A month ago Midland Trail was dead in the water.
On Oct. 15, fresh off a loss against James Monroe, the Patriots were 2-4 and far removed from the playoff picture.
They’ve been in playoff mode since that evening and have made the most of it, winning four straight games to finish at 6-4, securing the No. 15 in seed in the Class A playoffs. The playoff berth is the fifth straight for Trail and considering that experience and the fact his Patriots have been in playoff mode for a month, head coach Frank Isaacs has little reservations about nerves.
“That’s actually paid off for us I think,” Isaacs said. “We knew our backs were against the wall when we lost to James Monroe. I think I actually said it at the time and everything worked out for us. We did what we needed to do and we got a little bit of help, but for our kids the playoffs aren’t anything new. This senior class is the the group of sophomores that were thrown into the mix when all those injuries happened three years ago so they’re pretty comfortable where they’re at.
“There’s a lot of starters back from last year’s team where we felt like we should have or could have beat St. Marys. Whether we’re 15th or second or first it’s whatever. We feel like we’re comfortable where we’re at. We like our chances against anybody in the bracket right now.”
Despite liking their chances, the road to Wheeling is remarkably tougher as a lower seed. A team they would normally see in a semifinal matchup will be the first obstacle on their way to what they hope is a state championship.
That team is Doddridge County, one that’s been much of a mirror image of the Patriots. Both have embarked on long playoff runs over the last five years and will finally meet Friday.
“It’s going to be super exciting and my type of football,” Isaacs said. “They’re going to buckle their chinstraps and they’re going to come right at you. They’re going to go toe-to-toe with you and it’s going to be one of those old fashioned slugfests I think. It’s like a boxing ring where you’ve got two heavyweights throwing haymakers at each other. That’s kind of what it’s going be like. They have a big experienced offensive line that fires off the ball and some athletes behind them. On defense they want to bring pressure and create turnovers and make you make mistakes. It’s very similar to what we are but they do a lot of different things. They like using different formations and we typically do the same thing and on defense we want to pressure you. We may do two different styles but we’re very similar in our make up of the programs. We’re excited to be able to play them.”
While the task of facing a No. 2 seed would normally be daunting, it’s more of the norm for Trail. Five of the 10 teams the Patriots played this season made the playoffs including Class AA schools Independence and Nicholas County – both of which will be hosting playoff games this weekend.
Isaacs believes the gauntlet has prepared his team well.
“That’s exactly what I told them,” Isaacs said. “Everybody has wondered why nobody is picking them and I told them everybody sees us as a No. 15 seed at 6-4. But if they don’t look at that schedule they don’t understand why we’re 6-4. Clay County should’ve been 8-2 if they didn’t have Covid and would’ve been in the playoffs themselves. Pocahontas was right there, so seven of the 10 teams we played are in the playoffs or could’ve been in the playoffs. Nobody understands how dangerous we are at No. 15 but I guarantee you this – Doddridge County knows exactly what our schedule was and exactly how dangerous we are. I told them let’s go up there and play hard, fast and have fun and see what happens.”
This year’s team takes a different approach than ones Issacs has had in the past. The Patriots have primarily relied on running the ball in the past but this year have opened the playbook, leaning on the pass. Receivers Ayden Simms, Matt Light and Cody Harrell form one of the most electric trios in Class A with Griffin Boggs, Aden Simms and Robert Ruffner supplementing in the ground game.
For the first time all season they’ll get a chance to play on turf, something Isaacs hopes works as an advantage.
“Well it surely can’t hurt us,” he said. “In the past it might’ve hurt us because we weren’t the fastest but I’ve said this all around. We’ve got some of the fastest kids in single-A. You couldn’t see it against Independence because they’ve got some of the fastest dudes in double-A but our four kids that are skill position kids are super, super fast. I’m really excited just to see them up on that turf and what it allows them to do. I think a lot of people will be excited to watch them. They’re going to be lightning fast. We are excited and we’ve probably got two of the best draws facility wise the last two years. We got to play at St. Marys last year and we played Doddridge County this time.”
Midland Trail will open postseason play when it travels to Doddridge County on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
