High School football teams in West Virginia have eleven weeks to play ten games! That eleven week period began on Friday, August 30th and will end on Saturday, November 9th with the first round of the playoffs scheduled to begin the following weekend. With seven of those eleven weeks now in the books, teams are beginning to realize if they will keep playing after week 11, or if they only have four more weeks of action left in the 2019 season.
Looking back on week #7, there were not a great deal of surprises. Each of the three classes had a couple of games that went against the suggested rankings including (3-4) Hurricane surprising #7 Huntington (3-3) by a final of 24-7. In Class AA, #12 Shady Spring (6-1) went on the road to New Richmond to take on the undefeated Warriors of #5 Wyoming East and when the dust had settled at the War Zone, the Tigers stood atop the Warriors with a final score of 27-20. In Class A, #3 Midland Trail (5-2) played host to Class AA Liberty (Raleigh) (4-2) and the visiting Raiders disposed of the Patriots by a final of 32-20.
On the plus side last week, all three #1 ranked teams prevailed rather easily as Class AAA #1 Cabell Midland ran past Princeton (1-5) by a final of 54-7. Wake Forest commit J. J. Roberts led the Knights by scoring four touchdowns, as he ran for three scores and threw for another. Also in that game, Cabell Midland’s Jakob Caudill eclipsed the 1000 yard rushing mark for the season. In Class AA, the top ranked Polar Bears of Fairmont Senior had little problem shutting out Weir (4-2) as the halftime score of 33-0 held up to be the final tally as well. Fresh off a week of rest, Fairmont Senior improved to (6-0) and extended the state’s second longest winning streak to 20 games in a row. Junior quarterback Gage Michael proved to be a top contender for the MetroNews High School Football Player of the Year as the youngster ran for two touchdowns and threw for two more. In Class A, the top ranked Bulldogs of Doddridge County proved they wanted to stay at the top as they knocked off Gilmer County 47-0! Hunter America carried the ball 15 times for 176 yards and a couple of scores to lead Doddridge County.
Some other teams that were impressive last weekend include the high flying Bulldogs of Martinsburg who won their 49th consecutive game by running past the (3-3) Cardinals of Spring Mills 77-0. In that game, Martinsburg’s Jarod Bowie returned three punts for scores and that was a part of five special teams touchdowns for the Bulldogs. In Class AA, the Poca Dots stayed unbeaten with a 56-21 win over now (4-2) Winfield. In that game, Poca’s Ethan Payne scored five touchdowns and rushed for 312 yards to push his rushing touchdown total this season to 29 in just 7 games! In Class A, the Cavaliers of Greenbrier West won for the 5th time this season as they sprinted past Pocahontas County 34-10 at Charmco. In that game, the Cavalier’s Noah Brown set a school record with 324 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Noah Brown now has 1080 rushing yards in six games, making him just the 22nd player in Greenbrier West history to reach the thousand yard mark in a single season. His 324 yard rushing effort broke the old record of 319 which was set by Brian Spitzer in 2003.
With just four weeks remaining in the regular season, this week marks week #8 on the football calendar and once again we will have some great games to watch. In Class AAA, the (7-0) Martinsburg Bulldogs will hit the road to Salem, Virginia to take on the Spartans of Salem High School who currently sit at (6-0) after defeating Patrick Henry High School last Friday night 51-34. Interesting to note, Patrick Henry is coached by former in state coach Allan Fiddler! Should Martinsburg prove victorious this Friday night, their impressive winning streak would improve to 50 consecutive games! Also in Class AAA, some other very important games will find (3-3) Capital coming off a bye week to travel to Bob Sang Stadium in Huntington to face the (3-3) Highlanders. Coach Billy Seals club has lost two in a row. Wheeling Park (5-1) will travel across the state to battle (6-1) Musselman in what should be a great game and Parkersburg (3-3) will host the fast charging Redskins of (3-4) Hurricane.
In Class AA this weekend, look for (5-2) Independence to be tested as Head Coach John Lilly takes his Patriots on the road to Surveyor to take on the (4-2) Liberty Raleigh Raiders of Head Coach Mark Montgomery. The Raiders are coming off an impressive upset win last Friday night over previously once beaten Midland Trail. The undefeated Man Hillbillies (6-0), after an off week last weekend, will be back in action as they play host to (5-1) Wyoming East. The Raiders lost for the first time last week to Shady Spring.
In Class A, week eight will find (4-2) East Hardy, winners of four in a row, playing host to (4-3) Moorefield. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a performance last Friday night that saw them shutout by a final of 33-0 to now (5-1) Northern Garrett, Md. This is definitely a very important game for both teams trying to make what will be a crowded field of 16 in Class A. Also in Class A this weekend, Pendleton County (6-0), coming off a very impressive 41-6 victory over previously unbeaten Tygarts Valley will hook up with (5-2 Parkersburg Catholic and (5-1) Ritchie County will try and stay in the hunt for a top 8 bid in the playoffs as they play host to (3-4) Webster County!
Don’t forget, we will have all of the scores and highlights of every game played across the state this weekend on High School GAMENIGHT……this Friday night from 9:30 to Midnight on 40+ great radio stations around the state and the live video and audio of the show at www.wvmetronews.com!