The three Monongalia County prep football teams gearing up for the playoffs definitely have that dog in them this week. Underdog, that is, as Clay-Battelle, Morgantown and University all hit the road as lower-ranked seeds to open postseason play.
In Class AAA, No. 13 University plays at No. 4 Hurricane, while No. 14 Morgantown plays at No. 3 Martinsburg. Both games kick off at 7:30 p.m. this evening.
In Class A, No. 15 Clay-Battelle plays at No. 2 Williamstown, with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday at Stadium Field in Parkersburg.
“Williamstown is a good football team and, yeah, they are higher-ranked, so I think our motivation is we have absolutely nothing to lose,” said C-B senior quarterback Carson Shriver. “We are the underdogs and nobody expects it to even be a close game.”
Williamstown has built itself into a small-school powerhouse and one of the most consistent teams in the state. The Yellow Jackets fell in the state championship game to Ritchie County last season and are known for making deep postseason runs each year.
The 2022 Yellow Jackets (8-1) haven’t played since Oct. 28, as its final regular season game against Magnolia was canceled due to low numbers for the New Martinsville school. Williamstown and Clay-Battelle have faced off in summer 7-and-7 drills and since then, the Yellow Jackets and Cee-Bees have both picked up their offensive attack. Williamstown is led by quarterback Maxwell Molessa, a WVU baseball recruit, and running back Rickie Allen, who rushed for 1,114 yards and 20 touchdowns.
C-B’s offense was led by Shriver and Zac Hall, who combined as the only pair of 1,000-yard rushers in school history.
“He’s my guy and I’m glad we’ve accomplished as much as we have this year,” said Shriver, who’s accounted for 3,626 career rushing yards, 1,058 career passing yards and 54 touchdowns.
Clay-Battelle is in the playoffs for back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2013-14 seasons, which capped off four-consecutive playoff runs.
University is in the playoffs for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons.
This is just the third all-time meeting for the Hawks and Hurricane. The Redskins defeated University in a 2016 playoff game, 38-14, and the Hawks won a 2000 match-up.
University is entering this year’s first-round tilt following a win over Spring Mills, while Hurricane (8-2) comes in following a 24-21 loss to Huntington in the regular-season finale.
“We went in last Friday expecting to win and make it into the playoffs,” said University senior Noah Braham. “The main thing (this week) is us playing on the road and it being such a long trip, and knowing that they are a very-talented team with great athletes and football players.”
Hurricane averages 44.8 points per game on offense, while only giving up 11.7 points per game on defense. Quarterback Noah Vellaithambi has completed 113 of 187 passes for 1,902 yards and 18 touchdowns. Wide receiver Tyshawn Dues has caught 31 passes for 662 yards and eight touchdowns. Running back Jeremiah Riffle has 1,835 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The WVU-bound Braham scored a pair of touchdowns in last week’s win, as well as two in the previous week against Morgantown. He came a long way in the second half of the season after suffering a high ankle sprain earlier in the year against John Marshall.
“My teammates kept playing hard and with maximum effort and it encouraged me to get back on the field and give the effort that they give and continue to win games,” Braham said. “We always have work to do. Our goal is to be on Wheeling Island in December.”
The WVSSAC Super Six state championships take place Dec. 2 and 3 in Wheeling. The Morgantown Mohigans hope to be there.
It’s the only place specialist Aidan Stire dreams of being that weekend. However, he was selected to take part in the Kicking World National Showcase to be held in Austin, Texas, on Dec. 2-4.
“I would much rather be playing for a state championship,” Stire said. “We have the team to do it.”
To do it, the Mohigans will need to be the only team in West Virginia to beat Martinsburg (8-2) this season. The Bulldogs lost to Highland Springs (Virginia) and Painesville Riverside (Ohio).
Martinsburg has won nine state titles, including last season with a 62-21 win over Huntington. Morgantown and Martinsburg last played in 2017. Martinsburg won a Week 5 game, 51-7, and the teams met up again in the playoffs as the Bulldogs won, 61-0, in the first round five years ago.
This year, Martinsburg averages 60.25 points per game in its eight victories. The high-powered offense features a number of players, namely quarterback Ezra Bagent, whose older brother, Tyson, is currently a record-setting quarterback at Shepherd University. Koi Fagan, Jameer Hunter and Jayden Kidrick are explosive at running back and receiver. Linebacker Kamden Shallis, who tallied 99 tackles a year ago, is a WVU commit and leader of the defense.
Anything can happen in the second season and MHS head coach Sean Biser said it best following the Mohigans’ loss to Linsly last week.
“This means nothing now, the season means nothing — now it’s playoffs. Everybody’s on an even slate, we’ve got to see where we’re going to go and just get ready. Normally we grade all the film; I won’t even grade this film — we’ll just move on and get ready to go for the next game.”
By Matthew Peaslee
TWEET @DomPostSports
