By: Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
No. 8 AA Logan (3-0) at No. 4 AA Point Pleasant (3-0)
This is arguably the toughest competition either team will face in the remainder of the regular season.
Both teams have marquee wins over rivals, Point Pleasant over Ripley and Logan over Man. Both teams also have comfortable wins over Lincoln County, while Logan also enjoyed a sizable win over Poca and the Big Blacks downed Gallia Academy (OH) 61-12 last week.
“We played our junior varsity the whole second half,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst said of the game against Gallia. “We were able to get those kids some reps and rest our regulars a little bit, so we can keep everybody healthy.”
Darst will need all hands on deck to try to stop Logan quarterback David Early who has thrown for over 700 yards and has 16 total touchdowns as a freshman.
“David Early doesn’t have too much fear about putting the ball in the air,” Darst said. “We will have to do a good job in the secondary of handling a couple of good-looking receivers. Early seems to run the ball pretty well too.”
On the other side, Logan head coach Gary Mullins knows the importance of this game for his team — it will serve as a solid gauge as to where his team is in the Class AA landscape.
The Big Blacks have outscored Logan 120-15 in the last two meetings between the two teams.
“Point Pleasant has embarrassed a little bit the last two years,” Mullins said. “They haven’t just beaten us—they have destroyed us. Our kids want to prove they can play at that level.”
While Early may grab several of the headlines, Mullins is impressed with the Big Blacks signal caller, Cason Payne.
“Cason Payne has stepped right in and picked right up where they left off last year,” Mullins said. “I don’t know how you can lose Cody Mitchell and have a kid just step in and do the same things he did. We have to limit their big plays offensively.”
No. 1 AAA Huntington (3-0) at No. 16 Parkersburg (1-2)
No Luke Zban, no problem for Huntington.
The Highlanders were without their quarterback, picking up a 24-18 win at home over George Washington as backup quarterback Brandt Adkins led a late scoring drive to propel Huntington to the victory.
“Brandt played within himself at quarterback which is all we ask him to do,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said. “He did good job of running the offense and making good decisions with the football in the fourth quarter. He made some good reads and got some significant first downs for us.”
Adkins got help for his running back Jadon Hayes in the win as he scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Highlanders in the fourth quarter. Hayes also rushed for 131 yards in the win.
“We probably didn’t play our best football Friday night, but George Washington had a lot to do with that,” Seals said. “They are a really good football team. We are never going to apologize for winning a game. We really gutted one out against a good team.”
Now, comes a matchup with Parkersburg as Huntington tries to stay undefeated.
“They have great length on the outside with Easton Martin and Brenton Strange,” Seals said. “That’s our number one concern. We didn’t do a very good job of covering the pass on Friday night.”
However, some of Huntington’s issues were due to the talent of Grant Wells who threw for 310 yards against the Highlanders.
“I have to give some credit to Grant Wells for giving us trouble,” Seals said. “He’s darn near one of the best quarterbacks I’ve seen in coaching 17 years of high school football.
“Anytime you have to go to Parkersburg to play, it’s tough because of all the tradition,” he continued. “We know it’s homecoming for them, and they are going to be playing on a high. We just want to get out of there and be 4-0 Friday night.”
No. 15 AAA Cabell Midland (1-2) at No. 6 AAA Capital (2-1)
Cabell Midland is 1-2 for the first time since 2011 after local rival Hurricane got a late score to down the Knights 34-31.
Isaiah Duncan and Ivan Vaughn both went over 150 yards rushing in the game, but two lost fumbles were the difference for the Knights in the defeat.
And the schedule doesn’t offer any breathing room as its Week 4 matchup is a rematch of last year’s Class AAA semifinal game.
The Knights defeated Capital at Laidley Field during the regular season before the Cougars made a statement with a 35-13 win at Cabell Midland in the semifinals.
No. 7 AAA Spring Valley (2-1) at George Washington (1-2)
Spring Valley started fast on offense, defense and special teams en route to a 70-14 win over St. Albans.
The Timberwolves scored twice on special teams and once on defense in the first half to get out to the quick lead.
“We started clicking early and was able to work on some stuff,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said. “It seemed like everything was going our way.”
Derek Johnson threw for 172 yards and Mason Brubeck rushed for 88 yards, but it was the Timberwolves’ defense that held St. Albans to -15 rushing yards.
Although St. Albans may not have the same talent as Huntington and Cabell Midland, Dingess was still concerned with how his team would respond.
“Sometimes you get caught up in trap games, and I’ll admit the St. Albans game had me worried,” Dingess said. “I talked to the kids about that game being the biggest of the year for us to that point because it dictated the whole mood and momentum of the team. I was pleased with the way we came out.”
The Timberwolves get a hungry George Washington team that lost a heartbreaker to Huntington in week three.
“Their offense is very high powered,” Dingess said of the Patriots. “They throw it all over the place. I don’t think their line gets enough credit for how good they are on both sides of the ball. We will have to play really well and hope they make a few mistakes to help us out.”
Just like Huntington had to deal with it in week three, Dingess can see how the Patriots cause issues with their size at wide receiver.
“I know St. Albans threw it a lot, but we haven’t seen anybody throw it as much as George Washington wants to throw it,” Dingess said. “It’s going to be hard to duplicate it in practice. It’s going to cause big time matchup problems for us.”
Tolsia (1-1) at No. 14 AA Westside (2-1)
Tolsia has waited two weeks to get over the loss to Mingo Central in Week 2.
The Rebels are in the midst of a four straight road trips with two byes tucked in the middle. After this week, Tolsia will make another road trip to Tug Valley before another off week.
This is the first time since 2006 that Tolsia will take on a team from Wyoming County. That particular year the Rebels matched up against Wyoming East.
No. 7 A Sherman (3-0) at No. 11 A Gilmer County (3-0)
Sherman won its third straight home game to begin the season as it downed Valley, 32-14.
The win for the Tide gave them their first 3-0 start since 2009 which is also the last time Sherman made the playoffs as a Class AA team.
A victory over Gilmer County would match Sherman’s win total from the previous three years combined after one-win campaigns in 2014 and 2015 and a two-win season in 2013.
The Tide have to go on the road for the first time in 2016 and face a GCHS team that is also looking for a marquee win to add to its resume.
No. 15 AA Man (2-1) at River View (0-2)
After a loss to county rival Logan to start the season, Man has steered the ship back in the right direction with an overtime win over Mount View before snagging a 27-14 win at home over a ranked Westside club.
The Hillbillies dominated River View last season with a 54-0 win at home, but the last time Man was on the road in McDowell County it had to scratch out a 38-35 win over the Raiders.
Other Games:
Poca (0-3) at Chapmanville (1-2)
Lincoln County (0-3) at No. 13 AAA Princeton (2-1)
Oak Hill (0-2) at Wayne (0-2)
Sheldon Clark, Kentucky at No. 16 A Tug Valley (2-1)
Hundred (0-3) at Hannan (0-2)
Williams Campbell, Virginia at Van (2-1)
Bye: No. 9 AA Mingo Central (3-0)