AA No. 5 Bridgeport (5-1) at AA No. 10 North Marion (4-1)
North Marion is looking to try to take the next big step in 2017 after qualifying for the playoffs last season.
“We’re in that middle tier (of playoff teams) and we are trying to figure out how to get back into the upper tier,” said North Marion coach Daran Hays.
Building depth and developing team speed are important in building on the success from last season.
“We are not that big up front but our lineman can run and move,” says Hays. “That really has helped us with play action and with the ability run on the perimeter and keep teams honest. We’ve managed to keep things balanced. We work in about 11 different guys on offense. We can throw it to just about anybody out there. We are using about six running backs per game as well. That has to be tough to scout.
“We do a very good job of swarming to the football on defense,” Hays said. “We’ve got very good experience at some key spots and we’ve regrouped following a key injury early in the season to be pretty solid on that side as well.”
AA No. 4 Fairmont Senior (5-1) at No. 14 Weir (4-2)
Fairmont Senior bounced back from its first loss of the year with a 42-14 win over Elkins last week.
Quarterback Connor Neal threw three touchdowns passes in that one, including a pair to Caleb Walker. Walker reeled in scoring strikes of 21 and 31 yards. Neal leads the Big 10 in touchdown passes with 15 and has still yet to throw an interception.
Weir has lost two of its last three, suffering close losses to Keyser and Union Local, Ohio.
AAA No. 16 Wheeling Park (3-3) at AAA No. 12 Morgantown (3-3)
The Mohigans have battled their way back into the playoff picture following a 39-29 road win at Musselman. The Mohigans traveled to the Eastern Panhandle for the second consecutive week, having lost to Martinsburg the week before.
Morgantown got off to a quick start as Alajuan Robinson reeled off a 70-yard run on the first play of the game. Then Sabri Juma scooped up a fumble and rambled 75 yards for a 14-0 Mohigans lead. A second Musselman turnover led to a Ty Konchesky 31-yard run in the second half.
The Mohigans will now stay in Morgantown for three of the last four games as they have back to back home games against Wheeling Park and Riverside plus the MoHawk Bowl at University.
“There are a lot of points at stake in this one,” said Morgantown coach Matt Lacy. “They’ll win a lot more games with their schedule coming down the stretch. If we want to stay in the rankings and maybe move up, this is one we need to get.”
Morgantown had a four game winning streak in the series against Wheeling Park from 2010-2013. The teams have split the last four matchups, MHS winning 41-14 last year.
This game will be video streamed at the MetroNews Channel of WVMetroNews.com.
Hampshire (2-3) at AAA No. 2 University (6-0)
The Hawks have played three consecutive games that came down to the final play. A 37-34 win at Wheeling Park on September 15, a 29-27 victory over Fairmont Senior on September 22 and last week’s 44-37 overtime win at St. Albans.
“We’ve never had a stretch like this,” said UHS coach John Kelley. “We’ve had tremendous, undefeated teams but we’ve never beaten three very good teams in a row in that manner. They’ve all been highly stressful situations and our kids managed to rise up and make plays. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The Hawks trailed almost the entire game at St. Albans last week until Jonah Phares hit a 25-yard field goal with 2:44 to go. Robert Sanders then picked off a pass, leading to a Trevor Barnhart touchdown. But the Hawks missed the extra point and were up 37-37.
Freshman quarterback R.T. Alexander took his team right down the field and tied the game with :08 remaining. The Hawks would get another Barnhart TD in overtime. The game ended when UHS defensive end Hayden Starcher sacked Alexander on the final play of the game.
The Hawks played the St. Albans game without their leading tackler through five games, linebacker Christian Evans. Evans is expected back this week for the Hampshire game.
University beat Hampshire 42-6 last year as quarterback Clay Bailey threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns.
Amir Richardson had all three scoring receptions as he had 141 yards receiving. Bailey has surpassed the 1,000 yard passing mark for the third consecutive year. He has 3,135 career passing yards and 35 touchdowns.
Roane County (0-5) at AA No. 3 Liberty (5-0)
Liberty has won back to back tight games on the road at Grafton and Braxton County. The Liberty defense came up with two big stops late in the game last week in a 20-13 victory over Braxton. Defensive lineman Mason Riley intercepted a pass to snuff out one of those drives.
Liberty is now home for back to back games vs. Roane County and East Fairmont, two teams a combined 0-10.
Robert C. Byrd (3-3) at Elkins (3-2) Thursday
The winner can move back into the playoff chase as both are currently outside of the top 16.
RCB got its offense going last week in a 48-39 win over Lewis County. Two of four carries for Tre Junkins went for long touchdowns. Junkins finished with 144 yards on the ground.
Elkins is in the midst of a tough stretch with four consecutive games against playoff contenders and teams with winning records. The Tigers lost at Fairmont Senior last week. They’ll face 5th ranked Bridgeport and No. 16 Lincoln in the next two weeks.
A No. 3 South Harrison (5-0) at Tygarts Valley (1-4) Thursday
South Harrison has scored 48 or more points in each of its last three games. Freddy Canary had five touchdowns in a 50-14 win over Tolsia last week. Canary had an 83-yard kickoff return to go along with four rushing touchdowns as he rolled up 230 yards.
A No. 13 Clay-Battelle (4-1) at Paden City (1-4)
The Cee-Bees have developed a big play offense around quarterback Seth Casino. Casino threw for four touchdowns on just six completions last week in a homecoming win over Calhoun County.
Casino had a 58-yard scoring pass to Travis Dille and two scoring strikes to Camden Varner that coverage a combined 53 yards. Clay-Battelle also got an 81-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Logan Forquer.
The Cee-Bees play three straight on the road beginning this week with a trip to Paden City.
Other games:
Lewis County at Buckhannon-Upshur
Nicholas County at Braxton County
Grafton at Lincoln
Philip Barbour at East Fairmont
Doddridge County at Gilmer County
Southern Garrett (MD) at Notre Dame