By: Jack Withrow, WVMetroNews.com
AAA No. 8 George Washington (8-3) at AAA No. 1 Martinsburg (11-0), Saturday, 1:30
George Washington defeated Wheeling Park 37-6 last Friday to knock off the defending Class AAA state champion in the opening round. The Patriots will now make the long road trip to the eastern panhandle to battle the No. 1 ranked and undefeated Martinsburg Bulldogs.
Quarterback Grant Wells led all rushers with a game-high 137 yards on the ground and two touchdowns while completing 12-of-24 passes for 165 yards and three more scores. Receiver Tracy Conliffe – a basketball standout for the Patriots – had three catches for 51 yards and two touchdowns.
George Washington held the Wheeling Park offense and quarterback Cross Wilkinson to just 76 total yards.
Top-ranked — and heavily favored Martinsburg — looks poised to get back to Wheeling Island Stadium, a place they haven’t been since winning four consecutive state titles from 2010 to 2013.
The Bulldogs enter the quarterfinal round averaging 48.0 points a game including a 69-0 opening round playoff win over Hedgesville.
Quarterback Tyson Bagent has completed 135-of-227 passes for 2,042 yards and 28 touchdowns while throwing eleven interceptions. Bagent’s favorite targets are Isaac Brown (55 catches, 863 yards & 11 TDs) and Stephen Edmond (31-605-7).
Running back Mikey Jackson leads the ground attack with 1,008 yards on 138 attempts and 14 touchdowns.
Martinsburg is 3-0 against George Washington, including a 63-14 victory in the 2012 Class AAA semifinals.
AAA No. 12 Hurricane (7-4) at AAA No. 4 Morgantown (9-2) – Friday, 7:30
Hurricane traveled to Morgantown last week and came away with an impressive 38-14 victory over No. 5 University. This week’s trek will look very familiar to head coach Jeremy Taylor and his Redskins as they travel back I-79 to Morgantown to face the No. 4 Mohigans of Morgantown High.
Hurricane jumped on top of University early in the first quarter with touchdowns runs from Nick Williams and Tyler Womack while the Redskins’ defense came up with huge plays in the second half to put the Hawks away.
In the fourth quarter, Hurricane defensive back Isaiah Thomas picked off a University pass and raced 99 yards for a touchdown and lineman Steve Shine collected another pick-6 to finish off the scoring. Nick Williams finished with a game-high 82 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Morgantown defeated No. 13 Spring Mills, 25-7 last week in the opening round at Pony Lewis Field. Mohigans’ quarterback Logan Holgorsen completed nine passes for 117 yards and two scores.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools.
AAA No. 10 South Charleston (7-4) at AAA No. 2 Spring Valley (10-1) – Friday, 7:30
The Class AAA quarterfinal round sets up a rematch of two Mountain State Athletic Conference schools as the Timberwolves defeated the Black Eagles 29-15 back on Week 5 on the regular season.
Last week, South Charleston rallied from a two touchdown deficit to defeat No. 7 Huntington, 31-28 in the opening round at Bob Sang Stadium in Huntington.
It was the Trae Murphy to Curon Cordon show as Murphy threw for 363 yards on 20-of-27 completions and four touchdowns. Cordon finished with 314 yards on 12 receptions and four scores. Two of those scores came on spectacular catches by Cordon that received some national attention.
Meanwhile, Spring Valley easily defeated visiting Buckhannon-Upshur 54-7 last Friday night. Timberwolves’ amassed 436 total yards including 348 yards on the ground against an under-sized Bucs defense. Running back Mason Brubeck scored four touchdowns in the win.
Spring Valley holds a 9-8 advantage in the all-time series with South Charleston.
AAA No. 14 Jefferson (6-5) at AAA No. 6 Capital (8-3) – Saturday, 1:30
Capital defeated No. 11 Cabell Midland, 28-7 in the first round at Laidley Field. This week, the Cougars will host the Cougars from Jefferson in a 1:30 quarterfinal kickoff on Saturday afternoon.
Capital used a balanced offensive attack as the Cougars outgained the Knights 247-221. Quarterback Kerry Martin, Jr. completed 5-of-19 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.
Listen: Capital QB Kerry Martin, Jr. on the MetroNews High School Sportsline
The Cougars defense came up big with four interceptions including a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown by Silas Nazario in the fourth quarter.
Jefferson pulled a first round upset last Saturday as they blanked No. 3 Musselman, 36-0 in Bunker Hill.
The Cougars outgained the Applemen 323-175 as quarterback Isaac Myers ran for 120 yards and four touchdowns.
Capital is 2-0 against Jefferson as they’ve met twice in the playoffs back in 1991 and 1992. Capital won their second of four state titles in 1991.