Now that Week #2 is in the books, it is time to look back at a great weekend of high school football in West Virginia. It was filled with rainy, cold, and windy weather- making it an interesting weekend for C&C. The C&C crew was all over the state to see both high school and college games for the followers. With the threat of a hurricane, which never showed up, and administrators having pies in their face for panicking over it, nothing kept C&C from watching games Thursday-Friday-Saturday.
Here’s our run through of what happened:
Number One Contender Game – Goes to Huntington, sending a message that they are for real. They came from behind last week to upend a very good out-of-state opponent, and now have shutout last year’s State Runner-up. It was a rainy one on the Highlander’s field and neither side could make a budge until the second half when Jadon Hayes broke loose to cap the score 14-0. In the meantime, Martinsburg continues to dominate inferior opponents. The scary part is that new star names rise every time: this week being a stellar performance by Trey Sine.
Best 0-2 Team in WV – Morgantown. Accepting that challenge in the schedule was noble but now they have their backs against the wall with key games coming up against Martinsburg and University. The Mohigans cannot afford slip-ups especially if they can’t pick off a Bulldog or Hawk. We are not sure a 5 5 record against some of the weaker teams on their schedule will give them enough points. However, hopefully they’ve used this as experience and rising playmakers will surface in WV. We’ve seen potential in QB Aaron Alvarez, two-way player Javohn Moore, and LB Cole Streyle who had two takeaways against Steubenville.
Great Stat Games – Mt. View and Oak Hill are putting up some great stats right now but it is against some questionable quality teams. However, those questionable teams used to be them. Oak Hill’s Khori Bass has amassed almost 500 yards rushing in two games (though he hasn’t played a full eight quarters). On down the way at Mount View, Elijah Collier and Elijah Barner are making noise (as we predicted). Collier is 56 yards away from having 3,000 yards career passing. They play next week, and it will be an important game for both programs.
Powerhouses Collide Games – This could go to either Mingo Central and Wayne or Point Pleasant and James Monroe. Wayne, a former king, was throttled by the Miners down in Matewan. Jeremy Dillon didn’t have to do as much (that’s relative) as Drew Hatfield and Dawson Elia did work on their own. Across the south, Point Pleasant battled with James Monroe. It was a revenge and bounce back game and Cason Payne and Justin Brumfield answered with two 100+ yard rushing performances. They put down the Mavs 20-14 and look to make a push back into the top five.
Don’t Forget – Winfield was hyped up greatly and seem to have been forgotten slightly after a close loss to Hurricane. However, Andrew Huff is making sure the Generals don’t get slept on. He rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and completed a 49-3 thumping of the usually competitive Herbert Hoover. This could prove a testament to what we previously thought. While the usual powers of AA battle it out, Winfield will continue winning and hope their opponents forget their capability.
Monkey Off the Back Games – This goes mainly to Richwood for ending a 20-game win streak against Gilmer County. They didn’t just get the monkey off, they tombstone piledrove it from the top rope by a score of 62-6. In this outing, Brandon Amick scored four times and Jeremiah Johnston ran for 183. Nearby, Woodrow Wilson knocked off arch rival Greenbrier East to end an 8-game skid and pick up momentum going into the grinder of their schedule beginning with Mookie Collier’s Bluefield Beavers who smacked AAA Princeton 62-0 last week.
Sending a Message Games – Goes to Hurricane as they defeated a Kentucky powerhouse with several D1 prospects in Paintsville. They also hadn’t lost at home since 2013. The defense is living up to the hype and QB Nathan Roy and WRs Dakota Williams and Curon Cordon are finding their offensive chemistry. Also through the Kanawha Valley, Cabell Midland sent their message that they’re still the dudes that run out behind motorcycles and do Somoan war chants. They ran around, through, and over South Charleston. Ivan Vaugn performed as expected and defensive standout, Griffin Adkins, actually stepped in to run the ball and ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns. The machine is pumping.
The Wide Open Single A – Magnolia rolled up to Williamstown and beat them handedly. The Yellow Jackets could not stop Hunter Partridge who ran for a silly 41 carries for 359 yards and 4 touchdowns. Williamstown is no pushover, though. They only lost by two scores. However, Single A seems wide open if you consider St. Marys beatable. Jordan Dempsey is surpassing expectations and has Fayetteville humming. Wheeling Central, East Hardy, and South Harrison must still be in the discussion as well. Midland Trail is beginning to mount themselves in the top ten. Not to mention, Webster County proved us all wrong with a 34-7 whooping on Ravenswood.
Moral Victory Game – Riverside is a team that shouldn’t hold their heads down. Capital is a top five team with one of the best quarterbacks in the state, Kerry Martin Jr. They are littered with playmakers such as Breece Hoff, Anthony Pittman, and KJ Figures. Mark Scites and his Warriors had a chance to make it a game late but a fumble foiled any comeback. The 44-14 score doesn’t represent the game and Riverside earned a lot of respect. The Warriors can pick up where they left off and Capital can begin their battling for a top seed.
Loud and Quiet Games – The undisputed top AA’s in the state faced two different situations Friday night. Bridgeport played a powerhouse AAA Wheeling Park while Fairmont stomped a decent Lewis County team. Wilkinson threw for 200 yards but couldn’t counteract the always devastating rushing attack of the Indians which had John Merica and Jake Bowen go for 100+ and multiple TDs each. Fairmont had a dominating performance specifically by top prospect, Dante Stills, who recorded three sacks before the subs came in. They are on a collision course as always.
Contenders without Competition – Several teams are stuck looking for respect whether they’ve earned it or not. When they blow teams out it almost hurts their reputation because it lowers the value of the team they beat. University and Musselman are star led teams who are getting jumped by teams with worse records until they match up with big time opponents. The same goes for Weir and Keyser who have hellacious QBs and will need a big time game to rise in the ranks.
You Can’t Write This Stuff Game – In one of the most heated rivalries in the state, Wyoming East and Westside, only miles apart, there was a classic thanks to the ending. Wyoming East’s QB Seth Ross was having a grand performance and being down 10-6 with little time left, he was stripped during his comeback attempt. Westside just had to run the clock out. They elected to run and by the luck of New Richmond, they fumbled. Ross got one more shot and with .3 seconds left threw a touchdown to win 12-6 in a legendary rivalry. You can’t make this stuff up.
Noteworthy Performances – Running backs Carson McComas of Scott and Brady Grant of Van went at each other with 100+ yard rushing battles pushing Scott to 2-0. Ripley’s duo of Evans and Kemp combined for five total scores to upend Buchannon-Upshur and increase their stock. Braxton County’s Cottrill-Stout connection is proving to be dangerous and put up many points against Clay County. Several teams are 2-0 and making noise with big wins such as Pocahontas County, Clay-Battelle, and Petersburg. Two teams are 2-0 for the first time in a long time: North Marion and Montcalm. Tides are turning in West Virginia.
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