PARKERSBURG- Dates and times have been announced for the semifinals of the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission football playoffs.
Five of the six semifinal games will take place on Friday as announced Sunday morning by the WVSSAC.
In Class AA, second-seeded Independence, the highest remaining Class AA school, will face the 14th-seeded Bluefield Beavers at 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at George D. Covey Field in Coal City.
The Patriots, making their second ever trip to the AA semifinals and first since 1986, will be looking to advance to the state championship for the first time in school history.
The Beavers, since dropping from Class AAA to Class AA following the 1993 season, are in the Class AA semifinals for the 17th time since 1994. The Beavers lost to Fairmont Senior, 21-19, in last year’s Class AA semifinals at Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield, which turned out to be the Class AA championship due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The Beavers have appeared in 12 Class AA championship games, winning six of them and have finished runner-up the three previous years.
Independence advanced to the semifinals with a hard fought 22-8 victory over 10th-seed Roane County Friday night while Bluefield knocked off sixth-seeded North Marion, 35-21, at Roy Michael Field in Rachel Friday night.
Friday’s contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools, but there are historical connections between the two. Independence head coach John Lilly is a Bluefield graduate and was once on Bluefield head coach Freddie Simon’s staff while Independence offensive coordinator Kevin Grogg was the head coach of Wyoming East’s 1999 state championship winning team that defeated Bluefield, 57-21, in the championship at Wheeling Island Stadium.
Friday afternoon’s winner will have a unique opportunity to get a jump on scouting their next opponent as the other Class AA semifinal, which pits 16th-seeded Fairmont Senior against fifth-seeded Poca, will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at Poca’s O.O. White Stadium.
The two winners will then square off Friday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at Wheeling Island Stadium for the Class AA championship.
In Class AAA, both games will be played Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. as top-seeded Huntington will host fifth-seed Cabell Midland at Bob Sang Stadium. Second-seed Martinsburg will host third-seed Bridgeport at Coburn Field.
Sixth-seeded Williamstown will travel to second-seed Doddridge County for a 1:30 p.m. kick on Friday afternoon at Cline Stansberry Field in West Union. Eighth-seeded Wheeling Central will travel to fourth-seed Doddridge County Saturday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff at Chuck Schofield Memorial Stadium.
Class AAA
5) Cabell Midland (11-1) at 1) Huntington (12-0), Friday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
3) Bridgeport (12-0) at 2) Martinsburg (11-1), Friday, Nov, 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Class AA
14) Bluefield (7-3) at 2) Independence (10-0), Friday, Nov. 26, at 1:30 p.m.
16) Fairmont Senior (7-4) at 5) Poca (9-2), Friday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m.
Class A
6) Williamstown (10-2) at 2) Doddridge County (11-1), Friday, Nov. 26, at 1:30 p.m.
8) Wheeling Central (9-3) at 4) Ritchie County (11-1), Saturday, Nov. 27, at 1:30 p.m.
