By: Wes McKinney, WVMetroNews.com
AA No. 10 Chapmanville (5-2) at AA No. 4 Mingo Central (6-0)
Chapmanville last week used an aerial assault to take down Man, 40-21, and claim the Logan County championship for the third straight season.
Tigers’ quarterback Adam Vance threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Wide receiver Billy Shepherd hauled in a touchdown pass while also making two interceptions on defense for Chapmanville.
Despite starting 0-2 CRHS has now risen to 10th in the Class AA ratings heading into Week 8
“After we started 0-2, we didn’t change anything or do anything differently, we felt like we were still a really good football team,” Chapmanville head coach Rob Dial said.
“The biggest thing I can attribute to our win streak in our work ethic. We have real good chemistry and a real good camaraderie right now. Sometimes when you win one it’s a snowball effect and that’s exactly what’s happened.”
But now comes the stiffest test of the year for the Tigers as they head to Miner Mountain to take on Mingo Central.
“Mingo Central is going to make plays,” Dial said of the explosive Mingo Central offense that is averaging 51.3 points per game.
“They are excellent in all phases of the game. We’ve watched a lot of film on Mingo Central and we know what they’re capable of. If we can play consistent and disciplined early, then hopefully we can hang in the game and get a break or two to go our way that allows us to surprise some people on Friday night.”
As for Mingo Central, they Miners are coming off a 62-20 victory over Poca to stay perfect on the season at 6-0.
Jeremy Dillon tossed four touchdowns and Joe Hunt ran for two more scores as the Miners only needed 32 offensive plays to score 62 points.
“Joe is a big running back,” Mingo Central head coach Yogi Kinder said.
“There are going to be teams in our future that are going to want to run a lot of plays. Right now, we are trying to some different things on offense. Even though, we are running the ball it goes back to our ability to throw. It takes pressure off our running game when you have a quarterback that can throw it like Jeremy.”
Friday night will mark the first time since Week 3, when it played Sissonville, that Mingo Central faces a team with a winning record.
“I think Chapmanville is a little bit better this year than they were last year when they started 6-0,” Kinder said. “They have really improved since we saw them at the scrimmages in August. They always have good athletes and we definitely have our hands full.”
Both teams know the importance of this game.
For Mingo Central, the Miners could tighten their grip atop the Cardinal Conference.
“It’s one of these games for us that we need to win if we want to achieve our goal of winning the conference,” Kinder said. “They are a hot team right now. Both teams are pretty hot.”
Chapmanville, meanwhile, is looking to avoid a third loss with plenty of football still left to play.
“Losing two games early put us behind the eight ball a little bit,” Dial said. “I said earlier in the year that the season in a marathon, but we play games in sprints. You have to let the course of a season play out and see where you stand. I hope and prayer that after 10 games the Chapmanville Tigers are in the playoffs. I don’t care if it’s one, nine, 10 or 16.”
AAA No. 7 Hurricane (4-2) at AAA No. 6 Huntington (5-2)
Huntington lost for the second time in three games as Cabell Midland fended off the Highlanders, 27-20, in the Battle for the Shield.
“Give credit to Cabell Midland because they outplayed us and I thought they were tougher than us last week,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said.
Both teams had to deal with penalties all night as well.
“We never could get on task,” Seals said. “It seemed like every time we had something good happen there was a flag on the play. I’ve never been a part of a game that had 28 flags.”
The Highlanders host a Hurricane team that is also trying to right the ship after a second straight loss. The Redskins are in the midst of a stretch of games against Spring Valley, Capital and Huntington.
“This is a huge game for both of us,” Seals said. “We’ve lost two of three and we need to back on track. They’ve lost two in a row, but you look at who they’ve lost to in Capital and Spring Valley. I’d say those are two of the best teams in the state of West Virginia. We know that they are going to play really well and we know we have to be better.”
And Hurricane will bring a balanced attack to Cabell County Friday night.
“Offensively, Dylan Plumley has a strong arm and throws it really well,” Seals said. “They are physical up front on both sides of the ball. This is one of the most athletic teams they’ve had since Coach Taylor has been there.
“Obviously, you have to know where James McDougle is at all times,” Seals said of Hurricane’s dynamic playmaker. “Dakota Williams is probably their best receiver and Nick Williams runs it hard as well.
