The second season has begun for the top 48 teams in the state and that number will start to rapidly shrink when playoff play begins this Friday night! And, it will be an exciting weekend of high school football this Friday and Saturday as several key games are slated!
We begin in Class A where most of the games (2 of 8) will be played on Saturday. The only two Friday night games in Class A include #12 Sherman traveling to Welch to take on #5 Mt. View. That game will kick at 7:30 from Vic Nystrum Stadium. The Golden Knights have been strong this season losing only to Tazewell, Va. by 4 in week #2 of the season. The Tide of Sherman will take their (6-4) record to Welch, WV and try to diffuse the explosive offense of the Golden Knights. In the other Friday evening game in Class A, #15 Midland Trail (6-4) will make the 135 mile trip to West Union to Battle #2 Doddridge County. The Bulldogs are sporting a fine record of (9-1) and will be a handful for the Patriots to handle! At 1:30 on Saturday, there are two games that really stand out as games you don’t want to miss! First of all, #6 Williamstown (8-2) will welcome the (6-4) Cavaliers of Greenbrier West and these two teams have met only one other time and that was in 2019 in the playoffs where the Yellow Jackets prevailed 34-22 in a game played at Charmco. Williamstown would go on to lose the following week to Doddridge County in the semi-final round. Also at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon, the Moorefield Yellow Jackets (6-4) seem to be playing the best football of anyone in Class A. Head Coach Matt Altobella is trying to restore the Yellow Jackets into being the best in the state. Their opponent Saturday afternoon will be the Maroon Knights of Wheeling Central Catholic and head coach Mike Young knows that even thought his team boasts a fine record of (7-3),
In Class AAA, 6 of the 8 games scheduled will kick at 7:30pm Friday evening! And, just like the smaller Class A schools we are set for some really good games in round one of the Class AAA state tournament! A couple of Class AAA games that provide some excitement include #9 George Washington and at #8 Greenbrier East. I am certainly one of those guys that love a good old fashioned shootout and this game could provide that. The 8 vs 9 game is usually the best game in any bracketed tournament and these two teams are so close in talent that they should really provide a great game. Also in Class AAA this weekend, Hurricane will hit the road this Saturday for an afternoon contest against the Jefferson Cougars. The Cougars stayed near the top of Class AAA for much of the season, and they stand sporting a (9-1) record and head coach Craig Hunter says he has the team believing. This is still a young bunch of great athletes and Coach Hunter feels his team is going to be better ever if they can stop making the silly mistakes.
In Class AA, a lot of fans will find it so tough to handle, but the Polar Bears of Fairmont Senior are in the playoffs, but this time, they are in at #16. Which is fine for head coach Nick Bartic. Coach Bartic’s team has certainly played the toughest schedule in the state this year for any Class AA team, and they now find themselves with a chance to win it all. Granted the road to the super six championship game won’t be easy as the #16 seed, but it has been done before! Also in Class AA, the Lincoln Cougars are ranked #4 with an (8-2) record and, this time in the first round, the opponent is one of the teams favored to win it all. The Frankfort Falcons are (6-4) and are playing as good as any team in the state tournament and they have certainly been tested by playing a very tough schedule.
Make sure you check out the schedule of the first round of the playoffs by going to wvmetronews.com and don’t forget coming up this Friday night it’s another edition of GAMENIGHT where Dave Jecklin and I will have all the scores of all the games played this Friday night. And, for the first time ever, this Sunday night from 7 to 8pm, a special show entitled the Road To The Super Six will be live this Sunday evening. Join a great list of radio stations statewide for both the shows, and if you can’t find them in your listening area, just tune in to www.wvmetronews.com for the live video and the live audio of both shows.
Talk with you this weekend.