One of the least desirable nights for a sportswriter during the prep football season is a homecoming. The festivities usually drag on, most teams schedule an opponent that likely won’t be competitive and for those hassled by deadlines they’re pushed against them.
That said Friday features one of the more intriguing slates of the season as we hit the halfway mark. A semifinal matchup and two Class AA-A showdowns highlight the week.
Heavy Hitters
Let’s not underplay it. Since the schedule was unveiled, most within the Independence community have had this week’s game against Bluefield circled. A rematch of last year’s Class AA semifinal between the two teams, a 34-20 Indy win, the game doesn’t have the same luster as imagined before the season mostly because of Bluefield’s record and injury situation.
The Beavers are 1-4 coming into Friday’s matchup but their record doesn’t tell the story of their season. Their four losses have come by an average of 7.5 points though that number is skewed by a 21-point loss to Princeton. The other three losses against Graham, Va. Pulaski County, Va. and Beckley have come by four, two and three points, respectively. For further context Graham was the 2A Virginia state runner-up last year, Pulaski is a 4A school, Beckley is a 4-1 Class AAA and Princeton, also a Class AAA team, is 3-1. All of that to say the Beavers have played the most difficult slate in the area and competed.
The unfortunate part is losing games with a tough schedule does nothing for you if you don’t make it into the postseason and the Beavers’ hopes are shaky at best. At 1-4 they’ll need to win out to make a case for the playoffs. Independence presents an opportunity to pick up some much needed bonus points and climb out of the pit.
Now, the bad news for Bluefield.
All-state running back Amir Hairston is out for the year after breaking his left fibula against Beckley, weakening an already pedestrian rushing attack. Due to the ineffective run game, Bluefield’s had to get creative to compensate. Receivers Brayden Fong, R.J. Hairston and Sencere Fields have become great assets in the receiving game and offensive coordinator Fritz Simon has incorporated more short passing game concepts such as screens to supplement the run game. Hairston in particular has a claim to the most talented receiver in the southern part of the state. At 6-foot-4 he has the size to line up inline at tight end and the top end speed to play on the outside and blow by defenders.
Unfortunately for the Beavers, Indy boasts a pair of first-team all-state defensive backs including a player in Bowers who may be the fastest in the area with Amir Hairston out of commission. Another challenge facing Bluefield’s offense is finding a way to sustain drives and score against an Independence defense that’s yielding 1.6 points per game. Past Bluefield teams have been able to depend on big plays to move the ball and score but this year’s iteration relies more on sustaining drives. Across their first three games, only two of the Beavers’ scoring drives consisted of two plays or fewer and both started on their opponents’ 33. Sustaining drives of eight or nine plays at any level is difficult, even more so against a defense as stingy as Indy’s.
On the flip side of the ball the Patriots are a nightmare matchup for Bluefield’s defense. In their four losses, the Beavers have yielded 281.7 rushing yards per game with Pulaski and Beckley both crossing the 300-yard threshold for a combined 710 rushing yards in two games.
Enter Independence.
The Patriot offensive line is loaded with the football equivalent of the Space Jam Monstars and they pave the way for the area’s leading rusher in Judah Price (66-1015-17) as well as dual-threat QB Trey Bowers (31-305-8). They’re effectively built to expose Bluefield’s weaknesses.
If there is one thing the Beavers have going for them it’s that they’ve been competitive in every game they’ve played sitting three plays away from rolling in at 4-1. Playing the gauntlet they have prepares you for a this type of matchup.
Stepping up a notch
After taking care of business during the earlier part of their schedules, both Greenbrier West and Midland Trail step into the portions that will define their seasons with both facing a Class AA opponent.
Greenbrier West hits the road to take on Shady Spring having not allowed a point this season. The Tigers are step up in competition and present some unique challenges for the Cavaliers. For starters they boast a capable passing game with a big threat in receiver Tyler Mackey (9-282-2) and a pair of backs in Adam Richmond and James Sellards that bring a lightning and thunder element, respectively, to the Tiger offense.
