By: Michael Carvelli
AAA No. 8 Morgantown (4-1) vs. AAA No. 7 Musselman (3-1)
Coming off its first loss of the season, Morgantown will look to bounce back with a tough test against a top-10 foe.
The Mohigans have been a solid team on both sides of the ball this season, with a defense that has given teams fits all year and an offense that has been able to find a decent balance between the run and the pass.
WVU commit Maverick Wolfley has been a constant threat in the backfield for Morgantown and scored its only touchdown of the game in last week’s loss to Martinsburg.
Musselman had last week off after beating Greenbrier East a few weeks ago.
The Mohigans won the meeting between the two schools last year, 29-19.
AA No. 1 Fairmont Senior (4-0) vs. Elkins (1-3)
After passing Bridgeport for the top spot in Class AA, Fairmont Senior is going to look to keep its great start to the season going against Elkins.
The Polar Bears have one of the most talented teams in the area, with quarterback Jake Abbott and running back Bryson Gilbert providing a constant threat on offense and brothers Dante and Darius Stills wreaking havoc on teams defensively.
Fairmont Senior picked up an impressive win last week, downing a University team that is off to a great start as well. Abbott had more than 250 all-purpose yards and accounted for four touchdowns in the 28-7 win while FSHS allowed just 70 yards on the ground.
Elkins has lost the last three meetings with the Polar Bears.
AAA No. 6 University (4-1) vs. AAA No. 15 Greenbrier East (2-3)
Coming off a tough game against Fairmont Senior that resulted in its first loss of the season, University will stay at home this week as it looks to move back in the right direction.
The Hawks running game, which had been a strength of the team for much of the first four games of the season, struggled to get any momentum going against the Polar Bears and will look to players like Isaiah Utt to get back on track this week.
University comes into this week’s showdown looking to avenge last year’s loss to Greenbrier East — a 44-20 defeat.
The Spartans are No. 15 in this week’s WVSSAC rankings and sit at 2-3 after back-to-back losses at the hands of Musselman and Bluefield. In those two games, Greenbrier East has been outscored 104-16.
AA No. 2 Bridgeport (5-0) vs. East Fairmont (1-3)
Bridgeport stayed unbeaten with another win last week over Lincoln and will look to defend its home field and extend that streak against another Big 10 Conference foe this week.
The Indians have beaten the Bees in 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two schools, dating back to 2004, including last year’s 64-0 win.
Bridgeport earned its first shutout of the season last week with the 24-0 win over Lincoln, led by John Merica and Mackenzie Holmes who had seven tackles apiece. Holmes also had an interception while Gordon Swiger had two.
East Fairmont has lost four straight after winning its season opener.
A No. 1 South Harrison (4-0) at Calhoun County (1-4)
After last week’s statement victory against Moorefield, the dangerous and physical South Harrison Hawks moved up to the top spot in the WVSSAC rankings and will look to keep things moving in the right direction this week against Calhoun County.
The Hawks, led by another stellar defensive performance, beat Moorefield 26-6. Cam Barnette ran for 151 yards while Freddy Canary added 74, while freshman quarterback Nate Wright threw for two touchdowns.
The South Harrison defense is currently allowing just 6.5 points per game while Calhoun County is averaging 8 points per game on offense as it is 1-4 to start the season.
Other Games:
AAA No. 12 Hedgesville at Preston
Lincoln at AA No. 7 Lewis County
AA No. 7 North Marion at Berkeley Springs
Tygarts Valley at A No. 12 Clay-Battelle
Braxton County at Liberty Harrison
Robert C. Byrd at Grafton
Philip Barbour at Petersburg
Notre Dame at Mount View
Idle this week: Buckhannon-Upshur