A Lot of Extra Miles – Thanks Covid 19!

As we enter week #3 of the 2020 High School Football season, the biggest effect the coronavirus has had on high school football teams in WV has been several teams have yet to play a single game!  The orange and red colors have so far derailed the start of the season for many large and small schools in the state including seven teams that competed in last year’s football playoffs!  For several other teams, their seasons were started and now have been put on pause because of beginning the season in the yellow and now finding themselves living in the orange!

Another effect this pandemic has had on our state’s high school football programs is the added expense of teams in green or yellow counties that are allowed to play their games, but having to change their schedules because of games scheduled long before the season began are now against teams that cannot play because of Covid 19.  This is why we are seeing games, last week and again this week, on the schedule that certainly weren’t there back on August 28th!

Last weekend we saw teams criss-cross the state just trying to find games in order to keep this very strange season alive!  We had Wheeling Park @ Hedgesville…..Greenbrier East @ Jefferson….Van @ Paden City….Wheeling Central @ Parkersburg and Madonna @ Scott, just to name a few.  This week, the schedule will reflect the same as Hedgesville has to make the 4½ bus ride to Clay County….Lincoln County will board their bus for an almost 6 hour ride to Doddridge County and Spring Valley will leave their Huntington homes to drive the 5½ hour, 335 mile trip to Martinsburg, WV.  These games were not a part of the original schedules for any of these schools, but mandated because of Covid 19!  Yes, they are all getting to play….but, at what cost…..both literally and figuratively!

In addition to the games listed above for this week, there are several interesting contests that immediate families will get to see this weekend.  In Class AAA, Wheeling Park travels to Huntington as the Highlanders are looking for their first win of the season after dropping games to Hurricane and Cabell Midland….Lewis County is at Ripley as the Vikings are looking to start the season at (3-0) and the Bluefield Beavers will try and improve to (2-0) when they make a Friday night trip to Beckley to take on the (0-2) Flying Eagles.

In Class AA, a big game in north central WV will find undefeated Bridgeport at East West Stadium in Fairmont to battle the undefeated Fairmont Senior Polar Bears.  A couple of undefeated teams will meet up as John Marshall, out of Class AAA will make the short trip to New Cumberland, WV to battle the undefeated Golden Bears of Oak Glen.  Also in Class AA, the Shady Spring Tigers will try and bounce back from a loss last Friday night to Class A Summers County as they return home to welcome the undefeated Patriots of Independence.

In Class A, Ritchie County will try and stay undefeated as they battle another undefeated team in St. Marys!  Another good battle will take place in Tolsia as the Rebels welcome the Wayne Pioneers.

Hopefully you will get to see a high school game this weekend, but whether you do or not, I invite you to join Dave Jecklin and me for another edition of GAMENIGHT this Friday night from 9:30 to Midnight.  The program is heard on many great radio stations around the state and at www.wvmetronews.com.

Stay safe and talk with you Friday night!!





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