By Wes McKinney for WVMetroNews.com
Class AAA No. 8 Cabell Midland (5-3) at Class AAA No. 5 Spring Valley (6-2)
Spring Valley got the marquee win it was looking for in 2017 as it outlasted Capital, 35-28.
“It’s a confidence booster for our kids,” said Spring Valley coach Brad Dingess.
“We’ve won some ball games, but we were on the right end of that big one. You start looking at playoff seeding that was a big win for our confidence and for positioning in the playoffs.”
The Timberwolves were able to upend Capital on the heels of four interceptions, three by Graeson Malashevich.
“We were able to get some pressure on Kerry Martin, force him out of the pocket and cut the field in half,” Dingess said. “The big thing was we had everybody back in the secondary. That’s a make a difference.”
Owen Porter also added two rushing touchdowns for Spring Valley in the win.
While Spring Valley was busy limiting Capital’s offense, Cabell Midland’s offensive unit kept humming along as it scored 60 points for a second straight week.
The Knights defeated St. Albans 60-26.
“Every game with the exception of Belfry we have been able to execute our offense the way we want,” Cabell Midland head coach Luke Salmons said. “The offensive line is blocking really well. We have multiple guys that can run the ball in our offense.”
Dingess and Spring Valley have seen some good offenses this year, but just how good are the Knights?
“I think they might be the best offense we play all year,” Dingess said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to weather the storm early and limit some of their big plays. We need to get settled in and see what’s working early on.”
Last year, Spring Valley defeated Cabell Midland on the road as Derek Johnson keyed the offense in the win. With the loss, Salmons doesn’t need any extra motivation for his team.
“Our kids are really starting to play with an edge,” Salmons said. Normally, we play Spring Valley early in the season, but we’re excited to play them later in the year.”
Class AA No. 2 Mingo Central (8-0) at Chapmanville (5-3)
Mingo Central enjoyed Senior Night by downing Herbert Hoover, 64-23.
Drew Hatfield caught both touchdowns from Jeremy Dillon as Hatfield finished the game with 159 yards receiving and the two scores.
“We started out a little slow,” Mingo Central head coach Joey Fields said of his team’s 8-3 lead after one quarter.
“We had some guys out of position because we were sitting some guys. If one guy doesn’t do his job on defense, it affects everyone on defense. A successful defense is all 11 guys working together. Early on that didn’t happen for us.”
Mingo Central faces a Chapmanville team that has its backs against the wall with two weeks left in the regular season. While the Miners are thinking about locking up home field advantage throughout the postseason, Chapmanville is just looking to secure a spot in the playoffs.
“We always get up for playing Chapmanville,” Fields said. “It’ll be a physical game because of what they are doing. It’s different than what we’re used to in the past. We’re used to them spreading it out and tackling them in space, now they are running some two backs stuff and coming right at you.”
Of course, Fields is referring to the rushing ability of Dylan Smith.
Chapmanville rolled up 63 points in an easy 63-26 victory over rival Logan last week. In the win, Dylan Smith amassed over 320 yards and six touchdowns for the Tigers.
“Smith can do it all,” Fields said. “He’s one of the best there is. We know he’s going to touch the ball 25-30 times, and that’s 25-30 times we have to account for him and tackle him.”
Westside (5-3) at Class AA No. 8 Point Pleasant (7-2)
Point Pleasant clamped down on Man as the Big Blacks grabbed a 45-0 win.
“We were happy with the way we played defense Friday night,” Point Pleasant head coach David Darst said.
“Kids were able to get to the ball and make tackles. We did a good job of shutting down a power running football team.”
Friday night will close the regular season book on a group of seniors that has only lost one regular season home game — and that defeat took a Hail Mary from Mingo Central’s Jeremy Dillon.
“It’s been a great class of kids,” Darst said.
“They’ve been in the program and seen a lot of wins. It’ll be a sad night to see them leave. They’ll be a good crowd.”
Darst wants his team to take care of business, and then focus on the off week before the postseason starts.
“If we’re successful Friday night, it’ll be nice to have the extra week to rest and heal up,” Darst said. “We hope we can build a little more depth and have more kids ready to go in the playoffs. It’s about this week and not worrying about the off week.”
More than likely, Westside needs to win out to make the playoffs.
“I like the way they play defense,” Darst said. “They have some big, strong kids on that side of the ball. They seem to be pretty active and get to the ball well. Offensively, they have some kids that run the ball well. They are another big football team.”
Class AAA No. 1 Huntington (8-0) at Woodrow Wilson (1-7)
Huntington smothered South Charleston as it shutout the Black Eagles 23-0.
It was the second shutout of the season for the Highlanders after blanking Spring Valley in week two of the season.
“We felt like we did a great job of winning the field position battle which is huge in any game,” Huntington head coach Billy Seals said.
“We knew it would be hard for them to go 70 or 80 yards on us. We could have gone for it a couple of times on the plus side of the field, but we didn’t want to give them any momentum.”
While the defense did steal the headlines against South Charleston, Jadon Hayes added three more rushing touchdowns to his total that came after a safety from the Huntington defense.
Now, Huntington turns its attention to the final road game of the season.
“They are one of those teams that hang around,” Seals said of Woodrow Wilson.
“A lot of times with a young team or program the game might get away from you late. We expect their best effort Friday night. We know in the MSAC it’s a week-to-week grind.”
The final road game of the season for the Highlanders will also be the longest, but Huntington has seen success at Woodrow Wilson including a 41-6 win two years ago in Raleigh County.
“Anytime you go somewhere and have success and you have kids on the roster that have been a part of that, it’s a big thing,” Seals said.
“We have a pretty veteran group. Our kids understand what’s on the line.”
Logan (2-6) at Class AA No. 6 Wayne (7-1)
Tom Harmon’s 200th career win at Wayne didn’t come without some drama.
The Pioneers had to hold off a fourth-quarter rally from Sissonville, marking the second straight week Wayne thwarted a late rally from its opponent as it had to hang on 30-27 against the Indians.
Wayne has positioned itself very nicely for a playoff run with a sixth straight, the most consecutive wins for the Pioneers since making the state championship game in 2013.
Logan comes into the matchup looking to win two of its last three games. The Wildcats fell to Chapmanville last week 63-26.
Man (1-7) at Class A No. 4 Tug Valley (7-1)
When the WVSSAC playoff ratings came out prior to week four, Tug Valley debuted at 13th.
Quietly, the Panthers have risen to fourth in Class A after a convincing 43-8 win over Hurley, Virginia last week. With the victory, Tug Valley ran its win streak to four games with its only blemish of the season coming against Van.
The Panthers will be looking to win eight regular season games for the first time since 2014.
Tug Valley won a defensive battle with Man last season as the Panthers edged out a 12-6 victory.
Class A No. 12 Sherman (6-2) at River View (2-6)
Sherman got back to its winning ways with an easy 49-8 win over Sheldon Clark, Kentucky last week.
After former head coach J.D. Fairchild guided the Tide to the playoffs for the first time in seven years last year, first-year head coach Michael Showalter has Sherman on the brink of another playoff berth.
The Tide beat River View last season 45-14.
Other Games:
Pikeville, Kentucky at Tolsia (2-6)
Lincoln County (3-5) at Buffalo (1-7)
Class AA No. 10 Winfield (6-2) at Scott (3-5)
Hannan (2-6) at Phelps, Kentucky