Lane Watson, 88, of Roane County carries the ball during a game in Spencer earlier this season. (Photo courtesy of Sue Knotts)
Roane County, northern Marion
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s scores: North Marion 47, Roane County 26.
RCHS (8-0): d. Shady Spring, 36-12. d. Lincoln County, 42-12; d. Clay County, 47-46. d. Lewis County, 49-0. d. Braxton County, 43-8; d. Poca 45-19; d. Logan, 55-6. d. Mingo Central, 42-8
NMHS (6-2): d. East Fairmont, 28-21; D. Preston, 41-7. d. Phillip Barber, 47-24; lost 55-12 to Fairmont Senior. D. Lincoln, 40 wins and 7 losses. D. Elkins, 22 wins, 20 losses. They lost to Lewis County 21-15. d. Robert C. Byrd 47-16
RCHS key players: RB Lane Watson, RB Shea Harper, RB Clay Walker
NMHS Key Players: QB Toby Michael, RB Cole Morris, RB Brian Poindexter
Game Notes: The Raiders, led by Roane County head coach Paul Burdette, enter the game as the No. 2 team in Class AA and the only undefeated team besides No. 1 Frankfort.
A year ago, the Raiders started 8-0, but lost to the Huskies at County Stadium, spoiling an undefeated regular season, and NMHS fell short to Fairmont Senior, 49-48, in Class AA state. Finished as runner-up.
The Raiders are still in Double-A, but North Marion has moved to Class AAA and will need this win to secure a home playoff game with the Huskies entering contention in sixth place.
North Marion has home-field advantage, but the host team has a three-headed backfield monster of Watson (93-18), Harper (78-703-10) and Walker (86-536). I’ll have to find a way to slow it down. -11).
If the Raiders win, they can end the regular season undefeated next Friday on Senior Night against Triple-A Ripley.
Wirt County at Sherman
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s score: Not satisfied.
WCHS (7-2): Lost to Eastern 47-16. d. Magnolia, 48-24; d. Calhoun County, 50-0. d. St. Mary’s, 42-7. They lost to Wahama 68-22. d. Webster County, 43-7; d. Pocahontas County, 67-12. d. Bellsville, 73-0. d. Gilmer County, 63-20
SHS (6-2): d. Hurley (Va.), 47-20; lost 33-12 to Tug Valley. d. Pocahontas County, 34 wins, 20 losses. d. Riverview, 35-6; d. Men, 14-6; D. Vann, 42 wins and 6 losses. D. Mount View, 45-25; lost to Greenbrier West, 47-12.
Key players for WCHS: RB Brodie Ewing, QB Tyler Smith, WR Porter Goodwin.
SHS key players: RB Trey Lester, QB Eli Pauley, RB Dawson Greene
Game Notes: Two teams that can’t afford to fall back meet on Friday night at Seth, and in a battle of A-ranked programs, score enough points to stay in the playoff berth and likely a home playoff game. We aim to be on par with the .
Wirt County, currently ranked 10th, will play the 11th ranked Tide after a two-hour trip.
Potentially bad news for Sherman is the fact that the Cavaliers are coming off a blowout loss against Greenbrier West, where they had 354 ground yards.
Not only will the Tide have to contend with Goodwin (30-951-16), currently the top wideout in the Mid-Ohio Valley, but Ewing has rushed for nearly 1,500 stripes on 9.9 yards per carry and 26 touchdowns. He has recorded 25 of them. On the ground.
ST.Mary’s at Tyler Consolidated
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s scores: St. Mary’s 46, Tyler Consolidated 12
SMHS (3-5): Lost to Doddridge County, 41-0. D. Oak Glen, 28-0; lost to Cameron 46-21. They lost to Wirt County 42-7. They lost to South Harrison 29-14. They lost to Williamstown 55-7. d. Magnolia, 41-8. d. Ritchie County, 27-7
TCHS (5-3): d. Ritchie County, 54-7. They lost to Williamstown 49-0. d. St. Petersburg, 27-20. They lost to Cameron 13-6. d. Magnolia, 42-0. D. Oak Glen, 55 wins and 7 losses. D. Ravenswood, 57 wins and 13 losses. Lost to South Harrison 51-35.
SMHS key players: RB Logan Eddy, QB Ryan Kent, WR Brody Rice
TCHS key players: RB Branson Winfrey, QB Brady Strode, WR Reece Davis.
Game Notes: In a showdown of Single-A teams, St. Mary’s and head coach Jody Moat will be looking for their third straight win as the Blue Devils take on Tyler Consolidated.
The Silver Knights, led by Kyle Ritts, suffered a 51-35 come-from-behind loss to South Harrison last week, having defeated the Blue Devils 29-14 a month ago, ending their winning streak at three.
SMHS, currently No. 20 in Class A, has Eddie back in the lineup and with a win Friday and next week’s Senior Night against Ravenswood, they will finish at .500 and be in the top 16. Probably.
TCHS can’t afford to lose as they must close out the regular season this week at Kline Stansbury Stadium in West Union against Dodorridge County.
Nicholas County, Ripley
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s score: Not satisfied.
