By Tom Bragg, For Lootpress.com
MADISON, W.Va. – Scott was one of the teams to beat the last few seasons in the Cardinal Conference. This season, the Skyhawks have left their old conference home but are right there in the thick of the postseason conversation again.
Next up for Scott, however, is a visit from a plucky Poca team that has vaulted itself into that conversation about the postseason, and for the winner, Friday’s contest could go a long way toward finding itself in the field of 16 next month.
“It’s a huge game,” Poca head coach Seth Ramsey said. “They’re a good team. If we can go down there and win, it would be huge for us as far as postseason seeding or just getting into the tournament. We’re in a spot now where every game is essentially a one-game playoff for us. We’ve got to fight tooth and nail.”
The Skyhawks come into Friday’s game riding a three-game win streak, taking victories against coalfield rivals Chapmanville, Mingo Central and Logan. In all three games, Scott held the opposition below 10 points.
Poca, meanwhile, is coming off a bye week following three consecutive losses. The Dots opened the season 3-0, lost 28-27 at Logan on September 20 then began a brutal stretch of the schedule that included losses at Williamstown and at home to Roane County before Friday’s game at Scott and next week’s road trip to take on Clay County.
Ramsey said Poca has struggled to put together solid drives in those losses, and as a result the Dots have had a hard time keeping up as the other teams pulled away.
“We have got to get the ball into the end zone,” Ramsey said. “I think we punted seven times in the last game and that can’t happen. We had, I think, 20 passing attempts and 13 rushes – we had about 35 plays on offense and that can’t continue. We can’t go three-and-out, three-and-out. We’ve got to get some first downs and connect some drives where we’re moving the ball. [Scott] is going to score points, we’ve got to figure out a way to get the ball in the end zone.”
Scott has plenty of weapons to put points on the board, led by Carson Brinegar – the Class AA 100-meter sprint champion in 2023. Brinegar has the potential to bust big plays every time he touches the ball, but Ramsey said slowing him down is only part of the problem when you face the Skyhawks.
“[Brinegar] is one of the better players in double-A,” Ramsey said. “He runs really well and he’s a little bit bigger than what he was in the past, but it’s not only him. They’ve got [David] Fennessy, who is one of the better players. [Ty] Mitchell seems like he’s been there forever. They’ve got [Isaiah] Bush and [Cayden] Sharps. They can beat you in a number of ways. [Nate] Easterling can throw the ball down the field. They’re just good.”
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One of the games of the week in Class AAA will be on Friday in Jackson County when unbeaten Herbert Hoover hits the road to take on Ripley.
The Huskies (6-0) come into the game at No. 4 in this week’s Class AAA WVSSAC Playoff Ratings, while the Vikings (5-1) sit at No. 9.
Ripley has been a bit of a surprise in the new-look Class AAA this season, with the team’s only loss coming two weeks ago at home against Nitro. Hoover, meanwhile, has been rolling through the opposition of late. Last week the Huskies dismantled Wayne 49-0 behind a six-touchdown performance from standout senior quarterback Dane Hatfield.
Elsewhere in Class AAA, Spring Valley (3-3) visits Charleston to take on Capital (2-4). The Timberwolves have been clawing their way back into the postseason picture after a brutal schedule to open the season, while Capital aims to hold serve at home and keep its playoff hopes afloat.
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Other Kanawha, Putnam and Boone games this week:
– Riverside (1-5) at George Washington (6-1)
– Lincoln County (0-7) at St. Albans (1-5)
– Winfield (3-3) at Sissonville (0-7)
– South Charleston (0-6) at Huntington (5-1)
– Tolsia (4-2) at Buffalo (3-4)
– Van (1-6) at Sherman (4-1)
Off this week: Hurricane (5-2), Nitro (4-1)