Something to watch will be how disciplined West can remain. After last week’s game Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto admitted the gameplan features a couple of trick plays each week and the Tigers struck gold with one when Mackey hooked up with Jalon Bailey on a 47-yard touchdown pass against PikeView. The Cavaliers, as dominant as they are on defense, have also been pretty good on offense with their season low in points coming in a 26-0 win over Summers County in Week 2. Ty Nickell leads that charge as the area’s second-leading rusher at 1,013 yards and 16 touchdowns. A win over a Class AA opponent reinforces the Cavs’ playoff positioning while a victory the other way could help Shady climb back into a packed playoff picture.
Heading north Trail will travel to Nicholas County, a team that has dreams of a deep playoff run in Class AA. To increase that likelihood the Grizzlies will need to fend off a Trail team that’s lighting up the local leaderboards. Wide receiver Cody Harrell leads the Patriots and the area in receiving yards with 576 through five games. His QB Jaden Gladwell leads the area in passing yards (1,021) and touchdown passes (11).
The Grizzlies aren’t as effective through the air but feature a dynamic rushing attack fortified by a stellar offensive line. Nicholas County running back Kaleb Clark has accumulated 572 rushing yards on seven carries while QB Brycen Morriston has rushed for 292 and four scores to go along with 221 yards and four passing TDs. Either way this matchup serves to test both squads. Nicholas gets a look at defending a true No. 1 receiver and top passing offense while Trail, a team that’s prided itself in its trench play, faces a group that’s likely going to be as good as any the Patriots would see in the postseason.
Snapping the skid
Westside and Liberty have both struggled this year, combining for two wins. The good news is one of these teams gets a boost Friday night in what should be a competitive game. Liberty has been a ground-and-pound type team while Westside has been capable of running or throwing the ball with Kaiden Vance manning the QB spot.
Offensive success hasn’t been easy to come by for either team with Westside having been shutout in its last two games while Liberty has suffered that same fate twice this year as well.
I wouldn’t anticipate a lot of passing in this game. Both coaches prefer to run the ball and in game where both team are more evenly matched its probably safer to keep the ball on there ground and avoid turnovers.
Class AAA check in
Greenbrier East, Beckley and Oak Hill will all be in action Friday night while Princeton takes its second bye in three weeks. Greenbrier East (1-3) hosts Hampshire (2-3), the team East’s all-state running back Ian Cline set the school’s single-game rushing record against last season with 357 rushing yards. Beckley (4-1) hosts Preston (0-4) on homecoming seeking its best start since 2005 when the Flying Eagles started 8-0. Who stars in that game will be anybody’s guess with Darmonte Mitchell, Matt Moore, Tylai Kimble and Jay Jones amongst the players taking turns in the spotlight.
Last but not least Oak Hill will play its annual game against one of the top teams in its classification. Dating back to his time at Fayetteville, Oak Hill head coach Dave Moneypenny has been one of the more proactive coaches in the state in seeking out the best of the best. In Fayetteville’s final season Moneypenny took the Pirates up to Wheeling Central during the midst of the Maroon Knights’ three-peat. His first season at Oak Hill he scheduled Spring Valley and has followed up again with Cabell Midland this year.
The Red Devils have found some momentum, stringing together back-to-back wins. Still, taking down Cabell Midland is a tall task but if the Red Devils do have one advantage its that its hard to focus on just one of their skill players because of how effectively they spread the ball around with at least seven different players registering at least 14 rushing attempts this season and none carrying the ball more than 36 times.
Around the area
Rounding out the Friday schedule is Hundred at Montcalm, River View at Wyoming East and Tygarts Valley at Richwood. Richwood (1-5) will seek its second win of the season after playing three games in seven days. Wyoming East and River View are both winless and Montcalm (4-0) hosts a Hundred team (0-4) that’s struggled this year. Already the bets start in school history, Montcalm hopes to maintain its momentum and strengthen its playoff case. The James Monroe-PikeView game which was schedule for Friday has been moved to Monday at 6:30 due to the impending residual rainfall from Hurricane Ian.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94