By Eric Little – Seven Ranges Radio for WVMetroNews.com
One of the state’s best small-school football rivalries returns this week, plus Parkersburg is on the road for an intriguing non-conference showdown. Here are this week’s games. All game dates/times listed:
Williamstown (2-3) at St. Marys (3-0) (Friday 7:30)
For more than a decade, Williamstown dominated this matchup. In fact, from 2000 until 2012, Williamstown beat St. Marys every year the teams played and sometimes twice – with a couple playoff meetings thrown in for good measure. But in 2012, St. Marys broke through for a victory that, looking back, has turned out to be a watershed in St. Marys head coach Jodi Mote’s career.
Mote has been head coach at his alma mater since 2001 and spent more than a decade building his program and hitting milestones St. Marys hadn’t reached in many years. Winning seasons, playoff appearances, playoff wins…but the one thing that eluded Mote for more than a decade was that win against Terry Smith’s Yellowjackets. But with that breakthrough win against Williamstown in 2012, the fortunes started to turn for St. Marys.
In 2014, the Blue Devils reached the Super Six for the first time in school history. And while their loss to Williamstown only validated the rivalry between the schools, the appearance on Wheeling Island left St. Marys wanting more. Two years later, Mote and the Blue Devils brought the state championship back to Pleasants County.
Williamstown has made the playoffs every year since that 2012 loss to St. Marys, but the playing field has certainly been more much level between the two schools in the following years. But this year, for the first time in more than 20 years, St. Marys has the decided advantage as these teams clash again.
As a result of the cancellation of their game with Parkersburg Catholic, and a bye week last week, the Blue Devils will have played just once in 28 days by the time these teams hit the field Friday. But for St. Marys, that’s allowed first-year starting quarterback Eric Illar more time to get more comfortable learning the Blue Devil offense.
When last we saw St. Marys two weeks ago, the Blue Devils throttled Marietta, Ohio 63-19. Jaiden Smith put on a highlight reel performance against the Tigers.
What’s been best about Smith’s season though is that he hasn’t had to carry the load for the St. Marys offense. Dylan Gray has been a trustworthy weapon for Illar and the Blue Devils and the receiving corps is also getting in sync with the man under center.
Williamstown came out last week in a must-win game against Ravenswood, following three straight losses, and absolutely throttled the Red Devils 52-14. The Williamstown defense turned in their best performance of the year, limiting Ravenswood to just 221 total yards while also recovering a fumble.
Offensively, the Yellowjackets got two touchdown runs from Donathan Taylor, who also caught a touchdown pass from Carter Haynes. Haynes threw for another Williamstown score and ran for yet another. Much like St. Marys, Williamstown is a team that can generate a balanced run-pass mix when they desire.
It sounds cliché, but the team that commits the fewest turnovers wins Friday. Likewise, an early turnover from one of these teams could cause a seismic shift in the outcome. Both teams can run and throw well, but can they both stop the other’s respective running and passing attacks? That’s the other big question we’ll see answered Friday.
This game can be heard locally on Lite Rock 93R (93.9 FM) and online at www.literock93r.com.
Parkersburg (2-2) at Wheeling Park (3-2) (Friday 7:00)
Fresh off a big win in only their second home game of the season, Parkersburg hits the road to face Wheeling Park. In a game televised locally, the Big Reds routed Marietta, Ohio 45-10. After a sluggish start that saw both teams produce more turnovers than a British bakery, Parkersburg found an offensive flow in the closing moments of the second quarter.
Leading just 6-3 deep into the second, the Big Reds found the end zone three times in the final five and a half minutes of the first half. Brenton Strange ripped off a 34-yard touchdown run, Shane Miller hauled in a 15-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Kam Mace and Tyler Moller found the end zone from 26 yards out to grow Parkersburg’s halftime advantage to 25 points.
Starting under center for the first time at home, Mace shook off early jitters to turn in a solid performance. The Big Red signal-caller was 14-18 throwing the ball for 242 yards and a pair of scores. He’s got a pretty good thing going with this Parkersburg offense. Strange leads a talented and deep receiving corps while Moller’s speed is nearly unrivaled in the area.
For Parkersburg, the emphasis this week turns to defense and how that unit will handle Wheeling Park quarterback Cross Wilkinson. The Patriots have struggled to find momentum this year, alternating wins and losses. But one thing they’ve got going for them? After it initially looked like Wheeling Park would play most of their home games at West Liberty University, Park is glad to be back on Wheeling Island much earlier than expected following a quicker-than-expected set of repairs to Wheeling Island Stadium.
One thing that stands out with the Parkersburg defense is its speed. Wheeling Park’s Wilkinson is the type of quarterback who’d love nothing more than to sit back in the pocket and throw lasers all night long. The Big Reds will need an effective edge rush to open lanes up the middle for their linebackers to get to Wilkinson. If Parkersburg’s defense can take up residence in the Wheeling Park backfield, the Big Red offense should be able to carry PHS the rest of the way.
