Welcome to The Deep Post, a weekly column on the rumblings of the week past and ahead. This week’s installation will largely deal with the prep football playoffs and the harsh truths we realized this year.
Painting the PictureÂ
First off, congratulations to James Monroe, Greenbrier West, Summers County, Midland Trail, Independence, Princeton and Oak Hill. All seven teams made the postseason with Trail, Summers and Oak Hill back in the picture after hiatuses.
James Monroe, West and Princeton all earned the right to host playoff games with the former two getting at least two home games. That’s on par for how the area has fared of late in regards to high seeds but the number of playoff participants is down compared to where it was two years ago when 13 area teams qualified.
As it stands I like the home teams in each matchup.
James Monroe and Greenbrier West should roll to easy wins. Princeton and Oak Hill should be competitive with Davon Marion’s squad hoping to avenge one of its two losses. I just believe Princeton has too many weapons to defend and a QB pressing all of the right buttons. The Red Devils largely held Princeton receiver Dom Collins in check but struggled to contain running back Marquel Lowe who finished with 218 yards of offense and three scores. Brad Mossor has quietly served as a strong No. 2 to Collins and the Tigers will go to their complementary players without hesitation when teams commit to stopping their stars. I believe it best benefits the Red Devils to slow the game down and they have the guys to do it with J.D. Mauritz and Malachi Lewis. Frustrating a Princeton offense that’s scored at least 40 points nine times this year should be the top priority. The teams ended up matching score for score for the most part in their regular season matchup before Princeton pull away in the second half and while Oak Hill is capable of doing that it’s not a style that suits them.
Aside from that game, I think Independence has the best shot of any of the road teams to win in the opening round and I’d go as far as calling the game a tossup. The Patriots’ best players have been in this spot before and the team has played much better down the stretch, though the schedule softened up. Injuries could hurt them though as they’re not entirely healthy despite a Week 11 bye. This will be the first true test for Indy since September when it played Bluefield. On the flip side Roane is also playoff experienced and has history with Indy, having lost in Coal City in the 2021 quarterfinals.
Strength of ScheduleÂ
The WVSSAC’s strength of schedule metric worked like a charm, rewarding teams with bonus points even in losses. Of course those bonus points were entirely dependent on how good the team they lost to was but it encourages teams to challenge themselves, rewarding them for the effort.
Take a look at the final Class A ratings. Midland Trail finished 5-5 but made the postseason as the No. 15 seed. Meanwhile Montcalm (8-2), Paden City (8-2), Gilmer County (6-4), River View (6-4) and Madonna (6-4) all missed the postseason.
Class AA was similar with the bottom three seeds boasting six wins each while Clay County (8-2) and Shady Spring (6-4) didn’t make the cut. Bluefield, had it won Friday, likely would’ve finished ahead of both schools at 5-5.
I believe that’s an eye opener. This point may go out the window next year with the move to four classes seemingly inevitable, but scheduling now matters. Let’s take a school like Shady Spring where the enrollment borders Class AAA levels with over 800 students. The Tigers, who were in triple-A from 2012-15, had three Class A teams on their schedule this year and four last year. This is my opinion but if your enrollment levels are above 700 you shouldn’t have a single-A team on your schedule, especially when there’s an option like Bluefield, which struggles to fill its schedule, an hour down the road.
Clay County was in a similar boat with three Class A teams on its schedule but has an enrollment of under 600 kids.
Montcalm joined that boat with its second consecutive 8-2 season only to miss the postseason again. Two coaches on playoff teams told me they reached out to Montcalm after last season to pick them up but the interest wasn’t reciprocated.
Westside finished 5-5 and is trying to completely rebuild its program so it ultimately didn’t matter, but if its schedule, which featured three Class A teams, remains the same it could be in for similar fate down the line.
If any of that seems harsh just ask yourself one question – is it true? The numbers aren’t lying.
Midland Trail, which again squeaks in at 5-5, is being rewarded for a course set seven years ago. The Patriots played three Class AA teams this year and have routinely fielded that type of schedule with five Class AA games in 2018. In addition to those double-A games the Patriots played West, James Monroe and Summers County – all playoff teams. Joining them is James Monroe, a team that struggled to fill its schedule locally so it added perennial power Wheeling Central and Class AA titan Bluefield with the expectation it might lose those games. There was even an attempt to schedule Independence but the dates didn’t line up.
The Mavericks finished 8-1, besting four different 10-0 teams for the top seed in the class.
In the Coalfield Conference there’s been a lot of fuss amongst the more successful members with others in their own classification refusing to play them.
With contracts on the verge of expiring and a four-class system on the horizon it will be interesting to see if this postseason is the one that signals a shift in how teams schedule.
Gold StarsÂ
Jake Pate, Greenbrier West – Pate went over 1,000 yards rushing Friday. West’s offense hasn’t centered around one specific player but it’s nice to see its most dynamic player cross that threshold.
Richwood – The Lumberjacks have gone through a miserable season from a win-loss standpoint. They lost a game where they had a kid rush for 300 yards. Friday they closed their season with a win which was nice to see.
Wyoming East, PikeView, Richwood and Greenbrier East – Greenbrier East and Wyoming East won two games, Richwood won one and PikeView didn’t win any. Despite difficult seasons those coaches or their staff sent stats every week.
Marquel Lowe, Princeton – Five total touchdowns on the road against a quality team? Hard to top that.
Layton Dowdy, James Monroe – Dowdy undoubtedly has missed receiver and standout athlete Eli Allen this year but Friday night with the No. 1 seed on the line he put together one of his best games as a passer and runner. In the passing game he was patient, allowing his receivers to find open spots in the coverage. As a runner he ducked out of the pocket when plays weren’t there, keeping drives alive with his legs.
Josh Evans, Summers County – The Summers County head coach took a roster of 23 players against a stacked schedule and came out with his first playoff berth in his third season at the helm.
Kadien Vance (Westside) and Chance Barker (Princeton) – Vance tied Westside’s single-season passing touchdown record and broke the regular season passing yards record. Barker broke Princeton’s single-season passing yards record and extended his passing touchdown record to 33.
Final Thoughts
One question I ask going into the postseason is how have teams and players changed since the end of August? Princeton is largely thought of because of Dom Collins’ terrific receiving numbers but won Friday by feeding Marquel Lowe, Wyatt Cline and Mikey Diacomo when the defense made those options available. I thought that game would be a tossup but Princeton dominated, moved the ball seemingly at will and forced one of the better running backs in the state into multiple turnovers.
Independence moved its state champion QB to WR because it was best for this team. Layton Dowdy didn’t throw nearly as many touchdowns as he did last season for James Monroe but Friday he showed he was much improved as a passer.
I thought Summers would be a more run-oriented team but turned into one of the most prolific passing teams in the area. The teams that can make it to the postseason usually adapt and grow in some capacity during the season. This year’s crop is no different and now we’ll get to see those changes put to the test.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpres.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
