By: Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio
Here it is…the final week of the 2016 regular season. A number of teams are playing for their playoff lives this weekend. Others will be playing for the right to host next weekend, or beyond. Others are playing traditional rivals. Some teams are just playing for pride and playing to experience the glory of one more Friday night. Either way, the emotions are usually a little more palpable in Week 11, and with good reason. Here are this week’s games. Dates/times listed:
St. Marys (9-0) at Tyler Consolidated (6-3) – Friday 7:00
St. Marys has run roughshod through most of its 2016 schedule on the way to one of the more impressive seasons in the area. Only two teams have scored more than one touchdown against the Blue Devils in a single game this year. No one has come within 15 points of St. Marys all season. Only once were the Blue Devils held to fewer than 40 points in a single game. So to say this game is a tall order for Tyler Consolidated is an understatement.
Still, this game is one the Silver Knights need if they want to play a game next week. Since a stunning loss in Week 4 to the then-winless Ravenswood Red Devils, the Silver Knights have rebounded to win four of their last five. The only loss in that span is to one-loss South Harrison.
Last week, the Blue Devils turned in one of their more well-rounded performances of the season in a blowout win over Ravenswood. St. Marys only wound up with 232 total yards, but who needs total yards when you score THREE times on special teams?
That’s exactly what the Blue Devils did as Braden Barnhart cashed in a punt return for the first Blue Devil touchdown. Jaden Smith later returned a second quarter kickoff for a score and followed that by returning the opening kickoff of the second half for six points in a 63-13 win over the Red Devils.
Tyler Consolidated pitched their third shutout of the season in a win over the Valley Lumberjacks. When the Silver Knights have won, they’ve suffocated opponents this season. In their six wins, Tyler has allowed just 25 points.
But only two of those six wins have come against teams with winning records this season. Tyler Consolidated will have to play their very best to defeat St. Marys, and that includes special teams – a phase where St. Marys is clicking like they’ve never clicked before.
With a number of signature wins under their belt already this season – Marietta, Ohio; Williamstown; and South Harrison – the Blue Devils come in battle-tested and will be ready for Tyler Consolidated’s best shot. But it’ll also take a little luck if the Silver Knights are to come away with a win this week. Friday’s game will air live on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
Williamstown (7-2) at Tolsia (7-1) – Friday 7:30
Williamstown makes the long trip to the southern part of the state rested and ready to go following a bye week. Tolsia edged Boyd County, Kentucky a week ago for their seventh win of the season and will need to win Friday to lock up one of the top two spots in Class A. For the Yellowjackets, a loss sends them on the road for the playoffs – and possibly back to Fort Gay for a rematch with Tolsia.
Trust me – there likely isn’t a Class A team in the state, other than Tolsia, that wants to see Tolsia win this game. No one in the top-8 of Class A wants to move through their bracket with the possibility of welcoming Williamstown as a double digit seed in the first or second rounds.
Regardless of the SSAC ratings, the Yellowjackets are one of Class A’s four-best teams. And you know who else stands to benefit from a Williamstown win this week? How about the Yellowjackets’ arch rival, St. Marys? The Blue Devils might move into the top-2 with a win of their own and a Williamstown win over Tolsia. This game is fascinating from a number of local angles, as far as the playoffs are concerned.
Looking for an idea on how this game might break? Take a look back at Williamstown’s Week 7 visit to Buffalo. On the road against a team with one of Class A’s best records, the Yellowjackets rallied for a 39-34 win in the game’s final minutes.
They did it coming off a loss to St. Marys and they did it without starting quarterback Trenton Tallman, who left with a hip injury in the first half. Since then, the Yellowjackets have played two sub-.500 teams and have had the week off. This has allowed Tallman plenty of time to rest and recover.
In their first year down from Class AA, Tolsia is where they are in the ratings because of all their wins against (mostly struggling) Class AA teams. Make no mistake, the Yellowjackets are the more battle-tested team. Though they head deep into hostile territory this week, Williamstown should emerge from this matchup primed for a run into the playoffs.
Parkersburg South (4-5) at Parkersburg (4-5) – Friday 7:00
This is the second straight year the Patriots and Big Reds have met in the season’s final week with identical records. Last year, both teams battled key injuries and were, literally, limping down the home stretch. As a result, with both teams out of the playoff race, the game had the feel of a bowl game to it. Pride was on the line and both teams rose to the occasion to provide an entertaining game.