Huntington (5-0) at Ripley (2-3) (Friday 7:30)
After a fast start to the season, Ripley looks like a team that’s running…out…of…gas…
The Vikings couldn’t dig out of an early 20-0 hole against a St. Albans team they probably felt they could beat in an eventual 37-34 loss two weeks ago. Last week, Ripley built a 12-0 lead in the first quarter before George Washington woke up. Scoring the final 47 points of the game, the Patriots silenced the Vikings with a 47-12 setback – their third straight loss.
So after two weeks on the road, and close losses in two of their last three games, the Vikings return home to welcome Huntington. They’ll be lucky to keep this one as close as their losses to Riverside (five points) and St. Albans (three points).
The Highlanders survived their toughest test to date in a 24-21 home win against Capital. This is poised to be one of the strongest seasons in the history of the Huntington program, and they’d like nothing more than to make Ripley a bump in the road on the way to a deep playoff run.
Point Pleasant (4-1) at Parkersburg South (1-4) (Friday 7:00)
Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War has been airing on PBS for the last two weeks, and honestly, you could draw parallels between Parkersburg South’s game with John Marshall last week and the decades-ago conflict in southeast Asia. Like Vietnam for the US, things looked good early for South last week, despite an early stumble.
Parkersburg South fumbled the opening kickoff and the Monarchs turned the drive into a touchdown, but the Patriots answered a few minutes later when Nick Yoho found paydirt from 26 yards out. But John Marshall answered with a kickoff return touchdown – the first of the year surrendered by the Patriots – and, like Vietnam, the conflict settled into a stalemate for the better part of a quarter and a half.
But in the game’s version of the Tet offensive, John Marshall found the end zone twice in the final two and a half minutes of the first half with two long touchdown runs from Dereck Hess. He would finish with four touchdowns – three ground scores and the kick-return touchdown – and become the second South opponent to run for more than 150 yards and multiple scores against the Patriots in the last three weeks.
So a game that was no more than a one-score game for all but a few moments of the first half quickly became a 28-7 halftime deficit for Parkersburg South. Though the Patriots dominated time of possessions, an end zone interception and a three-and-out after a turnover killed South’s chances of getting back into the game. Parkersburg South would manage only a safety before a late rushing touchdown in the 40-17 loss to the Monarchs.
Parkersburg South’s offense took a bit of a step back last week, failing to finish drives. And that’s something they can’t do this week against Point Pleasant. Their only loss came when Mingo Central knocked them off on the final play of their opening week matchup. (If you’re reading this, there’s a strong chance you’ve seen video of that touchdown.)
The Patriots face a really strong quarterback in Point Pleasant’s Cason Payne. But with a rush defense that’s struggled much of the season, South will need to make Payne beat them with his arm rather than his legs in order to pull the upset. Though Payne is a capable passer, Point Pleasant is built to run the football.
This game can be heard locally on V96.9 FM and online at www.v969radio.net.
Ritchie County (2-3) at Ravenswood (2-2) (Friday 7:30)
In an outcome few thought would be as decisive as it was, Ritchie County fell 61-0 to Doddridge County last Friday. The Rebels managed just six…SIX…yards of total offense and fumbled the ball away three times. It had to be a demoralizing night for a program that’s still growing after snapping a 27-game losing streak in Week 2 this season.
Ravenswood took their lumps last week in a blowout loss to Williamstown, so the Red Devils will also be looking for redemption. Ravenswood fell behind 24-0 early in the 2nd quarter on the way to a 52-14 loss. If the Red Devils are healthy, home field advantage should help decide this one. Both Ravenswood losses have come to solid teams – Webster County and Williamstown – so strength of schedule has prepared the Red Devils a little better than what a growing Rebels program has dealt with this year.
Wirt County (3-1) at Doddridge County (3-2) (Friday 7:30)
After wins in three of their first four games, Wirt County heads to West Union to try and spoil Homecoming for the red-hot Doddridge County Bulldogs. The ‘Dogs have pitched three straight shutouts, the latest coming in a 61-0 win over Ritchie County last Friday. Doddridge County got four touchdown runs (on just 15 carries) and 192 yards from Hunter America – a first-team selection for the All-Name Team.
Wirt County is led by multi-talented threat Casey Stanley at quarterback. The Tigers benefit by having two weeks to prepare for the matchup. Doddridge County benefits by coming in after what has to be one of the hottest streaks in school history. This game will tell us a lot about which one of these teams is best-viewed as a contender coming down the stretch.
Other Games:
Calhoun County (0-3) at Clay-Battelle (3-1) (Friday 7:00)
Paden City (1-3) at Cameron (3-1) (Friday 7:00)
Parkersburg Catholic (0-3) at Valley-Wetzel (2-2) (Friday 7:00)
Trimble, Ohio (3-2) at Wahama (1-4) (Friday 7:30)
Bye:
Roane County (0-5)
Tyler Consolidated (2-3)