By: Fred Persinger II
No. 11 (AAA) South Charleston (5-4) at Woodrow Wilson (1-8)
Coming into the final week of the regular season the tough schedule for Beckley continues. Since the bye Week 4, the Flying Eagles have faced No. 9 Cabell Midland, Parkersburg, No. 3 Capital, No. 8 George Washington, No. 12 Hurricane, No. 7 Huntington and this week, No. 11 South Charleston.
It’s been a tough stretch for a young Beckley team that had 9 of 11 underclassman starters on offense, including two freshmen on the offensive line, in last week’s 38-14 loss to Huntington. The Flying Eagles again saw a strong effort from senior linebacker Jordy Hancock who recorded 15 tackles, putting him overall at 103 tackles on the year.
South Charleston, meanwhile, is coming off a 30-27 loss to Capital last week. The Black Eagles trailed by as many as 14 points early in the game, but fought back to take a 27-23 lead with eight minutes left. Capital, though, answered with a score on its next drive and held on for the win. South Charleston got a strong performance from QB Trae Murphy who threw for 240 yards with three touchdowns to three different receivers.
South Charleston also played the second half without WVU recruit Derrek Pitts, who went down with a foot injury in the first half and did not return to the game. South Charleston did struggle on the ground, picking up just 13 rushing yards on 29 carries.
This will be just the seventh time these two teams have played, and the first time in the MSAC, even though both teams have been in the conference since it began. Beckley has won five of the six meetings. The last time the two teams have played was in the second round of the playoffs in 1994 — a 37-0 win for South Charleston. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and the contest will air on the Big Dawg 99.5 WJLS, online at WJLS.com or on the iheart radio app.
No. 16 (AAA) Princeton (5-4) at No. 3 (AA) Point Pleasant (9-0)
For Princeton, a win this week would put the Tigers in the Class AAA playoffs. But it won’t be an easy task, on the road at undefeated Point Pleasant. Princeton is faced with a must-win scenario after falling to Greenbrier East 40-7 last week. The Tigers turned the ball over three times in the game and had no answer for the Greenbrier East offense. For the Spartans, Billy Honaker rushed for 75 yards on 24 carries and quarterback Hunter Weis completed 9 of 14 passes for 133 yards. Zach Standifur led Princeton with 78 yards rushing, while the rest of the team accounted for just 17 yards on the ground.
Point Pleasant, meanwhile, has cruised in its first year back in Class AA. The Big Blacks have outscored their opponents 407-121 this season and have scored at least 40 points six times, going over 60 points twice. Last week, in a 52-14 win over Westside, the Big Blacks racked up 483 yards of total offense. It was the 42nd consecutive regular season win for Point Pleasant. A win this week for Point Pleasant would secure at least a home game for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Other Games:
#2 (AAA) Spring Valley (8-1) at Greenbrier East (4-5)
#5 (AA) James Monroe (8-1) at River View (2-7)
#8 (AA) Independence (8-1) at Roane County (5-4)
Wyoming East (2-7) at Liberty-Raleigh (3-6)
Oak Hill (0-9) at Westside (3-6)
#5 (A) Cameron (9-0) at Pocahontas County (5-4)
Meadow Bridge (1-8) at #6 (A) Gilmer County (9-0)
#7 (AA) Nicholas County (8-1) at Richwood (0-9)
Mount View (5-4) at #9 (A) Summers County (7-2)
Greenbrier West (2-7) at Valley Fayette (1-8) – Saturday afternoon
Bluefield-Idle
Fayetteville-Idle
Midland Trail-Idle
Montcalm-Idle
Pikeview-Idle
Shady Spring-Idle
Sherman-Idle