at Tygarts Valley (0-2) (7:00)
Berkeley Springs (0-1) at Ritchie County (0-2) (7:00)