By Wes McKinney for WVMetroNews.com
Class AAA No. 5 Spring Valley (5-2) at Class AAA No. 6 Capital (5-2)
Spring Valley and Capital will meet for the first time since their classic Class AAA semifinal game in 2016 which the Timberwolves won 20-14.
“It was a great football game,” Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess said. “Both teams were pretty much mistake free — there weren’t any turnovers. That was two really good football teams playing each other. I tell our kids all the time it was special to be a part of something like that.
“We can’t live off of that,” he continued. “Guys are gone off both of those teams. Hopefully, we can come out and have another game like that.”
The Timberwolves have won two straight games after they made quick work of Ripley 52-14 last week.
Derek Johnson accounted for 75 yards rushing and three total touchdowns in the victory.
Trying to keep the momentum going, the Timberwolves now are gearing up for an elite group of playmakers for Capital.
“It’s going to have to be a boring game for us to win,” Dingess said, referencing his team’s ability to control the clock against the quick-strike Capital offense. “We can’t allow any big, exciting plays. We have to win the special teams battle and grind this thing out.”
And that potent Cougars’ offense is led by quarterback Kerry Martin Jr.
“We’re going to have to have a couple big plays that turn the game,” Dingess said.
“He makes great decision. When the pocket breaks down and he has to improvise, that’s when he’s great. He’s a playmaker and a winner. We can’t get ready for the stuff in practice that he’s great at—the scrambling and making player.”
Class AAA No. 8 Cabell Midland (4-3) at Class AAA No. 15 St. Albans (4-4)
Cabell Midland ran wild on Parkersburg last week as the Knights piled up 715 rushing yards in a 63-35 win over the Big Reds.
“All of our success starts up with our offensive line,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “We scored on nine of 10 possessions in the game.”
A week after being slowed down by Belfry, Cabell Midland turned a big corner as Ivan Vaughn and Isaiah Duncan combined for nearly 600 yards on the ground.
“We’re excited about what we’re doing on offense,” Salmons said. “We feel like we’re starting to find a little bit of a hot streak.”
The Knights travel to St. Albans who is looking for a signature win in 2017 after a couple of close calls that included an overtime defeat to unbeaten University.
“They are getting good production from the quarterback,” Salmons said of R.T. Alexander.
“They are running all sorts of formation. We’ll have to get ready for several things from their offense. They are pretty unconventional on defense. They’ll show us different looks. I’m sure they’ll be excited to play us.”
South Charleston (3-4) at Class AAA No. 1 Huntington (7-0)
Hurricane got a good dose of Jadon Hayes last week. Huntington’s running back authored a 323-yard night as the Highlanders remained perfect with a 34-14 win.
“It was a very gritty performance,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said of Hayes’ night. “I thought our offensive line did a nice job of controlling the line of scrimmage and giving him running lanes.”
Included in the 323-yard effort was a 99-yard sprint by Hayes.
Huntington starts the week ranked No. 1 in Class AAA and is facing the team that ended its season in 2016.
“We’ve been in positions like this over the past few years and we understand it’s a week-to-week season,” Seals said of his team’s current playoff rating. “We have to make our own statement with the 2017 team.
“Unfortunately, last year they did knock us out of the playoffs. It was the first time we’ve been knocked out in the first round since 2011 when we started making the playoffs. Our kids understand we have to continue to make plays and execute.”
South Charleston is looking for a much-needed win this week, coming off of a loss to St. Albans.
“Anytime you have a team that’s 3-4 and needs to win some football games down stretch, it’s a concern,” Seals said.
“South Charleston is going to all the things they usually—get its best players in space. Defensively, they have some players. The Joseph kid at linebacker is solid. Trae Murphy is a really good quarterback. I know they’ve struggled a little bit the last couple of weeks, but I don’t expect that at all Friday.”
Class AA Wayne No. 7 Wayne (6-1) at Class AA No. 15 Sissonville (5-2)
Wayne head coach Tom Harmon took a step closer to 200 career wins, but his 199 career victory didn’t come without some dramatics.
The Pioneers held off a second-half rally by Chapmanville as Wayne won 14-12 last week.
“We’ve been really good on defense in the second half this season,” said Wayne junior standout Michael Bartram. “We’re just trying to play the best we can on defense – we made some adjustments in the second half and played our hearts out.”