This year, Parkersburg South is healthy, but comes in off a disappointing loss to Wheeling Park in its home finale. PHS has won back-to-back games and three of their last four just to have the chance to break even in their season finale. So despite the fact that this year’s winner will also likely miss the playoffs, it’s hard to see this matchup as two teams entering on the same level.
What was so disappointing about last week’s loss for Parkersburg South is how ineffective their defense was at stopping Wheeling Park and quarterback Cross Wilkinson. Wheeling Park scored on five of their six drives in the first half – with the end of the half doing more than anything to stop Park on the sixth drive. Though Parkersburg South racked up a season-best 425 yards, it was little consolation for a team that allowed a season-high 438 total yards and a season-high 48 points.
Parkersburg ruined Riverside’s chance to break even at 5-5 with a 48-35 win over the Warriors. (Same score as the Parkersburg South-Wheeling Park game, oddly enough.) For the second straight week, Bradley Craig stepped in at quarterback for the Big Reds and threw a pair of touchdown passes. Easton Martin led the backfield effort for Parkersburg with 216 yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns.
The biggest variable in this matchup? How South’s defense responds after a rough outing a week ago. The Patriots have asked so much of their defense all year long, that it was an aberration last week when they weren’t able to answer the call. Now, facing a Big Reds team that’s averaging more than 50 points in their last two wins, South will have to step up defensively to finish the season with a second-straight 5-5 record.
The Patriots also might have to make it happen through the air against PHS, which is something they haven’t had to do all season. The Big Reds allowed most of the 461 yards they surrendered to Riverside through the air. Still, the Warriors ran for an average of more than five yards a carry last week against Parkersburg. If that’s there for South, that may be all the Patriots need.
The Big Reds have also scored on three turnovers during their current string of three wins in four games. Last week, they returned a fumble for a touchdown. Parkersburg’s chances will improve if they can turn a takeaway directly into points. This game will air live on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Ripley (3-6) at Ravenswood (4-5) – Friday 7:30
Many outside Jackson County will view this as yet another case of two sub-.500 teams meeting on the gridiron this week. But “The Battle for the Hatchet” is a big deal locally, and this year may be the final meeting in a long time between these teams. With last year’s reclassifications, Class AAA Ripley now faces Class A Ravenswood in this game. It does nothing for the Vikings to play this game each year, from a playoff standpoint.
For the Red Devils, it offers a chance to break even this season and to win a rivalry game on Senior Night. In a year where Ravenswood was closer to a playoff berth, facing a Class AAA team in their final game would offer a HUGE points swing for the Red Devils.
Though the athletic directors of both schools would like to see this game continue, because it brings in healthy gate revenue, the realities of the SSAC playoff points system likely make it an unwise move, at least in Week 11. It remains to be seen if an agreement can be reached to allow one of the area’s most storied rivalries to continue.
Parkersburg Catholic (3-6) at Doddridge County (5-4) – Friday 7:30
The second half of the season has been unkind to the Parkersburg Catholic Crusaders. With four straight losses, Parkersburg Catholic comes into this matchup hoping to end the year on a high note. Doddridge County bounced back from two straight losses to get a win two weeks ago against Valley Wetzel. Off a bye week last week, at home and against a Parkersburg Catholic team that’s had a rough back half of the season, the Bulldogs have a strong chance to win their sixth.
Independence (8-1) at Roane County (5-4) – Friday 7:30
Speaking of teams that have stumbled down the stretch this year, Roane County has run the gauntlet of Class AA playoff hopefuls in October. After back-to-back losses to Lincoln and Herbert Hoover, Class AAA Ripley snapped a four-game losing streak with a 55-13 win over the Raiders.
Now, Roane County welcomes an Independence team with playoff positioning on the line. After scoring more than 40 points in four of their first six games, the Raiders haven’t scored more than two touchdowns in any of their last three. If the Roane County offense can spark to life once again, things might be difficult for Independence in their regular season finale.
Other Games:
Paden City (2-7) at Valley Wetzel (1-8) – Friday 7:30
Buffalo (6-3) at Wahama (2-7) – Friday 7:30
South Harrison (8-1) at Wirt County (1-8) – Friday 7:00
Bye/Season Complete:
Calhoun County (1-9)
Ritchie County (0-10)