By Wes McKinney for WVMetroNews.com
Class AAA No. 2 Spring Valley (0-0) at Class AAA No. 3 Huntington (1-0)
There’ll be no shortage of star power at Bob Sang Stadium Friday night when Spring Valley and Huntington meet in what has become one of the state’s best rivalries.
“This is a really friendly, quality rivalry that’s as good as anywhere in the state,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said.
Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess spoke of the same sentiments.
“It’s a big game in the state early,” he said. “The winner of this one will put themselves in a good situation.”
Spring Valley’s Doug Nester has already pledged a commitment to The Ohio State University. Shift over to the Highlanders and you’ll find Darnell Wright who is being courted by Power 5 programs all over the country.
While both teams have strength up front, skill position playmakers also dot each team’s roster. Spring Valley has a trio of those returning standouts who played a vital role in the Timberwolves’ run to Wheeling Island Stadium last season in Derek Johnson, Owen Porter and Jacob Cassidy.
Huntington, meanwhile, is led by quarterback Luke Zban, wide receiver Mike Dawson and running back Jadon Hayes who accounted for five touchdowns against Belfry, Kentucky.
And speaking of Belfry, the Highlanders roared back from a 27-7 deficit in that contest to pick up a 45-34 win.
“Probably the proudest I’ve ever been of a football team,” Seals said. “It would have been real easy for us to quit, down 27-7, but our kids just kept battling and kept believing. Good things started happening for us.”
After a hard-fought victory at Belfry, Huntington will get right back to work against the 2016 Class AAA state runner-up.
“Brad Dingess does a fabulous job,” Seals said of the long-time Spring Valley head coach.
“You look and they’ve been in the playoffs nine consecutive years. I would have to say not many teams throughout the state can say that. He does a tremendous job. They are big, physical and well-coached.”
Spring Valley’s title hopes came up a little short last season, but Seals sees the Timberwolves as a team that just reloaded.
“I mean, how many Division I kids does he have,” Seals questioned. “He has three or four kids right now that are either already committed or have Division I offers. He is loaded again. We have to play a lot better than we did on Friday night.”
Spring Valley got the benefit of enjoying last year’s success for an extra week before beginning defense of their MSAC title.
And Dingess knows his team will wear the target on its back right from the get-go.
“We’ve always had to look at the other guys to get to go win the conference,” Dingess said. “We’re going to get everyone’s best. We’re going to have to play. There’s no cupcakes and it’s a tough schedule.
“The team that has the success the year before is the team with all the pressure the next year,” Dingess continued. “I’ve talked to Coach Carpenter at Capital and he’s said winning the championship was hard for them the next year.”
Dingess has seen plenty of Huntington over the years, but says this might be the Highlanders’ team he has seen.
“They are really, really good,” Dingess said. “They are big up front and very physical. They have a quarterback that can throw it. Jadon Hayes at running back might be one of the most underrated backs in the state. That kid is unbelievable.”
But Dingess also knows losing to Huntington isn’t the end of the world either.
Huntington defeated Spring Valley 17-13 last season on a late Cason Kessinger field goal.
“We proved last year that an early loss in the season can be overcome,” Dingess said.
Class AA No. 10 Wayne (1-0) at Class AA No. 1 Mingo Central (1-0)
The Miners will celebrate their 2016 Class AA state championship team prior to Friday night’s game on Miner Mountain, but admittedly it will be tough to top what Mingo Central pulled off in week one.
Jeremy Dillon rolled left as time expired at Point Pleasant and found Dawson Elia in the back of the end zone for the winning score in a 36-34 victory for the Miners.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like that whether it be playing or coaching,” Mingo Central head coach Joey Fields said with a chuckle.
“I talked to (longtime head coach) Coach (Yogi) Kinder after the game and he said he never coached in a game like that. It was definitely a first. It was the best high school game I’ve ever went to.”
Despite all the lead changes in the fourth quarter, four in all, Fields said his team never got down.
“Our kids just kept playing,” he said. “It comes from leadership and the things we preach to our guys. We don’t pay attention to the scoreboard. We just take it one play at a time.”
Miner Mountain will be rocking on Friday night with all the pregame pomp and circumstance as well as the momentum carried over from week one as Mingo Central welcomes Wayne to Buck Harless Stadium.
The Pioneers are coming off a hard-fought win of their win against Tolsia. Wayne scored the final 22 points, all in the fourth quarter, to pull away from the Rebels, 30-6 to snap a brief two-game losing streak against Tolsia.
“Wayne is going to stick to its system regardless of whether they are young or not,” Fields said of the youthful Pioneers.
“They are hard to deal with. They have some tough kids and they are coached really well. They have that “W” on their helmet, so they are always playing for something.”
With the young group of Pioneers, head coach Tom Harmon realizes their some things that need to be corrected, but exhaled with the Tolsia win.
“Confidence is a big part of this game,” Harmon said. “When you set a goal, you want to keep those goals in front of you. We made a few mistakes Friday night, but we were able to come out with a win.”
