— By Wes McKinney
GAMES TO WATCH
CLASS AAA
No. 2 Cabell Midland (8-0) at No. 8 Huntington (4-3)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Cabell Midland kept rolling along with a 48-8 road victory against Woodrow Wilson.
After challenging his team ahead of the Capital game, Huntington responded to head coach Billy Seals’ message with an important 24-12 win over the Cougars to get back on the right side of .500 for the season.
“We had a great week of practice and executed Friday night,” Seals said. “It was a very important win for us.” The Highlanders were led in the game by 127 rushing yards from Brocton Blair.
Why It’s Important: Plenty is on the line. For starters, the Cabell County rivals play for The Shield. Cabell Midland owns The Shield after a 21-7 regular season win, but the Highlanders had the final say in 2018 after eliminating the Knights in the first round of the playoffs.
“Since I’ve been here and Luke has been at Midland, the series is very close,” Seals said. “I think both programs thrive on physicality. They do a great job on the offensive line as well as the defensive line.”
Secondly, both teams want impose their physical will on the game. While Blair, Diallo Mitchell and quarterback Tay Blackwell lead the charge for Huntington, and Cabell Midland counters with JJ Roberts and Jakob Caudill at the skill position, this matchup is all about the trenches.
“They have a tough team,” Salmons said. “I’m sure they’ll be excited coming off the Capital win. They’ve gotten better each week. It’s important for us to execute. We have to continue to play to our ability and play with play with purpose.”
Third, Cabell Midland is looking to hold onto a top-two spot in Class AAA while Huntington is looking to work its way into at least one home playoff game before season’s end.
“We have to play with great enthusiasm and realize the importance of this week,” Seals said. “We want to be 1-0 and get The Shield back.”
Who to Watch Cabell Midland: The athletic Roberts has added a dangerous element to the Knights’ triple option attack, but Seals sees Caudill as the driving force behind Cabell Midland’s offensive success.
“I think Midland’s offense runs through Caudill. If they get the fullback going, it makes everything else go. JJ Roberts is good,” Seals said.
“With Roberts at quarterback, he is picture perfect for option football. Roberts is a guy at quarterback that Midland has never had at quarterback before that can make plays. It makes them tougher to defense on Friday night because of his ability to take it 80 any time.”
Who to Watch Huntington: Blackwell has played well in recent weeks for the Highlanders, but the consistency of the Huntington running game is something Salmons and his staff is keying on.
“Huntington has good backs,” Salmons said. “We have to hone in on what we have to do to be successful — that’s our defense doing their job throughout the entire game. It’s important for us to win the line of scrimmage.”
CLASS AA
Herbert Hoover (3-4) at No. 16 Mingo Central (5-2)
When: Friday, 7 p.m.
Last Week: Mingo Central overwhelmed Scott, 52-7, but was unable to gain any ground in the playoff field. In fact, the Miners dropped a spot to 16 from last week.
Why It’s Important: Mingo Central can’t afford to drop any more games at this stage in the season as it fights to stay in the top 16 of the playoffs. Friday night will also be the last time the Miners’ senior class take to Buck Harless Stadium — a class that has just one regular season loss on Miner Mountain.
Who to Watch Mingo Central: One of those seniors, receiver Drew Hatfield is nearing 2,000 receiving yards for the season. Hatfield is also closing in on some career receiving marks, needing just 481 yards to become the state’s all-time leader in receiving yards for a career.
Chapmanville (4-3) at Logan (1-6)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Chapmanville kept its slim playoff hopes alive with a 7-6 win over Wayne. Logan got to enjoy its bye week, coming off of a shutout of Scott, 35-0, two week ago.
Why It’s Important: Chapmanville has been in this spot before — looking to sneak into the playoffs with a 4-3 record through seven games. The Tigers were 4-3 last season and went 1-2 down the stretch to get left out of the playoffs. Two seasons ago, Chapmanville was also 4-3 and went 2-1, but a 6-4 record wasn’t good enough to get CRHS into the postseason.
Chapmanville finishes the season with Logan, its other Logan County rival — Man — and Mingo Central. With as loaded as the Class AA field is, 2-1 is the minimum for the Tigers.
Meanwhile, Logan will look to keep its second half of the season momentum going against one of its biggest rivals.
Who to Watch Chapmanville: Chapmanville’s defense shutout Wayne for a half before the Pioneers got a third-quarter touchdown. In its four wins this season, the Tigers have allowed total of 51 points including holding Herbert Hoover and Wayne to one score each.
Who to Watch Logan: In the win two weeks ago over Scott, quarterback Jordan Hayes threw for four touchdowns with three going to Aidan Slack.
CLASS A
Mount View (3-4) at No. 10 Tolsia (4-3)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Last Week: Despite a loss to Buffalo, Tolsia’s playoff hopes didn’t take a significant hit as the Rebels remained 10th in the Class A Ratings this week.
Mount View was unable to get a win in its final game at Vic Nystrom Stadium as it fell to Tug Valley, 48-19.
Why It’s Important: At 4-3 this season, Tolsia has a chance to finish 7-3 this season and solidify a playoff spot with the potential to climb into the top eight for a home playoff game.
Who to Watch: Mount View: Tony Bailey continued his solid season with a rushing touchdown while Mount View’s first score against Tug Valley came on a 61-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jesse Rose.
Who to Watch Tolsia: Tolsia’s offense has been slowed in back-to-back, scoring just six points in each loss to East Carter, Kentucky and Buffalo. The Rebels look to return to early season form on the offensive side of the ball.
Other games: Class AA No. 5 AA Man (7-0) at Point Pleasant (1-4); Wayne (0-7) at Sissonville (4-3); Richwood (2-5) at Tug Valley (4-3); Hannan (1-6) at Van (2-5); Class A No. 5 A Greenbrier West (6-1) at Sherman (1-6); Scott (1-6) at Class AA No. 2 AA Poca (7-0); Class AA No. 7 AA Oak Glen (8-0) at Lincoln County (0-8)