Week six of the high school football season kicks off Friday night and for Man and Logan it’s a chance to pick up a victory and improve their standing in the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission ratings.
Chapmanville, who hung tough with the Class AA ranked Scott Skyhawks last week, will have the dubious task of slowing down the Herbert Hoover Huskies.
Buffalo (1-2) at No. 16 Man (2-2), 7:30 p.m. George A. Queen Memorial Field
Last Week: Buffalo lost to Roane County 22-3; Man lost to Wheeling Central 49-21.
Series History: Man leads 4-1-0. Last Meeting: Man 19, Buffalo 14, Nov. 6, 2020.
Game notes: Two teams with playoff aspirations meet Friday night in Man. Buffalo, who held down the top spot in the Class A ratings two weeks ago, has dropped its last two games. The Bison allowed 280 rushing yards in last week’s 22-3 loss to Class AA No. 11 Roane County. Two weeks ago the Bison allowed over 300 rushing yards in a 49-6 loss to Class A No. 11 Williamstown.
The Hillbillies will be looking to bounce back from last week’s 49-21 setback to Class A No. 13 Wheeling Central. The Maroon Knights racked up 399 yards of total offense and jumped out to a 28-0 first half lead. Senior Jeremiah Harless hauled in six passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in the loss to Central. Sophomore running back Jayden Brumfield rushed for 48 yards and one touchdown.
Buffalo, which was limited to just 67 yards of total in the loss to Roane County, was held to minus-3 yards rushing. Quarterback Bryce Downey completed 5-of-15 passes for 46 yards. Josh Moody passed for 24 yards on 4 of 4 passing while Dalton Jones hauled in three receptions for 48 yards and Bradley Harris caught three balls for 26 yards.
Man will be without the services of freshman Dusten Baisden. Baisden, the teams fourth leading rusher, suffered a broken fibula in the loss to Wheeling Central and is out for the remainder of the 2021 season. Baisden also starts on defense at linebacker and is tied for the lead in sacks, is tied for second in tackles for loss and fourth on the team in tackles.
No.15. Logan (3-2) at Nitro (0-5), 7 p.m. Underwood Field
Last Week: Logan lost to Winfield 41-20; Nitro lost to Wayne 28-14.
Series History: Nitro leads 6-4-0. Last Meeting: Logan 22, Nitro 14, Oct. 30, 2020.
Game notes: A win for the Logan Wildcats against winless Nitro would go a long way for their playoff hopes. After starting the season 3-0, Logan has dropped its last two games and with a challenging schedule ahead of it, Friday’s game feels like a must win.
Logan, currently 15th in this week’s Class AA rankings released by the WVSSAC, still have games remaining with No. 3 Herbert Hoover, No. 5 Poca and No. 8 Scott as well as a home game with county rival Chapmanville.
Nitro enters the contest winless and is currently on a 12-game losing streak. The Wildcats last win came during the season finale of 2019 when they defeated Scott 41-27. Despite the 0-5 record, the Wildcats have been competitive this season. Three of their five losses have been decided by 14 points or less including last week’s 28-14 loss to the Wayne Pioneers. In that contest Nitro trailed Wayne 22-14 after three quarters of play, but was unable to stop the Pioneers on 4th-and-19 as Jaxon Damron raced 35 yards to paydirt to end any hopes of a Nitro rally. Braxton Smith rushed for 114 yards on 22 carries and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats, who only managed 189 yards of total offense while allowing 333 yards on the ground to the Pioneers.
In last week’s game against Winfield, Logan trailed 27-7 in third quarter but closed to 27-20 with 2:27 to play in the third quarter before Winfield scored the game’s final 14 points. Senior quarterback Jordan Hayes went over the 1,000 yard mark last week for passing and has passed for 1,009 yards this season. Kolton Goldie, who split time with Hayes last week at quarterback, three for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
Chapmanville (1-4) at 3. Herbert Hoover (5-0) 7 p.m. Joe Eddie Cowley Field
Last Week: Chapmanville lost to Scott 26-23; Herbert Hoover beat Sissonville 70-0.
Series History: Chapmanville leads 9-4-0. Last Meeting: CRHS 32, Hoover 7, Oct. 4, 2019.
Game notes: Can anyone slow down the offensive juggernaut that is the Herbert Hoover Huskies? That is the task facing the Chapmanville Tigers this week. Third ranked Herbert Hoover is averaging 47.8 points in its 5-0 start while holding the opposition to just 5.8 points. The Huskies, who scored just 23 points in a season opening 23-9 victory over Scott, has scored 70 points in consecutive games.
Freshman quarterback Dane Hatfield rushed for 196 yards and four touchdowns and threw for two more scores in the Huskies 70-0 victory over Sissonville last week. As impressive as the offense for Hoover, its defensive was equally impressive holding the Indians to minus-42 yards rushing and sacking Sissonville quarterback Ethan Taylor seven times in the lopsided victory. Hoover’s offense needed just 39 plays to rack up 430 yards of offense, which included 361 yards on the ground.
Chapmanville understands in order to pull off the upset Friday, they’ll have to take better care of the football. The Tigers have lost three games by a combined 11 points where turnovers doomed the Tigers in those games. Last week against Scott, the Tigers led the Skyhawks 23-19 after three quarters, but Cooper Martin’s 2 yard touchdown and Isaac Setser’s extra point with 11:21 remaining gave the Skyhawks a 26-23 lead.
Kohl Farmer rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns while Drew Berry, starting for injured Brody Dalton at quarterback, threw for 34 yards on 5-of-7 passing. Dalton’s status for Friday’s contest at Hoover is not known at this time as he awaits medical clearance from doctors.
The junior signal caller suffered a cut on his non-throwing hand in Chapmanville’s victory at Nitro on Sept. 17.