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11:00am: Darian DeVries Introduction Press Conference

Football and Academics!

West Virginia certainly likes its football!  Whether at the college level…..the high school level….junior high school level……or, pee wee and midget football……it’s all important to a lot of youngsters around the state!

However, to play football the athlete must first earn the right and that “right” must be attained in the classroom!  In order to participate in any extracurricular activity, a student in West Virginia must maintain a “C” average in their studies in the classroom.  For some of the athletes, maintaining a “C” average is very easy, while others have to study hard to get that “C” in the classroom and work even harder to maintain that grade that will keep them on the football field, or basketball court, or on the cheerleading team, or, even playing the horn in the high school band!  For those of you that have to work hard in order to maintain that “C” average, I salute you!  And, for those of you that refuse to settle for that “C”, you are to be commended!

Over the course of the high school football season, I am honored to come into contact with many of those athletes that work hard….not only on the athletic field…..but also in the classroom.  Through our ZMM Architects and Engineers Scholar Athlete of the Week program, we get to talk to at least 14 different scholar athletes who are selected for that weekly award.  So far this season, Dave Jecklin and I have spoken with the following Scholar Athletes of the Week on GAMENIGHT:

Week #1:  Jakobey Meadows…..a senior at James Monroe H. S. with a GPA OF 4.2

Week #2:  Cody Nantz…..a senior at Scott H. S. with a GPA of 4.38

Week #3:  Alexa Triplett…..a senior at Elkins H. S. with a GPA of 4.66

Week #4:  Myles Rice…..a senior at Weir H. S. with a GPA of 3.96

Week #5:  Levi Paxton….a junior at Herbert Hoover H. S. with a GPA of 4.5

And, the great news is we still have nine weeks of GAMENIGHT remaining this season and that means nine more scholar athletes will be on our show and Dave and I get the chance to talk with each one of them.  By the way, if you know a junior or senior in high school in WV and they are an athlete or cheerleader for more than one sport and have maintained that impressive GPA, please go to our website at www.wvmetronews.com and click on the High School Sports tab and that will take you to our high school sports page where you will find the ZMM Architects and Engineers ad in the upper right hand corner of the page.  Click on that and that will take you to the form you will need to fill out and send to me.  All of the instructions are located on that page!  And, here’s hoping the athlete you recommend will be selected as a future ZMM Architects and Engineers Scholar Athlete of the Week!

What games will we be watching closely on GAMENIGHT this week?  Well, certainly in Class AAA the rivalry matchup between Huntington (5-0) and Spring Valley (4-1) should be an exciting game in Cabell County.  The game will be played on the campus of Huntington High and the series between the two powers is very close as the Timber Wolves currently hold a 12-11 edge.  Plus, Spring Valley has won the last four meetings between the schools.  Also on the schedule this weekend, George Washington (3-1) will make the short trip to South Charleston to battle the (3-1) Black Eagles.  In a series that began back in 1965, George Washington holds the edge in games won, winning 29 and losing 25.  The Patriots have also won 6 of the last 7 meetings with South Charleston.  In Class AA, it’s a classic rivalry matchup as the undefeated Poca Dots (3-0) will welcome the Sissonville Indians (1-4).  Don’t let the (1-4) Indians record fool you……when these two teams meet, you throw the records out the window!  The series between Poca and Sissonville dates back to 1938 and Poca holds a very slight edge having won 35….losing 34 and there have been 2 ties!  Should be a great game!  In Class A this weekend, Pocahontas County (3-1) will travel to Baker, WV to battle the undefeated Cougars of East Hardy (4-0)!  The Cougars have won 18 of the 25 contests between the two teams.  Also in Class A this Friday night, the (3-0) Cameron Dragons will travel to Morgantown to battle (2-0) Trinity Christian.  This will mark the first meeting between the two teams.

Don’t forget to join Dave Jecklin and me this Friday night for another edition of High School GAMENIGHT!  We’ll be on the air across this great state of WV from 9:30 til Midnight giving you all the scores and highlights of all the games played on Friday night.  You can also stream the audio and video of the show at www.wvmetronews.com!

Talk with you this Friday night!





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