NCHS (5-3): Lost to Oak Hill 28-15. D. Chapmanville, 20 wins and 7 losses. They lost to Independence 41-14. d.Lincoln, 41-14; d.Midland Trail, 17-6; d.Braxton County, 42-0. d. Greenbrier East, 26-6. Lost to Shady Spring 27-21.
Right (6-2): d. South Charleston, 38-19. D. Ravenswood, 38 wins, 13 losses. d. Lincoln County, 35-6; d. Point Pleasant, 28-21. They lost to Nitro 43-6. D. Sissonville, 56-25. Lost to Herbert Hoover 56-28. D. Wayne, 35-26
NCHS key players: RB Devin Nash, QB Coulton Hellems, WR Spencer Kiper.
Key players for RHS: RB Noah Kast, QB Tyson Pruitt, WR Kris Jenkins.
Game Notes: Nicholas County and head coach Gene Morris were of no help in last week’s 27-21 loss to Shady Springs on Senior Night.
The Grizzlies, tied for 12th place with Westside in the latest Class AA rankings, have two more chances to move up in the standings with Friday’s game at Ripley and next week’s game at Pike View.
Ripley head coach Ryan Simon’s team got the job done in a road win at Wayne last week after the Vikings trailed by two points in the previous week’s game against Herbert Hoover.
The Vikings, currently ranked 11th in Class AAA, can’t afford to lose here on Senior Night as the Jackson County program takes on Roane County next Friday.
South Harrison at Ravenswood
Game time: Friday 7:30 p.m.
Last year’s conference: South Harrison 26, Ravenswood 12.
South Harrison (6-2): def. Braxton County, 24-0. no doubt. Liberty (Harrison), 36-20. no doubt. Ritchie County, 61-34. no doubt. Clay County, 36-15; no doubt. St. Mary’s, 29-14; lost to Dodorridge County, 26-6. They lost to Wahama 50-14. no doubt. Tyler Consolidation 41-35
Ravenswood (0-8): Lost to Williamstown 47-7. They lost to Ripley 38-13. They lost to Wahama 62-19. They lost to Dodorridge County 41-6. They lost to Ritchie County 41-0. They lost to Gilmer County 46-26. Lost to Tyler Consolidated 57-13. Lost to Magnolia 30-14.
South Harrison’s key players: RB Jayden Hatfield, RB Zane Harlow, QB Christopher Pedraza.
Ravenswood’s key players: RB Austin Vannest, QB Owen Curtis, WR Brandon Crowe.
Game Notes: The first matchup between South Harrison and Ravenswood took place last year. The Red Devils want to end their 14-game losing streak. South Harrison was no slouch after defeating then-No. 1 South Harrison. 10 Tyler was consolidated last Friday. Ravenswood ends the season next week against St. Mary’s, but St. Mary’s has started the week with two straight wins and is starting to find its place.
Calhoun County, Webster County
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s conferences: Webster County 38, Calhoun County 23.
Calhoun County (0-8): Lost to Gilmer County, 18-7. We lost to Wirt County 50-0. They lost to Wahama 61-13. We lost to Torcia 0-47. They lost to Buffalo 46-22. They lost to Clay County 54-14. We lost to Valley (Wetzel) 63-21. They lost to Braxton County 43-0.
Webster County (4-4): def.Richwood 49-8;No doubt. Van 42-8;No doubt. Taigatz Valley 34-33; lost to Madonna 26-8. They lost to Tucker County 50-0. They lost to Wirt County 43-7. no doubt. Gilmer County 6-0; lost to Wahama 63-7.
Key players for Calhoun County: QB Brennen Carpenter, TE Logan Tingler, RB Roman Riddle.
Key players for Webster County: QB Isaac Snyder, WR Caleb Adams.
Game Notes: Since dropping the first meet, Webster County has defeated Calhoun County in nine straight games. Webster County is in the playoff bubble, with two teams remaining on the schedule that are completely outside the playoff picture. Next week, the Highlanders will play Pocahontas County.
Gilmer County, Wahama
Game time: Friday 7pm
Last year’s meetings: Wahama 56, Gilmer County 6.
Gilmer County (2-6): def. Calhoun County, 18-7; lost 49-32 to Ritchie County. They lost to Doddridge County 47-14. They lost to Tucker County 50-0. They lost to Meadowbridge 39-26. no doubt. Ravenswood, 46 wins, 26 losses. They lost to Webster County 6-0. Lost to Wirt County 63-20.
Wahama (9-0): def. East Hardy 45-14; Definitely. Doddridge County 48-24; Definitely. Ravenswood 62-19; Definitely. Calhoun County 61-13; Definitely. Wild County 68-22; Definitely. Eastern (Ohio) 55-31; Definitely. Ritchie County 54-7. no doubt. South Harrison 50-14. no doubt. Webster County 63-7
Gilmer County key players: QB Remi Huffman, RB Rodney McCord, WR Rex Grogg.
Key players for Wahama: RB Connor Lambert, QB Trace Simpkins, WR Wyatt Harris, RB Dylan Fields.
Game Notes: Wahama’s tote board changes weekly. Last week’s win against Webster County extended the White Falcons’ regular season winning streak to 29 games. A win against Gilmer County will complete the regular season’s three-year undefeated streak.
