By: Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
AAA No. 3 Huntington (5-1) at AAA No. 16 Cabell Midland (2-4)
Huntington got back to its winning ways with a 49-24 win at home versus Ripley.
Highlanders’ quarterback Luke Zban balanced out the Huntington offense as he got back under center and propelled Jadon Hayes to a big night on the ground.
“He does a great job of delivering the football and he has a real accurate arm,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said. “He makes good reads and is very intelligent with the ball in his hand. He helps us be able to run the football better—you can’t put eight guys in the box.”
Meanwhile, Cabell Midland took a tough loss to Kentucky powerhouse Belfry to fall to 2-4 on the season.
“Cabell Midland is no different than they’ve been the last five or six years,” Seals said. “They have a real physical offensive line and their running backs run hard.
“Their defense is real aggressive,” he continued. “They have lost to some really good football teams. People look at their four losses, but I don’t think they understand who the four came against.”
And the Knights are progressively getting better with three losses coming to teams ranked inside the top seven in Class AAA, along with the defeat to Belfry.
“We have a good team,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “We are just young and haven’t quite gotten to where we want to be at this point in the season. It’s just about execution. You can absolutely see the growth in these kids.”
As for the rivalry in Cabell County itself, it’s been highly contested since both coaches took over at their respective programs.
The Knights won 35-10 last year. The teams split two meetings in 2014 with Huntington winning a playoff quarterfinal game after losing the regular season matchup.
“I think it’s the best rivalry in the state of West Virginia,” Seals said. “The series has been really close since Luke has been at Cabell Midland and I’ve been at Huntington. We have our work cut out for us.”
AAA No. 9 Riverside (4-2) at AAA No. 4 Spring Valley (5-1)
Spring Valley clamped down on Hurricane and rode Owen Porter on a sloppy field as the Timberwolves won at home, 36-0.
SVHS held Hurricane to 47 yards of total offense while Porter rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
“It’s good to have a guy like that in your back pocket,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said of Porter. “I think he’s one of the best defensive players in the state. He plays tight end on offense, but he’s ran the ball pretty much his whole life—he’s a bruiser. Friday night was the perfect situation to bring him in.”
But, the Timberwolves defense deserves some headlines as well as giving up just over 60 yards of offense in the last six quarters against South Charleston and Hurricane.
“I’d put our defensive front four up against anybody in the state,” Dingess said. “We have two real good linebackers. I think the difference for us this year as opposed to past years is the fact we have people in the secondary that can cover. We’ve been able to play more man coverage than we ever have before.”
Spring Valley gets consecutive home games with the Week 7 matchup constituting a contest with upstart Riverside.
“They are pretty balanced on offense and they spread you out,” Dingess said. “They put you in situations that aren’t great for us to defend. On defense, they put a lot of people up in the box and force you to throw it. We will have our hands full with them.”
AA No. 12 Man (4-1) at AA No. 16 Chapmanville (4-2)
Chapmanville has vaulted itself into the playoff conversation with a 47-14 win over Nitro last week for a fourth straight victory.
It is the second straight season that the Tigers have had a winning streak of four games or longer.
Chapmanville can claim complete Logan County bragging rights with a win over Man as the Tigers beat Logan two weeks ago.
As for the Hillbillies, they notched a comeback road win at Lincoln County to secure a 25-10 win after being down 10-6 earlier in the game.
Chapmanville won last year’s contest by a score, 35-28.
A No. 13 Van (5-1) at A No. 11 Sherman (5-1)
It’s been a long time since a game of this magnitude will be played in Boone County between two of its rivals.
A crowded Class A field overall makes this game even more important for both teams.
Van closes the season with Cameron and Man after its matchup with Sherman, while the Tide will close to the season with games against Phelps, Kentucky, River View and Greenbrier West.
Sherman will be in search of its first winning season since 2009, while the Bulldogs will be looking to secure a second straight six-win season.
Van won last year’s meeting at home, 40-18.
This has been selected as the Northside Automotive MetroNews Class A Game of the Week.
Bluefield (2-4) at AA No. 3 Point Pleasant (6-0)
Point Pleasant scored 32 unanswered points in a 39-12 win at home against Parkersburg South.
Quarterback Cason Payne spearheaded the attack for the Big Blacks as he went over 100 yards, both passing and rushing in the victory.
For the second time this season, Point Pleasant found itself in a tight contest in the first half before pulling away in the second half for a comfortable win.
“Our kids responded in the right way at halftime,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst said of the mid-game adjustments. “We’ve gone in, changed a few things and said here’s what we’re going to do differently. Both times it’s turned around for us in a good way.”
For as much success as Point Pleasant and Bluefield have had overall, they haven’t played each other in the last decade.
Though the Beavers are 2-4 on the season, it’s still a program that has a history of success and plenty of talent still on the roster.
“I think they are one of the best Class AA teams in the state,” Darst said of Bluefield. “They are healthy. If you watch film of their Richlands game, they were in it right until the end. For them to have four losses, evidently, they’ve had some things not go their way early in the season. They are definitely a scary group to watch play football.
“Bluefield quarterback Cody Fuller throws the ball extremely well,” he continued. “They have the 100-meter dash champion in Class AA at wide receiver. We will have to know where the playmakers are.”
Logan (3-2) at John Marshall (1-5)
After a 3-0 start, Logan fell to 3-2 on the season with a 29-8 loss to rival Chapmanville before its bye week.
“We didn’t play very disciplined in the Chapmanville game, so we got straight on that,” Logan head coach Gary Mullins said of the bye week. “I feel like the coaching staff did a good job of creating an intense atmosphere during the bye week.
“We set the bar really high, and I think the players responded well to it,” Mullins said. “They understand that we have put ourselves behind the eight ball and we have to come out ready to play Friday night.”
With Friday’s game comes a 208-mile road trip to Marshall County with Class AAA points on the line for the Wildcats.
“Offensively, they are running team that’s going to come right at you,” Mullins said of John Marshall. “They do a lot out of the I-formation and we will have to be physical between the tackles to stop their run game. Defensively, they come downhill and play physical. Their record is very deceiving—they’ve played a lot of good teams.”
Poca (0-6) at AA No. 4 Mingo Central (5-0)
Jeremy Dillon accounted for all five touchdowns, four passing and one rushing, for Mingo Central in a 34-0 win over Wayne.
The defensive shutout was the first for the Miners since they blanked Mount View in the regular season finale in 2014.
Friday night will be homecoming for Mingo Central as it welcomes Poca to Matewan.
The Miners have won the previous three meetings between the schools and have scored at least 60 points in all three contests. Mingo Central was a 71-16 winner last year.
A No. 8 Tolsia (3-1) at A No. 16 Mount View (3-2)
Tolsia got through its second bye week of the season and will prepare for Mount View.
Prior to the off week, the Rebels claimed a 36-16 win at Tug Valley.
This will be the first meeting between Tolsia and the Golden Knights since Week 6 of the 2005 season, a 28-20 win for Mount View.
Other Games:
Shady Spring (2-4) at Lincoln County (0-5)
Wayne (1-4) at Scott (1-4)
Tug Valley (3-3) at Valley (Fayette) (0-5)
Phelps, Ketucky at Hannan (1-4)