The penultimate week of the regular season is here and it promises to be the most eventful of the last two months. Records are in line to be broken and playoff cases are there to be made. Let’s get started.
Record watch
Since Judah Price erupted for over 50 points against Shady Spring, the possibility of him breaking the regular season state scoring record has been very much reality. Provided he stays healthy, it’s all but a guarantee he does so Friday needing just 19 points. Coming into their matchup with Wyoming East, the Patriots are 8-0, seeking back to back undefeated regular seasons for the first time in program history. The Warriors have struggled this season with both of their wins coming against a pair of Class A teams (Richwood and River View) that have combined for just two wins. They lost by 39 points to a Man team that Indy beat 52-0 and 71-7 to a Nicholas County team Indy beat 58-7 last week. This isn’t to pile on to what’s been a tough season for East, but to demonstrate the contrast between the two teams. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Price is the record holder by he end of the first quarter.
Playoffs
Here’s the part where we dive into the various games with playoff implications. Let’s get started with Bluefield, a team that caps its regular season this week. Left for dead a month ago the Beavers sit at No. 17 in the latest playoff ratings, one spot on the outside of the bubble. A weakened Class AA field has left the door open for Bluefield with the picture littered with three and four-loss teams. A chance for some major bonus points presents itself this week for Bluefield as undefeated Ridgeview, Va. rolls into Mitchell Stadium.
The Beavers beat Ridgeview on the road last season but will need to slow down their vaunted passing attack on Friday to give themselves a shot at the postseason. The Beavers have their own efficient passing attack led by QB Caleb Fuller, the area passing yards leader.
Fuller has thrown for 1,492 yards and 13 touchdowns. Led by RJ Hairston’s 646 receiving yards, the Beavers have a trio of receivers that have over 300 yards receiving this season. Expect them to be heavily involved in the gameplan in a must-win game.
One of the other de-facto playoff games this week takes place in Oak Hill where the Red Devils host their old nemesis Beckley. The two teams occupy the final two spots in the Class AAA playoff field, needing a win to stay alive. This game is the regular season finale for Oak Hill which has had an up and down season. Coming off a loss against Bluefield, the Red Devils have taken Princeton to triple overtime and handled Greenbrier East but struggled against Independence, Bluefield and Cabell Midland.
Beckley comes off a bye and runs a wing-T variation similar to Oak Hill, so much of what the two defenses see won’t be anything new. The Red Devils are led by Ethan Vargo-Thomas, who has rushed for 401 yards but boast five players with over 200 yards rushing on the season. The Flying Eagles are similar in that they have six players with over 200 yards rushing but Matthew Moore is the clear leader in the backfield with 823 yards, Â nearly 300 more than the next closest player. The two teams have split the series since the Red Devils rejoined Class AAA in 2020 but Friday’s matchup will be the most important in the revived series.
The area’s most intriguing matchup features two former Class AA foes, both vying for playoff positioning in their respective classes. James Monroe sits at No. 2 in the Class A ratings, meaning if the Mavs win out they’ll have homefield advantage until the state championship, should they make it that far. They’ll host Class AA No. 12 Nicholas County. The Grizzlies were manhandled by Independence, 58-7, In a game that was over after a quarter.
Nicholas will likely try to control the line of scrimmage with running back Kaleb Clark’s 1,070 yards and 15 touchdowns being a good indication of their preferred style of play. It will be the Mavs’ toughest test of the season, but they aren’t without their own heavy hitters. Layton Dowdy, Cooper Ridgeway and Eli Allen highlight form a terrific QB-RB-WR trio with several other receivers and running backs capable of big games when defenses commit to them. And there lies the intrigue. Nicholas sold out last week to stop Indy’s run game with Judah Price and paid with QB Trey Bowers throwing for 175 yards… on five passes! If Nicholas can’t find balance on defense to eliminate big plays it risks dropping its second consecutive game and damaging its playoff standing.
In Class A Greenbrier West travels to Midland Trail with much on the line. Despite losing just one game, West is suffering from a loaded Class A field in which five of the top seven teams are undefeated. Midland Trail offers a quality win with a solid bushel of bonus points to boot. On the flip side the Patriots aren’t slouches. Cody Harrell is one of the top receivers in the area with 742 receiving yards thus far. West has its own offensive star in Ty Nickell, who has 1,479 yards and 23 touchdowns to lead all area single-A players.
The difference will likely come in the form of Trail QB Jaden Gladwell. He’s grown comfortable throwing to Harrell but leads the area with 13 interceptions. That’s not a recipe for success against a West defense that has tied the program record with six shutouts in a single season. If Gladwell can avoid mistakes and keep the offense on schedule the Patriots, who are one of the best 16 teams in Class A despite their No. 19 rating, will have a chance to crawl back into the picture. If not, that could be the loss that snaps Trail’s five-year playoff streak.
Lastly on the topic of playoff hopefuls, Summers County travels to Class AA No. 7 Clay County. Clay is 6-1 and has proven to be a tough task for area single-A teams, beating Midland Trail early on. Summers will need to play its best game of the season to keep its postseason hopes alive. The Bobcats are slotted at No. 18 but control their own destiny. Clay yields many bonus points and the season ends with James Monroe. Winning both games would be enough to send Summers to the postseason for the first time since 2018.
Around the area
Highlighting the remaining area games is a matchup between Princeton and Greenbrier East at Hunnicutt Stadium. The Tigers are coming off a monumental win against Bridgeport but can’t get complacent. East has struggled this season but after a big win against Bluefield earlier this year, the Tigers came out flat against Oak Hill the following week and nearly lost. This will be a good way to gauge their progress.
Notably, Princeton wide receiver Dominick Collins has 758 yards this season, 104 shy of Moss Award winner Ethan Parsons’ single season record set in 2020. Collins is in the thick of this year’s Moss Award race and another huge game only bolsters his candidacy.
Elsewhere Mount View travels to Westside, Richwood travels to Hannan, Meadow Bridge travels to Sherman, Liberty travels to Shady Spring, PikeView travels to River View and Montcalm heads to Hurley, Va.