Although Wayne has set the standard for Class AA football in the southwest corner of the state, it’s the Pioneers who are trying to get back to where Mingo Central currently is.
“They have a veteran football team and we have a bunch of wet behind the ears guys,” Harmon said. “It’s an unusual matchup.”
Class AA No. 5 Point Pleasant (0-1) at Class AA No. 4 James Monroe (1-0)
Point Pleasant was on the wrong end of an all-time classic with nearly 5,000 people witnessing a Hail Mary from Mingo Central’s Jeremy Dillon as the Big Blacks fell 36-34 at home.
Despite the tough-luck loss, head coach David Darst was proud of his team.
“I talked to the kids about the fact that they played so well,” Darst said. “This football team was an unknown to us this year. We started nine new kids on defense. Offensively, we knew we could be pretty good. We told them that we lost to a good football team, but it was time to move on.”
And Point Pleasant will have to move on quickly as it prepares to face the team that ended its season last year in the Class AA quarterfinals. James Monroe went on the road in the postseason in 2016 and did not allow a normally high-octane Big Blacks’ offense to score.
Last week, quarterback Cason Payne accumulated nearly 400 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns versus Mingo Central, and will face another hard-nosed defense in week two.
“We’re going to see a 4-3 defense,” Darst said. “They’ll jump into an odd front some. They did a real good job of stunting on us last year. They did a good job of making plays. I think we’re going to see a fast defense.”
The Mavericks piled up 44 points in a road win at Greenbrier East last week.
“Offensively, they are in their shotgun, wing-T stuff with the jet sweeps, the counters and fullback leads inside,” Darst said. “They don’t throw the ball a lot, but when they do it’s effective. They’ll throw some little fade routes.”
James Monroe has been a significant player in the Class AA playoff scene for over a decade now, and Darst has taken notice.
“Those coaches do an outstanding job of teaching the game of football,” Darst said of John Mustain’s program. “To compare them to a team around here, they remind me a well-coached Wayne football program. You can tell they are putting time into their system and into their kids.”
Class AAA No. 7 Cabell Midland (0-1) at Class AAA No. 8 South Charleston (1-0)
Cabell Midland rolled up over 600 yards of offense, including 230 rushing yards from Ivan Vaughn, but the high-powered Cincinnati Anderson offense outscored the Knights 49-41.
Despite the loss, Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons was pleased overall with his team’s ability to move the ball.
“We only had to punt twice and fumbled twice,” he said. “Our first fumble came inside the five-yard line.”
But it was the defense that faced the toughest test of the night.
“We lost contain a few times, but that quarterback is special,” Salmons said of the Anderson quarterback that is getting Division I attention. “It’s the most impressive offense I’ve seen being a head coach.”
The Knights go from an unknown out-of-state opponent to a foe they are all too familiar with.
Last year, Cabell Midland defeated South Charleston 29-0, and two years ago the Knights nipped South Charleston late as they grabbed a 33-29 road win.
“They are always well-coached,” Salmons said.
“They always play well at home. We’ve had a lot of good games with them over the years. They have a good quarterback and good players around him. We have to take care of the ball.”
South Charleston knows about nail-biting wins as well as it used a late Trae Murphy touchdown run to edge George Washington, 13-12, in week one.
Class AA No. 9 Sissonville (1-0) at Logan (1-0)
Logan gained bragging rights within Logan County for, beating Man 26-8 on the road.
Now, the Wildcats open up the home slate against Sissonville, a team that knocked off another Logan County team, Chapmanville, 25-16 in the season’s opening week.
Sissonville sent Logan to a fourth straight loss last season that dropped the Wildcats to 3-5, ultimately sealing the fate of Logan’s playoff hopes a season ago.
Van (1-0) at Scott (1-0)
Despite being in the same county, these two Boone County schools will play each other for the first time in many years.
Van pitched a shutout on the road against Meadow Bridge, 33-0. Meanwhile, Scott pulled defeated Herbert Hoover, 42-14, at home.
To add to the plot line between these old rivals is Van’s head coach Shane Griffith is in his first season in charge of the Bulldogs after leading Scott to a handful of playoff appearances during his tenure in Madison.
Meadow Bridge (0-1) at Tug Valley (1-0)
Tug Valley blanked Sherman in a defensive slugfest in the opening week of the season, 6-0.
The Panthers will be facing a Meadow Bridge squad, that not only looks to get its first win of the season, but also its first points after the Wildcats were held scoreless against Van.
Tug Valley has won the last two meetings in this series, including a 37-0 last season and a 64-28 victory two years ago at home.
Man (0-1) at Mount View (1-0)
The Hillbillies’ offense was stymied at home against county rival, Logan, as Man fell 26-8.
Last season, Man and Mount View played one of the wildest games in the state that went three overtimes at Man.
The Hillbillies outlasted the up-and-coming Golden Knights, 35-34.
Other Games:
Lincoln County (0-1) at Roane County (0-1)
Chapmanville (0-1) at Poca (0-1)
Calhoun County (0-1) at Sherman (0-1)
Buffalo (0-1) at Tolsia (0-1)
Hannan (0-1) at Green, Ohio