“They are a good football team that was number two in the state a couple of weeks ago,” Seals said. “This game is a battle for playoff position.”
AAA No. 3 Spring Valley (6-1) at Ripley (2-5)
Spring Valley pitched back-to-back shutouts as it defeated Riverside, 49-0, to improve to 6-1.
The Timberwolves were able to spread the wealth around offensively and used a couple of special teams’ plays to jump out on Riverside.
“The defense played well and made plays,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said of his team’s ability to score defensively early in the game, recover a kickoff return and block a punt.
Offensively, Kane Morrone became the latest Spring Valley player to go over 100 yards rushing in a game this season.
“We’re blessed enough to have athletes that we can spread it out or load up the backfield and power at teams,” Dingess said. “It gives us an advantage to where if teams want to stack the box then we will spread it out. If they stop our sweeps and outside stuff then we will line up in the I-formation.”
Spring Valley travels to Ripley to take on a Vikings’ team that has lost three straight games.
“They have hard-nosed kids that are scrappy,” Dingess said.
“They tackle well in space. It creates problems and they don’t make mistakes. They make you drive the field and when you have to do that you get behind the chains.”
AAA No. 16 Cabell Midland (3-4) at Parkesburg (2-4)
Cabell Midland picked up a season-defining win as it rode sophomore running back Ivan Vaughn to a win over rival Huntington, 27-20.
“We were battle tested going into that game,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “Our kids were resilient. That was a game that we needed to win.
The victory assured the Knights that they would keep the Shield in Ona for another year.
Vaughn rushed for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s developed a lot from the beginning of the season. We knew he could be good, but he’s gotten stronger as the season has gone on,” Salmons said.
“That’s really good for anybody, but especially a sophomore. It all starts up front with our offensive line.”
What may be more impressive for the sophomore ball carrier is the fact, he has amassed over 200 yards on the ground against Capital, Huntington and Belfry (KY) this season.
The Knights picked up the win with Texas Childress making his first start under center.
Now Childress will get his first road start as Cabell Midland goes to Parkersburg looking to get to .500 for the first time since Week 2.
“Anytime you have to go on the road in our conference, anyone can beat you,” Salmons said. “We have to respect Parkersburg. They’ve had a lot of tradition over the years. I feel really good about our team moving forward, but we have to continue to get better.”
Scott (2-4) at A No. 6 Tolsia (4-1)
The Rebels jumped out early on Mount View and notched a 40-22 road win.
With two of its four wins over Class AA squads, the final four games of the season are important for Tolsia as it features three straight against Class AA teams beginning with Scott this week.
Tolsia won last year’s contest 34-16.
A No. 15 Sherman (5-2) at Phelps, Kentucky
Sherman hung around with Van in the first half of the Boone County showdown last week before the Bulldogs pulled away for a 30-13 win over the Tide.
The schedule does ease up considerably for Sherman in its final three games of the season.
The opponents, Phelps, Greenbrier West and River View have combined for six wins in 2016.
Bluefield (2-5) at Man (4-2)
Man fell to its Logan County rival, Chapmanville, in Week 7.
The Hillbillies have to quickly forget about last week’s defeat that snapped a four-game winning streak for Man.
The last four games for Man include a homecoming date with Bluefield, before the stretch of the season features Point Pleasant, Tug Valley and Van.
Mount View (3-3) at Tug Valley (4-3)
This contest may very well be a playoff elimination game as the season enters its final four weeks of the season.
Tug Valley is 18th in this week’s WVSSAC Class A ratings, just 0.3 points behind Pendleton County and Tyler Consolidated for 16th.
The Panthers snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Valley (Fayette) last week, 30-6.
After hosting the Golden Knights, Tug Valley will finish the season with Montcalm and another important game with Man to close the season.
Other Games:
AA No. 14 Herbert Hoover (4-2) at Wayne (1-5)
Logan (3-3) at Greenbrier East (2-4)
Hannan (1-5) at Paden City (1-5)
Lincoln County (1-5) at Clay County (1-5)
Bye Week:
AA No. 3 Point Pleasant (7-0)
A No. 7 Van (6-1)