Wayne’s defense came to the rescue with five total sacks in the game including two on the final two plays of the game.
Winners of five straight, the Pioneers will visit a Sissonville team that was humbled last week in a loss against Winfield.
“They’re 70-percent passing,” Bartram said. “We’re looking to try and close down their passing game a little bit and try to contain the run.”
Bartram, meanwhile, leads Wayne offensively on the year, totaling 630 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 106 carries.
“We weren’t really sure how good we were going to be until the season came,” Bartram said. “We’ve all played for years together and it’s all finally clicked this year.”
Wayne had won nine straight games over Sissonville before falling 38-12 to the Indians last season.
“We’re just going to come out and play like we do every week – heads down and ready to play,” Bartram said. “We’re young and we’re wild on the field.”
Herbert Hoover (1-6) at Class AA No. 2 Mingo Central (7-0)
Mingo Central has scored 104 points the last two weeks while allowing exactly zero against Nitro and Scott.
“Two shutouts in a row is a tough to do whether the score is 7-0 or 50-0,” Mingo Central head coach Joey Field said.
“We’re getting better defensively as the season goes. We’re understanding what our job is and the what guy next to me is doing, so I can do my job. We’re flying to the football, and that’s all effort.”
Perhaps a product of the stout defense from the Miners is simply the practice against its own offense.
“Most defenses aren’t comfortable in space, but we’re comfortable covering space, tackling in space,” Fields said.
“I think that’s one of the hardest things, but we see it every day in practice. It does help us seeing some of the best players in the state Monday through Thursday.”
The Miners will honor their senior class prior to Friday’s game that seen a lot of success at Buck Harless Stadium.
“Not only are they good football players, they are good kids,” Field said.
“It’s also special to me because my brother is a senior this year. This senior class has only lost two regular season games in four years and four games in four years.”
Man (1-6) at Class AA No. 8 Point Pleasant (6-2)
Cason Payne accounted for over 350 yards of offense in a 56-16 win for Point Pleasant over Meigs, Ohio last week.
“It was one of those nights where everything was clicking for him,” said Point Pleasant coach David Darst said.
But, overall, it was a complete team effort.
“Our kids responded really well after losing to Bluefield,” Darst said. “We played hard against a pretty good football team. I thought overall the offense did a good job and the defense played exceptionally well.”
It’s a Man team that enters Friday’s game at just 1-6 on the season.
“We’re going to have to make sure that we’re being physical with them,” he said.
“We’ll have to be able to handle them on first down and not give them short downs. Man does a good job of handling the clock and keeping it running. Harvey Arms has been around for a long time and he knows what he has to do to be successful.”
Class A No. 7 Tug Valley (6-1) at Hurley, Virginia
Tug Valley picked up a signature win on the road last week as it held Mount View to one score in a 41-8 win.
Since being edged by Van in the third game of the season, the Panthers have won convincingly in four straight games. No game has been decided by less than 13 points and the last two wins over Buffalo and Mount View have been by a combined 75-8.
Tug Valley takes on a Hurley team that is 5-3 this season.
Class A No. 11 Sherman (5-2) at Sheldon Clark, Kentucky
Sherman’s stingy defense allowed 50 points to the high-powered attack of South Harrison last week.
Even with last week’s loss, the Tide still controls their own playoff destiny. The final three opponents for Sherman—Sheldon Clark, River View and Wirt County–have a combined record of 6-15.
Sherman won last year’s meeting with ease, 49-8.
Chapmanville (4-3) at Logan (2-5)
Chapmanville was outlasted by Wayne last week, 14-12, in a pivotal game for both teams.
If the Tigers are to make the playoffs, it will have to go through their two biggest rivals—Logan and Man.
Along with contests against its Logan County brethren, Chapmanville will have a game sandwiched in between against Mingo Central.
Meanwhile, Logan had an extra week to prepare for its contest versus the Tigers. Despite just two wins this season, the Wildcats could go 2-0 against its Logan County rivals this season with a victory over Chapmanville.
Chapmanville starts the week No. 22 in Class AA.
The Tigers won last year’s contest 29-8.
Other Games
Fairview, Kentucky at Lincoln County (3-4)
Paden City (2-5) at Van (3-5)
Scott (2-5) at Poca (2-5)
Hannan (2-5) at Gilmer (1-6)