By: Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
A couple teams in the area will have the chance to catch their breath this week. Others will face stiff challenges at times where stiff challenges may make or break their season. As the weather gets cooler and wetter, each game takes on increased meaning. In some cases, the weather complicates matters and takes the difficulty up a notch. It all makes for an intriguing end result one way or another. Here are this week’s games. Dates/times listed:
Calhoun County (1-5) at St. Marys (5-0) – Friday 7:30
On a wet and sloppy night in Williamstown, the St. Marys Blue Devils survived a first half monsoon and difficult field conditions to come away with a 21-7 win over the Williamstown Yellowjackets.
Sometimes in bad weather, a quarterback finds it easier to do things himself rather than rely on the offensive weapons at his disposal. This rang true for St. Marys quarterback Will Billeter – who ran for two scores and threw for the third. The difference-maker came early in the fourth when Billeter rolled out on a scramble and found the entire left side of the field wide open. Billeter scampered 19 yards – virtually untouched – for the go-ahead score, and the Blue Devils never trailed again.
The stats tell more of the story about how much St. Marys controlled this game. The Blue Devils outgained Williamstown 312-136. St. Marys picked up 17 first downs to just six for the Yellowjackets. St. Marys gave up the ball on downs a few times deep in Williamstown territory on drives that became stuck in soupy mud that covered the entire playing surface by game’s end.
This week, things are a little easier in some ways and a little more challenging in others for St. Marys. The Blue Devils find themselves away from the emotion of a rivalry matchup this week, and against an opponent that has struggled this season. The Red Devils picked up their one win against Ritchie County September 16th, but haven’t scored since that game. In fact, that Ritchie County win is the only game in a four-game stretch where Calhoun County has managed to crack the scoreboard.
But, for St. Marys, this is Homecoming (or “Hoco”, as the kids often call it these days. Yeah, I get that it’s an abbreviation, but I don’t see the need for one there. Whatever, I suppose). If St. Marys can keep the focus on the field and away from the extraneous activities of the week, a sixth straight win is well within reach. This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
Williamstown (4-2) at Buffalo (5-0) – Friday 7:30
The schedule has been rugged for the Williamstown Yellowjackets, and on a dry playing field, Williamstown may have been able to unseat St. Marys. Instead, on a sloppy surface, it was the Blue Devils that held serve and picked up a crucial win.
Now, Williamstown has four games left to earn the points needed to cement a spot within the field of 16 for this year’s playoffs. It was such a tough game for the Williamstown rushing attack that quarterback Trenton Tallman technically outgained his team – finishing with 137 ground yards out of the team’s 136 total yards, an anomaly created by backfield fumbles the team was forced to fall on during the game.
The trouble for Williamstown is that St. Marys was able to get just enough through the passing game – 124 yards – to make the difference. Williamstown managed only six passing yards all night. For a team that’s been hurt by an ineffective pass defense at times this season, Williamstown didn’t give up many pass yards last week, but the ones they allowed counted.
This week, the Yellowjackets hit the road once again to face Buffalo. The Bison are 5-0 and have topped 40 points twice and 50 points on two other occasions. But, this will represent Buffalo’s toughest test of the season, and only the second time this year they’ve faced a team with a winning record. If the Williamstown offense can rediscover their productive ways, they’ve got a pretty good shot to get things back on track with a big road win. Expect the defense to use last week’s loss as a motivator as well.
Parkersburg (1-4) at Woodrow Wilson (1-4) – Friday 7:00
Parkersburg has lost four straight after posting an impressive season-opening win against St. Albans. In its most recent loss, the Big Reds became the latest area team to fall to Marietta, Ohio’s potent offense (in its first five games, Marietta was held to fewer than 40 points once – when St. Marys limited them to 36 points three weeks ago).
Parkersburg took a step back from being the team that stuck with the likes of Capital and Huntington for two straight weeks. But, unless you’re playing one of those Super Bowl Squares office games, where you win money if you have the right numbers after each quarter and half, the end result is the only thing that matters.
