— By Shawn Rine
GAME TO WATCH
No. 10 Wheeling Central (9-4) vs. No. 1 Doddridge County (13-0)
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Last Week: Wheeling Central ended its lengthy road trip across the state, by making a four-hour trek to No. 3 Pendleton County. The Maroon Knights left no doubt by running away to a 27-7 verdict.
Known for its high-flying, point-producing offense, Doddridge got rather defensive. The Bulldogs forced five turnovers on their way to a dominating, 27-3 victory against Williamstown to set up a much anticipated rematch of last season’s semifinal game that was won, 49-7, by eventual champion Central.
Why it’s important: Wheeling Central is looking for its 12th state football championship, which would be the eighth for decorated head coach Mike Young, who took over for the late Jim Thomas prior to the 2005 season.
“Probably, yes,” Young said about this being the toughest road his Maroon Knights have had to travel to reach Wheeling Island Stadium. “But it’s also one of the most rewarding. Just seeing how the kids responded. It’s a credit to the kids, the coaches, the parents, and our fanbase.
“As coaches we challenge each other pretty good and the last three years we’ve basically played another season with going deep in the playoffs. That’s a monkey on our backs and being the defending champs.”
This is a watershed moment for the Bulldogs, who are making their first Super Six appearance.
But Coach Bobby Burnside’s club has playoff pedigree, having fallen to Central last season to come up one game shy.
Young said the Maroon Knights may have a slight advantage since they’ve been to this point several times, while Doddridge obviously has not. But that won’t last long.
“The stage is huge, but the fact we have been here won’t be a deciding factor in the game,” Young said. “That wears off after the first or second possession.
“Then it gets into strategy and making plays. I say this all the time, but the team that blocks and tackles better is going to be the one who wins a state championship.”
Who to watch for Wheeling Central: Virtually everyone has heard names like Adam Murray, Jordan Waterhouse, Payton Marling and Jalen Creighton. But it’s been a bunch of guys not a lot of people outside of Wheeling have heard of, that have made this run possible following the loss of two-time all-state quarterback Curtis McGhee III to a season-ending knee injury.
Guys like Vinnie High, Michael Horan, Michael Toepfer, Josh Custer, Riley Watkins, Spencer Helms, Trey Helms and Jacob Rine. Each has elevated his own game.
“When you have a Curtis, he made some unbelievable plays for us,” Young said. “We don’t have another kid on the roster who can make some of the plays he did, but what we have are a bunch of kids who have made bigger plays that what they had done previously.
“They are carrying themselves with a tremendous amount of pride.”
Who to watch for Doddridge County: The conversation of course starts with senior Hunter America. He won the Curt Warner Award, which is given to the state’s best running back, last season. He’s rushed for more than 2,000 yards again this season and is poised to eclipse 6,000 career yards.
“But they aren’t as one-dimensional as they were last year,” Young cautioned. “They throw it better and spread it around more between the tailback and wing back.
“What they’ve done this year is make you prepare to defend more of the field.”
America still plays the lead role, but Griffin Devericks, Reece Burnside, Noah Bumgardner, Dylan Knight, Adam Burnside, Hunter Jenkins and Brady Zellny all came through with splash plays in the semifinal victory.