Week six of the high school football season in Mingo County kicks off Friday as the Miners of Mingo Central look to take down the Class AAA No. 10 Spartans of Greenbrier East. Tug Valley, fresh off its first victory of the season, will look to keep rival Tolsia winless on the year.
Class AAA No. 10 Greenbrier East (3-1) at Mingo Central (1-3), 7 p.m. James H. “Buck” Harless Stadium
Last Week: Greenbrier East was idle; Mingo Central lost to Poca 22-13
Series History: Greenbrier East leads 1-0-0. Last Meeting: East 33, Central 12, Sept. 30, 2011.
Game notes: The Miners hung tough with Class AA No. 5 Poca, however four second half turnovers spoiled any hopes of a Miner upset of the Dots, as Poca put the game away with a pick six of a screen pass with 1:10 remaining in the contest. It was the third straight loss for the Miners, who opened the season with a 43-12 victory over Wyoming East on Sept. 3.
The Miners will have a tough task on their hands Friday night as they look to knock off a Spartan team that has won three of its first four games to start the season. The Spartan’s lone loss of the season was a 31-16 setback to Class AA No. 14 Robert C. Byrd. In that contest, RCB running back Jeremiah King rushed for 330 yards and three touchdowns covering 81, 15 and 78 yards.
In their last contest, the Spartans rolled up 477 yards of total offense in a 56-14 defeat of Buckhannon-Upshur on Sept. 17. Quarterback Monquelle Davis passed for 111 yards and two touchdowns and Ian Cline rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Spartans offense.
If Mingo Central is to pull the upset, they will need a consistent ground game that will keep the Spartans offense off the field. The Spartans could see a heavy dose of Norman Kennedy. Kennedy carried the ball 31 times and rushed for 157 yards against Man on Sept. 17 as the Miners held the ball for nearly 26 minutes and ran 69 plays to Man’s 43 plays. Once again turnovers were the story for the Miners as they turned it over five times in a 7-6 loss to the Hillbillies. The fifth and final turnover proved to be costly as Man was able to recover a fumble inside the Miners 45 in the fourth quarter and score seven plays later for the victory.
Tolsia (0-3) at Tug Valley (1-3), 7:30 p.m. Bob Brewer Stadium
Last Week: Tolsia lost to Wahama 37-20, Tug Valley beat Hurley (Virginia) 46-12.
Series History: Tolsia leads 12-3-0. Last Meeting: Tolsia 44, Tug Valley 38, Sept. 27, 2019.
Game notes: Tolsia and Tug Valley renew their rivalry Friday night after COVID cancelled last year’s meeting between the two schools. The two have met 15 times with one meeting in the postseason. The two longstanding basketball rivals had met every year dating back to 2009 before last season’s pause. Both teams are struggling to find wins coming into Friday’s contest and will be looking to build momentum heading into the second half of the season.
Tug Valley picked up its first win of the season last week with a convincing 43-8 victory over Hurley (Virginia). Tanner Kirk carried the ball 10 times and rushed for 245 yards and five touchdowns in the win for coach Hady Ford’s team. Kirk scored on runs of 3, 20, 31 and 41 yards. His fifth touchdown came on a 48 yard fumble return. Tug Valley’s defense limited Hurley to just 138 yards while racking up 335 yards on offense.
Tolsia, in search of its first win of the season, has struggled to score points. The Rebels have scored just 54 points in three games this season. In last week’s 37-20 loss to Wahama, the Rebels turned the ball over on four of five possessions in the second half. The White Falcons turned those turnovers into 22 points and were able to pull away in the second half. Dual threat quarterback Cameron Ratcliff led the Rebel offensive attack as he rushed for 75 yards on 24 carries and completed 8 of his 17 passes for 110 yards. Eli Blackburn hauled in five receptions for 68 yards.