MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s tough being on the outside looking in. Unfortunately, it’s a feeling our area teams know well this fall.
Entering Week 7, only University had played their way into the top 16 of the WVSSAC Playoff Rankings – meaning if the season had ended after Week 6, the No. 14 Hawks would be the only local team continuing their season. In doing so, they would have drawn a first-round battle with Martinsburg.
Now, after UHS and Morgantown dropped crucial games Friday night, neither team’s chances are looking good. The No. 17 Mohigans are expected to drop to a 5.2 rating in the system, which last week would have been good enough for the 18th spot.
The math also shows the Hawks dropping nearly an entire point in the ratings to a 5.7, which last week would have earned the 17th spot currently occupied by the Mohigans. While the official Week 7 rankings won’t appear until Tuesday, this likely means both teams would be outside of the playoff picture heading into Week 8.
Each team owns four losses thus far on the season. While South Charleston and MHS each qualified at 4-6 last fall, it appears that things may shake out differently in 2018.
“It doesn’t look like 5-5 will make it this year,” said UHS coach John Kelley.
With each squad’s back against the wall, it creates what UHS senior Amir Richardson calls a “sense of urgency.”
“We need to win out if we want to get into the playoffs and continue our season,” said Richardson.
Of course, that philosophy is the same for MHS, as they rank even lower than the Hawks. The problem? The two cross-town rivals meet in Week 10 for the annual MoHawk Bowl. Which means if Kelley and Richardson are right in their assumptions, at least one team is likely ending their season before Halloween.
For their fellow Class AAA foe No. 22 Preston, those same assumptions spell out a hard pill to swallow; their post-season hopes are essentially done. The Knights, with just one victory against winless Hampshire to their name and five losses on the year, boast a rating of just 2, and after a bye week (which also served as a bye week for Hampshire) that score won’t improve until at least the Week 8 rankings are calculated.
No. 20 Clay-Battelle will likely fair the best of any local team headed into this week. A Friday night rout of Mason-Dixon Conference rival Paden City paired with a win from Valley (Wetzel) should boost the Cee-Bees to a 4.8, which last week would have earned them a tie for the 17th spot currently held by Tygarts Valley, who pout down C-B 51-10 earlier this fall.
However, the next seven teams currently in front of the Cee-Bees went a combined 0-6 in Week 7, with one squad taking their bye week. This mean the odds for the Cee-Bees to slip into the top 16, or at least to the very edge of it, are fairly high. The Cee-Bees will be tested in Week 8 though, as they welcome undefeated No. 4 Cameron to Blacksville for a crucial Mason-Dixon Conference matchup.