And for the Big Reds, that means taking a second look at a defense that’s allowed four touchdowns or more in each of four straight losses. In a year of the improbable, Parkersburg will hope they aren’t asking for the impossible against Woodrow Wilson – a team coming off a 41-6 drubbing last week to George Washington.
The Flying Eagles have been grounded on offense over the past two weeks, scoring just six total points in back-to-back losses. If the Big Reds can take advantage of a team that’ll still be licking their wounds from a week ago, Parkersburg could come away with the win they need to turn their season around.
Brooke (0-6) at Parkersburg South (2-4) – Friday 7:00
For three quarters, Parkersburg South stood a shot at ending Point Pleasant’s long home winning streak and regular season winning streak. Trailing by just seven points entering the fourth, South instead encountered a Point Pleasant team in the middle of a stretch with 32 straight points.
It was a step back for a Patriots team that had run the ball so well in the prior three games to come away with only one rushing score, despite 185 ground yards. But there were bright spots for South – mainly through special teams. For the second straight game, Zane Hinzman returned a kickoff for a touchdown. It’s the third straight game where a Patriot has taken a kickoff all the way to the house for a score.
But this week’s focus turns to a winless and battered Brooke Bruins team, a club down to it’s third quarterback of the season because of injuries. Ironically, battered and beaten is how Brooke left Parkersburg South last year. The Patriots emerged from last year’s matchup with a few season-ending injuries and a couple others that severely impacted their depth in the weeks that followed.
Don’t expect the Patriots to show sympathy, especially not on a huge night in school history. Friday is the Homecoming Game during the school’s 50th Year Anniversary season. The South alumni in attendance will likely be pleased with the result. This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Ritchie County (0-6) at Tyler Consolidated (3-2) – Friday 7:00
Tyler Consolidated went into its bye week with a 47-0 blowout win that followed an upset loss to Ravenswood. Rested and ready to make a statement in the second half of the season, the Silver Knights host a Ritchie County team decimated by injury and illness.
The Rebels fell 44-8 to Ravenswood to extend a losing streak that extends back to the 2014 season. Ritchie County has scored just 16 points total in the last two weeks, and against a Tyler Consolidated team looking for chances to again prove their playoff mettle, the forecast for offense is cloudy, at best, for the Rebels.
This game can be heard over the air at 92.3 FM and online at www.wxcr.com.
Clay County (1-4) at Roane County (4-1) – Friday 7:30
Roane County comes into this week’s matchup against Clay County off a bye week. For Roane, the emphasis was likely on healing up and finding answers for why an offense that was prolific at the start of the season has sputtered in the last two games.
After a shutout loss to Nicholas County, Roane posted just 22 points in a win against Braxton County heading into last week’s bye week. Sure, that isn’t necessarily cause for alarm, but it’s an aberration when you see the Raiders topping 40 points in each of their first three wins.
This week’s opponent has struggled, so maybe this is the game where Tyler May and crew begin to once again rack up big offensive numbers.
Weirton Madonna (0-5) at Parkersburg Catholic (3-2) – Saturday 1:30
For the first time in a few seasons, Parkersburg Catholic is above .500 at the halfway point of its season. They have a strong chance to pick up their fourth win against a winless Madonna team. Ryan Roedershimer has led a Crusader attack that’s managed 41 points in each of three wins this season.
He’ll be once again integral to the attack, but also take notice of a Catholic defense that’s put up back-to-back goose eggs in wins against Wirt County and Valley-Wetzel. They’ll be looking to extend a scoreless streak beyond the current eight quarters.
Other Games:
Paden City (1-4) at Clay-Battelle (5-0) – Friday 7:00
Wirt County (1-5) at Ravenswood (2-4) – Friday 7:30
Ripley (2-4) at South Charleston (2-3) – Friday 7:00
Eastern, Ohio (3-3) at Wahama (2-4) – Friday 7:30