BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. – After all the drama the Clay-Battelle football program went through the last two weeks, securing a mammoth win over Valley-Wetzel was a little sweeter than normal.
“When we took the field to warm up, I stood back and watched the coaches doing their job, I sort of soaked in watching the kids enjoying the moment,” C-B coach Ryan Wilson said. “It was fun.”
Carson Shriver, Daniel Gorbey, Cooper Watson and Noah Sollars led the Cee-Bees (1-0) in that big win, three of them dominating the run game. Of that trifecta, Shriver led with 216 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. Gorbey tacked on 111 yards on the ground on 11 carries and Watson had 50 yards. Sollars was the favorite target of both Shriver and Watson, grabbing a touchdown reception from both.
Still, this week, they’re entering a game against a tougher opponent in Cameron (3-3). The Dragons started the season with two solid wins over Hundred and Valley-Wetzel but would go on to drop three straight games against Frontier (Ohio), East Fairmont and Pendleton County. Last week, they got back on track with a 34-26 road win at Tyler Consolidated. And while Cameron is .500 on the season so far, Wilson knows the record is deceiving as those three losses were to quality opponents.
“I see a team that isn’t struggling, and they’ve played three games and I’ve played one,” Wilson said. “Frontier is in the Ohio state playoffs, East Fairmont is a AA school and Pendleton County is one of the top ball clubs, too. When I look at Cameron, I see big plays. Their offensive line gets at you, their quarterback is elusive and then their defense gets at you. That’s what I see out of them – they’re a typical Cameron ball club.”
To counter that, Wilson prepped his defense for what’s likely to come.
“We have to eliminate the big play, that’s a killer,” he said. “You may go out there and play defense well for a little while and then you give up a 60-yard touchdown pass or run, that’s a killer to you. So we stress not to give up the big play. And we’re going to have to make some plays. We have to tackle well, do our assignments and communicate.”
As for his offense, Wilson will lean on his offensive line once more after it did an “outstanding job” against the Lumberjacks last Saturday. That will open up playmaking opportunities for the skill players once more in what could potentially become a high-scoring game.
“We have to win the line of scrimmage,” Wilson said. “If we can [do that], that will open our opportunities for either running or passing.”
Trinity hosts Valley-Wetzel
The Warriors (0-2) have had a tough two-game series since opening their season Oct. 3 at Madonna, dropping both games to the Blue Dons and East Hardy by large margins. However, Trinity has some reprieve this week against Valley-Wetzel (1-4), which was just run over by Clay-Battelle.
And while their youth showed in last Sunday’s loss to EHHS, the Warriors’ defense was unbreakable through three quarters, shutting out the Cougars in all but the second where they put up 21 points. Unfortunately for TCS, the Cougars’ defense was equally as impenetrable, allowing just 90 yards of total offense.
Valley, however, should be a breath of fresh air for the young Warriors, as the Lumberjacks are allowing at least 42 points per game. Further, Valley’s lone win was against Calhoun County, 33-26, in the season opener. Since then it has gone on a four-game skid, allowing no less than 30 points to opponents while only breaking the 20-point threshold twice.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Trinity Christian School.
Preston travels to the Eastern Panhandle for a showdown with Washington
Preston High picked up its first win of the season against Lewis County on Friday and will look to keep the momentum going into a tougher matchup at Class AAA foe Washington.
While the Patriots (3-3) are .500 on the year so far, all three of their losses were to powerhouse schools Spring Mills, Keyser and Martinsburg. Of those losses, WHS was competitive in two, losing to the Cardinals by just 13 points (55-42) and the Golden Tornado by 20 (55-35). Of their wins, Washington dominated both Berkeley Springs and Hedgesville, but the key win came last Friday against the second-ranked Frankfort Falcons, 20-19.
Though upsets are normal around this time of the season, the Knights (1-5) can’t take WHS for granted. Glenn Simpson’s triple-option offense is a major threat, especially when led by senior QB Frankie Amore who has 14 rushing touchdowns and 768 yards thus far. Compare that to his one passing touchdown, and you’ll understand how vicious the run-game is. In total this year, the Patriots have 24 rushing scores, including seven from senior Thomas Wogan and three from junior Bryson Fleming. Further, between eight runners, WHS totals 1,520 yards on 249 carries, an average of 6.1 yards per carry.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. in Charles Town.
Morgantown heads to south side to face Parkersburg South
Playing two top 10 teams in two weeks can take a toll, especially when your season started two weeks ago. However, Morgantown is showing no signs of backing down, improving in its second week against the then-No.8 Wheeling Park Patriots in the 41-20 loss.
This week looks like it’s entering level-ground, going up against the other Patriots along the Ohio River. Parkersburg South (1-5), a state title contender last year, has seemingly fallen off the wagon this season and is currently on a four-game skid, most recently falling to Linsly, 33-19, at home. However, where South has the upper hand is in running back Devin Gaines, who could have a dominant game against the Mohigans defense that’s allowed 572 yards and nine touchdowns to opposing running backs theist two weeks.
Morgantown’s offense, however, should also be able to gain plenty of traction against South who’s averaging 39.5 points allowed. This could be beneficial to runners Caden Biser, Cam Rice and Deondre Crudup, who have taken the lead in the new Wing-T offense. Last week the trio combined for 206 yards, while Rice and Biser each logged a touchdown.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
University set to take on Wheeling Park after losing Buckhannon-Upshur
The COVID-19 pandemic nixed any chances Upshur County teams had of playing games this week, including the Buckhannon-Upshur football team’s road game at University. That meant the Hawks (1-1) had to scramble to find a new opponent, but luckily, Wheeling Park was there to answer the call.
For the second time in two weeks, the No. 8 Patriots (5-1) will face a Monongalia County team, but this time, it’s against the more established Hawks. Albeit UHS is coming off a 14-13 loss to Jefferson, this week’s home game against WPHS should maintain a competitive atmosphere throughout as well.
Still, after giving up 146 rushing yards to JHS RB Evan Tewell last week, the Hawks will have to stop Park’s more explosive back, Steven Mitchell. Mitchell ran over Morgantown last week, totaling 209 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries. In total this season, Mitchell has rushed for 880 yards and 12 scores.
Park also boasts QB Beau Heller, who played second fiddle to Mitchell last week but still threw for 98 yards and a touchdown. Heller’s performance against MHS wasn’t indicative of what he brings to the table, either. In six games, he’s completed 87 of 120 passes for 1,179 yards and 15 touchdowns. Once again, UHS will face an explosive quarterback after allowing 168 yards and a score to JHS QB Sammy Roberts last Friday.
As for UHS QB Chase Edwards, who threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns last week, he’ll need to watch out for junior DB Nathan Shelek, who has four interceptions this season. He’ll rely on his wide range of weapons, especially Tracy Brooks, who caught both touchdown passes and totaled 83 yards on seven receptions.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Mylan Pharmaceuticals Stadium.
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