Bluefield – Since 2017 11 of the 15 playoff games Bluefield has played in have been at Mitchell Stadium.
This year that number will be zero.
Following a host of Covid complications including quarantines and a two-week county shutdown, the Beavers made the Class AA playoff cut but just barely. When the official WVSSAC playoff ratings were released the Beavers were tabbed with the No. 14 seed, the lowest by far of any Bluefield team that’s ever made the postseason in Fred Simon’s 36 years at the helm.
Still the veteran head coach has guided numerous teams to Wheeling without a home field advantage.
As recently as 2019 the Beavers traveled to Fairmont Senior to face the defending champions in the semifinals and came away with a 40-24 win. The 2009 title run featured just one home game while runs to Wheeling in 1995, 2002 and 2005 featured a combined seven road games.
“We hope they’re ready,” Simon said. “Every year it’s a different experience. You set your goals a slightly different way for motivation but man, we’re happy to get in. It could’ve gone the other way but we found a way to scrap and get in and hopefully we’ll make the most of it.”
While the seeding is uncharacteristically low for the Beavers, it’s not indicative of how they’ve played. They’ve lost just two contests on the field this season – both rivalry games – while forfeiting a third to become playoff eligible. In nearly every other game they’ve been dominant, beating PikeView, Tazewell, Mingo Central and Oak Hill by an average margin of 44.5 points en route to a 5-3 record.
It’s made the path to another state title more difficult than usual, but there’s still some familiarity.
For starters the Beavers will open with a team they’re familiar with in No. 3 Point Pleasant.
The two programs last met in 2017 when they played twice that season with the Beavers decisively taking both contests. The latter was a 49-17 Bluefield win at Mitchell Stadium in the Class AA quarterfinals.
The familiarities mostly end there. At the time the Beavers were a run-heavy team that lived in the I-formation while the Big Blacks featured all-state QB Cason Payne.
Four years later the Big Blacks have changed their offense to a variation of the wing-t that primarily functions out of the shotgun. The Beavers are no strangers to the wing-t, running it themselves in 2009 and facing it when playing Oak Hill, though the Big Blacks’ variation is different.
“They do a heck of a job running the football,” Simon said. “They’re like a shotgun wing-t type of team. They’re going to counter you, trap you and their kids play hard. They’re a well-coached football team and we’ll have to play our butts off to win up there but I’m impressed with them. They’re different than when we last played them. They’ve got more of a tight end set and they mix it around and they execute their offense really well. They’re scrappy on defense and they’re quick.”
For the Beavers a run-heavy offense comes with its headaches. Teams that have pounded the rock have given them fits over their last three playoff appearances.
In the 2018 playoff Class AA title game Fairmont Senior ran the ball effectively to win the game. Bridgeport did the same in 2019 out of it’s stick-I formation with Carson Winkie carrying the ball over 40 times in the win. Finally the Beavers had trouble last season with Fairmont QB Gage Michael, a dual-threat player who rushed for 187 and two scores in what ended up being the Class AA title game.
That was the concern coming into the season and it’s been remedied to an extent with the emergence of sophomore linebacker Gerard Wade.
“It’s better,” Simon said of the team’s run defense. “We’re still not where we need to be. We need to tackle better. We’re kind of grabbing around instead of getting low enough and wrapping up with shoulder pads on those bodies. We’re going to have to get better tackling but other than that I think we have gotten better.”
While the questions on defense linger the offense has been stellar.
Led by their own variation of the triplets in QB Ryker Brown, WR Jacorian Green and RB Amir Hairston, the Beavers have been up to their usual musings, ripping off explosive plays that force opposing teams to chase points.
Brown has thrown for over 1,100 in yards in just seven games, Green is averaging 18.3 yards per catch and Hairston averages 8.4 yards per carry, having scored eight times this year.
Adding to the mix is freshman running back Jamel Floyd, a player whose flashed his athleticism but has also contributed in the sniffer role, lining up behind the guard to block and serve as another weapon for the potent offense.
With an explosive offense in tow, the Bluefield faithful have their sights set on another trip to the northern panhandle but Simon isn’t looking past the immediate task at hand.
“We’ve got to take them one at a time,” the five-time champion said. “We’d love to get there but we’ve got to take care of Point Pleasant first. Then we’ll think about the next and the next. So if we ever get there I’ll tell ya how I feel.”
The Beavers will open postseason play on Saturday when they travel to Point Pleasant. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
Email: Tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
