Week 7 provides a slate you wait for all season. The heavy hitters are James Monroe at Greenbrier West and Hurricane at Princeton. Let’s get to it.
Securing StandingÂ
There’s no love lost between James Monroe and Greenbrier West. The two schools sparked a rivalry during the 2021 basketball season and it’s seemingly carried over to every sport since with the Mavericks coming out on top in most instances.
Here’s a refresher
- Greenbrier West upsets James Monroe, the No. 2 ranked team in Class A, in the 2021 regional co-final to advance to the state tournament.
- James Monroe’s football team comes back the following season and wins at West as an underdog.
- James Monroe beats West twice during the ’22 football season, once in the regular season and once in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs on its run to the Class A
- James Monroe beats West in the ’22 and ’23 basketball regional co-finals, going on to win state championships both seasons.
Now that we’re all caught up it’s easier to understand why both teams want this game. If that’s not enough, lets point out that both teams are currently undefeated.
James Monroe, aiming for another trip to Wheeling Island, is tied for the top spot in the Class A ratings meaning a win Friday goes a long way towards hosting throughout the playoffs. West would also like that same opportunity and taking down the top-rated Mavericks helps that cause.
From a playoff standpoint the game likely means a little more for West if it wants to secure one of the top seeds in the class. The rest of the schedule doesn’t offer much in terms of points for the Cavaliers with a few average- to below-average Class A teams remaining. James Monroe’s schedule remains more challenging with Liberty, Nicholas County and Bluefield – a trio of double-A foes – still ahead.
As it was last season, West’s defense has been dominant. The Cavaliers are giving up just six rushing yards per game. No. that’s not a a typo. Six.
James Monroe averages 309 yards rushing per game, led by all-state running back Cooper Ridgeway who leads the area in touchdown runs (12) and is third in rushing yards (653). Chaz Boggs helps shoulder the workload with over 200 yards rushing and another 200 receiving.
West divides its workload but Jake Pate has been the most effective weapon for the Cavaliers with 412 yards rushing and eight scores. West QB Cole Vandall has thrown 11 touchdown passes to just two interceptions with 564 yards passing to boot. I’d expect this game plays out much like the 20-14 defensive battle the two teams waged in 2021.
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Hunnicutt Stadium will take center stage amongst Class AAA observers Friday evening as No. 3 Princeton (6-0) welcomes No. 10 Hurricane (4-1). Hurricane was a semifinalist last season, beating Princeton 49-13 in their regular season matchup last year.
Hurricane has graduated standout Mondrell Dean but boasts several other stars including JacQai Long, Noah Vellaithambi, Da’Ron Parks and Tyshawn Dues. Long, the QB, is a Marshall commit, Dues is committed to WVU and Vellaithambi sees times at QB. Parks, a sophomore, an offensive lineman might be the best of the group with offers with Alabama, Florida, WVU, Ohio State and Penn State amongst others. Those four are the headliners on a roster littered with talent but the Tigers aren’t without their own heavy hitters.
Wide Receiver Dom Collins leads the area with over 700 yards receiving while his teammates Marquel Lowe (696 yards rushing) and Chance Barker (1,394 yards passing, 18 touchdown passes) lead the area in rushing and passing. Offensive guard Eli Campbell is also a two-time first-team all-stater and an Air Force commit.
The Tigers haven’t faced a team like Hurricane yet but if they want to compete for a title they’ll need to be competitive, if not win. Though a win would go a long way towards procuring a home playoff game, the first since 2002.
Princeton’s offense has been efficient and explosive with Barker completing 67 percent of his passes and Collins averaging 25 yards per catch. Given the talent level on Hurricane’s roster, the team might roll the dice and avoid doubling Collins. He did give Hurricane fits a year ago, catching 10 passes for 177 yards and two scores.
Deja VuÂ
Beckley is 5-1 heading into the Huntington game as it was a year ago. Now the Flying Eagles hope to avoid a repeat of last season’s outcome.
Competitive for a half with a ball-control offense, Beckley fell 42-15 at Van Meter Stadium. The second matchup was less competitive with the two meeting again in the first round. The Highlanders won that one 62-22 and hoisted the Class AAA championship trophy three weeks later.
The Highlanders are 5-0 and haven’t lost a home game since Oct. 23, 2020.
The emergence of Devin Richardson at QB has helped Beckley’s offense become more diversified as well.
Over the last three games Richardson has thrown for 426 yards and six touchdowns in helping Flying Eagles to a 3-0 mark over that span. It’s helped the Flying Eagles more adequately utilize skills players and receivers  Elijah Redfern and Elijah Waller. It also helps open space for a team the heavily relies on the run with at least six Beckley players having rushed for at least 100 yards this season.
This is a good midseason litmus test for Street Sarrett’s squad which will close the season with Princeton, Oak Hill and George Washington – three teams bound for the playoffs.
Around the areaÂ
Rounding out the area schedule is Summers County at Sherman, Meadow Bridge at Clay-Battelle, Wyoming East at Richwood, Shady Spring at Man, Oak Hill at Greenbrier East, PikeView at Bluefield, Nicholas County at Braxton County, Liberty at Midland Trail and Westside at Independence.
Westside at Independence and Summers County at Sherman hold the most relevance in terms of the playoff picture. Westside has strung together a pair of wins and sits at 3-2 while Independence, reeling on a two-game losing streak, is at 2-3, sitting well outside of the playoff picture. Winning is key to the playoff hopes of both teams, but probably more so to Independence which only has nine games on its schedule and has lost all three of its biggest bonus point games.
Despite losing three games, Summers is still in the top 16 and gets a shot to strengthen its resume when it visits Sherman. Sherman (3-2) is slotted at No. 12 in this week’s ratings and is Summers’ last chance to cash in on some major bonus points until Week 10 when it hosts Clay County. Playing a difficult schedule seems to be paying off so far for the Bobcats who seemingly control their own fate the rest of the way.
