By Sean McNamara – Times West Virginian for WVMetroNews.com
With three teams still unbeaten heading into Week 6 of the high school football season, teams from the Eastern Panhandle have claimed several spots near the top of the WVSSAC playoff rankings.
In Class AAA, the Martinsburg Bulldogs (5-0) and Musselman Appleman (4-0) are each undefeated tied for third in the playoff rankings.
In Class A, the 5-0 East Hardy Cougars hold the second spot in the playoff rankings with St. Marys taking the top spot.
If the playoffs were to begin today, the Eastern Panhandle would be well represented with Martinsburg, Musselman and East Hardy being joined in the postseason by No. 6 Hedgesville, No. 10 Spring Mills and No. 16 Hampshire in AAA and No. 9 Keyser in AA.
Morgantown (2-3) at Musselman (4-0), Friday
Coming off a 52-20 victory over winless Princeton in Week 5, the Musselman Applemen return to the field this week to host the Morgantown Mohigans, who make their second trip to the Eastern Panhandle in as many weeks.
Against Princeton, the Applemen pulled out to a 49-0 first-half lead thanks in large part to three touchdown runs from Jacob Northcraft, the school’s all-time leading rusher.
This week’s opponent from Morgantown has a 2-3 record and is looking to win its third game in its last four appearances. In order to do so, Morgantown will have to account for Northcraft’s talents, as well as those of quarterback Chris Fox, two players the Mohigan coaching staff is very aware of.
“They’re very good,” Morgantown coach Matt Lacy said. “When you put the film on they do some different things. I think the Northcraft kid is a four-year starter, so he obviously understands coach Thomas’ system and what they’re doing over there.
“And they find creative ways to get him the football. He’s obviously their playmaker.”
This game holds importance not just for a Mussleman squad that looks to keep its record unblemished, but for both teams as it relates to playoff rankings.
The undefeated Applemen are tied for third with Martinsburg in the WVSSAC Class AAA playoff rankings, and they hope to keep winning to secure a high playoff seed.
Morgantown, which sits at 2-3, would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs were to start today. The Mohigans have tough games upcoming against No. 12 Wheeling Park, No. 13 John Marshall, No. 17 Riverside and No. 1 University. If they hope to make the postseason, the Mohigans need each win they can get.
Musselman won last year’s matchup, 21-14.
Washington (0-5) at Martinsburg (5-0), Friday
Following a dominant 51-7 victory over Morgantown in Week 5, Martinsburg’s 19th straight win, the Bulldogs moved up one spot into a tie for third in the WVSSAC playoff rankings for Class AAA.
The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 264-36 this year, with their closest contest being a 42-14 win in Week 1 over Loudoun Valley, Virginia.
Despite all the dominant victories the Bulldogs have had of late, Dave Walker’s team is not taking any opponent lightly.
“Coach told us ‘don’t get complacent,’” said quarterback Tyson Bagent, who threw for 195 yards against Morgantown. “Just because we won 49-7 in the state championship, it doesn’t mean that anybody is going to lay down for us.
“I think that message stuck out to us. I think we put in the work to repeat again this year.”
Bagent has thrown for 837 yards and 12 touchdowns this season, and he is joined by a host of talented playmakers around him, namely Dewayne Grantham and Mikey Jackson.
“We have eight guys at receiver, and we’ve got two dynamic running backs that whether we’re running or throwing the ball, I feel confident in our guys,” Bagent said. “I think they’ve done a great job so far.”
This week’s opponent is Washington, an 0-5 team that fell last week, 47-8, to Clarke County.
Following this week’s game, Martinsburg will have an opportunity to move up in the AAA playoff rankings with upcoming games against No. 6 Hedgesville and No. 3 Musselman.
Preston (1-4) at Hedgesville (4-1), Friday
The Hedgesville Eagles improved to 4-1 in Week 5 with an exciting 28-23 win over Virginia’s James Wood, and earned a No. 6 spot in the WVSSAC Class AAA Playoff Rankings.
The Eastern Panhandle’s leading passer, Jason Plotner, continued his strong 2017 campaign against James Wood, connecting on a key second-half touchdown pass to Chase Delauter. N’yjrere Smith added an 88-yard touchdown reception and picked off a pass to clinch the victory.
The Preston Knights come to town boasting a 1-4 record following a loss against previously winless Lewis County.
Quarterback Dakota Holt leads the way offensively for Preston with 310 rushing yards and six touchdowns to go along with 26 completions on 60 pass attempts for 409 yards and a score.
The two teams met a year ago in a Thursday afternoon matchup with the Eagles winning, 58-13.
Petersburg (2-3) at Philip Barbour (3-2), Friday
After opening the season 2-0, the Petersburg Vikings have dropped three straight, most recently falling on the road, 75-7, to the Weir Red Riders.
With Jacob Hartman and Zach Rohrbaugh leading the offense, the Vikings will look to get back in the win column in Week 6.
This week, they take on one of the surprise teams in Class AA in the Philip Barbour Colts, who have a 3-2 record so far this season after going winless the previous two years.
Running back Chase Collier leads the Colts with 573 yards on just 68 carries, good for 8.4 yards per carry and the fifth-most rushing yards in the Big 10 Conference.
The Vikings defeated the Colts, 20-6, in last season’s meeting.
East Hardy (5-0) at Pendleton County (1-4), Friday
The East Hardy Cougars look to remain unbeaten this week on the road at Pendleton County in a rematch of last year’s Class A state semifinal game.
Since that game, a 48-20 win for the Cougars, the two teams have gone in different directions. East Hardy went on to lose the state title game to St. Marys, but has won five straight to open the season.
The Pendleton County Wildcats, conversely, have not won a game against a West Virginia opponent since, their lone win in 2017 coming against Bath, Virginia.
The Cougars come into today’s game following a 25-19 win over previously unbeaten Southern Garrett, Maryland. In the win, quarterback Cole Skovron completed 19-of-32 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Aden Funkhouser and one to Brett Tharp.
Pendleton County lost in Week 5, 28-7 to Madonna.
Keyser (3-1) at Hampshire (2-2), Friday
Led by Brady Clay’s three touchdown runs and 151 yards, the Keyser Golden Tornado handed Eastern Panhandle foe Jefferson its fifth-straight loss.
The win was Keyser’s second in a row after defeating Weir the previous week.
This week, the Golden Tornado, who rank seventh in the WVMetroNews Class AA Power Rankings, will travel to Hampshire County to take on the Trojans.
The Hampshire Trojans come into the game boasting a 2-2 record following a 48-14 loss to Mountain Ridge, Maryland.
In the loss, Jensen Catlett scored a defensive touchdown while Grant Mayfield ran for a score.
The Golden Tornado won last year’s matchup, 41-7, at home.
Boonsboro, Maryland, at Spring Mills (3-2), Friday
The Spring Mills Cardinals improved to 3-2 in Week 5 with a 22-8 win over South Hagerstown, Maryland.
Brock Shockey led the way for the Cardinals with a touchdown on 109 total yards. In all, Spring Mills had 218 yards offensively, 190 of which came on the ground.
Defensively, Springs Mills allowed South Hagerstown to convert on just 3-of-10 third down attempts and intercepted two passes, both of which came from Trenton Kerns, to go along with two fumble recoveries.
This week, the Cardinals face a 2-2 team from Boonsboro, Maryland, that is coming off a 35-7 loss to Middletown High School last week.
Other games:
Mountain Ridge, Maryland, at Frankfort (1-4), Friday
Berkeley Springs (1-3) at North Marion (3-1), Friday