By: Michael Minnich
Exponent Telegram
A look at two top seeds and two upset winners for the second week of the playoffs.
Class AAA
No. 8 George Washington (8-3) at No. 1 Martinsburg (11-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Martinsburg eased into the second round with a 69-0 win over neighbor Hedgesville last Friday.
It was a point short of the AAA record, as Capital ousted Parkersburg South 70-0 in 2014.
Isaac Brown found the end zone three times, while Tyson Bagent completed 13 of 23 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns, while Dewayne Grantham rushed for two scores.
GW, winners of eight in a row, also had a comfortable start to the postseason, eliminating defending champion Wheeling Park, 37-6, on Friday.
Grant Wells rushed for a 93-yard score on GW’s opening drive and then cashed in from 12 yards on the second drive of the evening.
Then he went to the air, passing for three scores and 165 yards on the evening and also finishing with 136 on the ground.
Martinsburg had its run of five straight trips to at least the semifinals snapped last year; as part of that run, they beat George Washington, 63-14, in the 2012 semis.
No. 14 Jefferson (6-5) at No. 6 Capital (8-3), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Well, you knew there would be an Eastern Panhandle team in this match-up no matter what, with Musselman and Jefferson meeting up in the 3-14 game.
And, sure, there was a case for the Cougars being good enough to avenge their 40-15 head-to-head regular season loss on September 9 to the Applemen.
But few likely expected a decisive 36-0 Jefferson win on Saturday.
Last year, it was the Cougars on the wrong end of a 11-6 upset; this time, Isaac Myers ran for four touchdowns, picked off two passes, and finished with 288 yards of offense to propel Jefferson into the second round for the first time since 2005.
Jefferson has never made the semifinals.
That’s not the case for Capital, which was the runner-up last year, champions in 2014, and semifinalists in 2013, meaning that this senior class could go 4-for-4 with trips to at least the semis with a win this weekend.
That journey started with a 28-7 win over Cabell Midland on Friday.
Silas Nazario returned an interception for a touchdown to double a 14-7 lead and also ran a fumble back 63 yards, though that drive ended without points.
Class AA
No. 10 Keyser (8-3) at No. 2 Mingo Central (11-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Keyser pulled what was on paper an upset last week, thumping No. 7 Nicholas County 50-12.
Brady Ours passed for 217 yards and two scores (both to Camden White), rushed for 110 more yards and two more TDs, and returned an interception 100 yards for a fifth touchdown.
Deavonta Johnson eclipsed the century mark on the ground with 101 yards and a touchdown and also picked off a pass.
Mingo Central has outscored opponents by a 542-125 margin this year and have scored 34 or more points in every game.
Joe Hunt leads the Miners in rushing yards with 912 to go with 17 touchdowns, while Jeremy Dillon has rushed for 864 yards and 21 touchdowns and completed 156 of 247 passes for 2,395 yards, 32 touchdowns, and only three interceptions.
Listen: Keyser QB Brady Ours on the MetroNews High School Sportsline
Drew Hatfield (60 catches, 713 yards, 11 touchdowns) and Tyler Grimmette (28 catches, 643 yards, 11 touchdowns) are Dillon’s primary targets.
Last week, Grimmette set a state playoff record with four TD catches in a 55-7 win over Liberty.
The Miners scored 28 points in 5:07 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
The two schools have only met once, with Keyser winning in the first round of the 2012 playoffs, 61-14.
That season, which ended with a loss in the state championship game, is the last time KHS advanced past the second round, while Mingo Central made the semis last year for the first time in its brief history.
Class A
No. 8 Williamstown (9-2) at No. 1 East Hardy (11-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m.
This one has the potential to be an instant classic.
Both posted impressive wins over talented teams in the first round, with defending state runner-up East Hardy bashing Tyler Consolidated 54-22 and Williamstown taking care of South Harrison 55-27.
For East Hardy, Phillip Mullin rushed 17 times for 157 yards and four touchdowns, while Corey McDonald added 57 yards on the ground and hit 12 of 23 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns.
Brett Tharp caught four passes for 62 yards and two touchdowns.
So, how would you like to be the top seed and already have to face a team in the second round that has wins over five playoff teams and has only lost once in-state?
Williamstown built a 21-0 lead against the Hawks last week and Trenton Tallman, who scored the game’s opening TD on a 66-yard run, went 5-for-5 passing for 107 yards and a score and rushed seven times for 138 yards and three touchdowns.
The two schools met in the quarterfinals in 2014, with Williamstown winning 44-22 en route to a state title.
Also this week:
Class A No. 12 Pendleton County (9-2) at No. 4 Tolsia (8-2), Saturday at 1:30 p.m.