No. 9 Spring Mills (5-2) at No. 1 Cabell Midland (5-0)
Friday at 7:30 p.m.
How They Got Here – Spring Mills: Wood County came up orange, so Spring Mills advanced by forfeit and was saved a four-hour trip to Stadium Field to take on No. 9 Parkersburg.
How They Got Here – Cabell Midland: Marshall County also came up orange, meaning Cabell didn’t get to host No. 16 John Marshall at Ona.
What to Watch For: If nothing else, both teams should be well rested. Spring Mills hasn’t played since beating Ripley 43-14 on October 16. The Knights, which last beat St. Albans 71-13 on Nov. 6, have played one game in five weeks. Cabell is big, physical, and runs a variant of the midline option few teams see during the regular season. Fortunately, the Berkeley County’s Saturday map rating was gold, allowing the Cardinals to get live work against it in practice.
Outlook: Cabell has only been challenged one this season, in a 28-20 win against Hurricane. The Redskins run out of the gun with quarterback Ismael Borrero a threat to run or pass. Spring Mills’ Keon-Padmore Johnson may be the best dual-threat QB in the state, certainly in Class AAA. If they can replicate some of Hurricane’s successes from that earlier matchup, this could turn to be a pretty good game. Otherwise, Knights’ fullback Jakob Caudill and his backfield mates will run wild. The Cardinals keep it close, but ultimately, Cabell moves on.
Prediction: Cabell Midland 28-21.
Map Problems: Both counties stated the week gold on the department of education map. But, as of this morning’s 10 a.m. update on the WVDHHR site, Berkeley County’s daily color is orange, and has been the last four recorded days. Cabell County is firmly in gold but turned orange for the first time today. However, since they both started the week in good shape, this game will commence Friday night.
No. 10 Princeton (6-2) at No. 2 South Charleston (5-0)
Friday at 7:30 p.m.
How They Got Here – Princeton: Ohio County’s orange depiction on the map saved Princeton a trip to Wheeling Island Stadium (potentially for now). The No. 7 Wheeling Park Patriots were eliminated by the map.
How They Got Here – South Charleston: Jackson County’s orange status kept Ripley from making the trek to Kanawha County to face the No. 2 Black Eagles. This is the second pairing in the AAA quarterfinals of two teams who advanced via forfeit.
What to Watch For: Can Trey Dunn and the South Charleston offense be slowed down, let alone stopped? This offense averages 50 points and 500 yards per game. In fairness, they did so primarily against fellow Kanawha County teams late to the regular season party, only one of which had a winning record and that team, GW, got sacrificed at the altar of Martinsburg to the tune of 62-0. Princeton has a few more wins under its belt, but also those two losses to Bluefield. It’s defense looked tough, however, in holding George Washington scoreless to end the regular season.
Outlook: Both offenses feature budding sophomore quarterbacks in SC’s Dunn and Princeton’s Grant Cochran. Both teams have capable weapons, both in the receiving and rushing department. This will come down to mistakes and who can make that key defensive stop. In that, my (figurative) money is on the Black Eagles
Prediction: South Charleston 35-21.
Map Problems: Nada. This game will be played. Saturday’s map had Mercer County in the yellow and Kanawha in the gold. Kanawha is now orange for the first time on the HHR map, but Saturday’s map designations will hold Friday night.
No. 6 Spring Valley (4-1) at No. 3 Musselman (7-1)
Sunday at 5 p.m.*
How They Got Here – Spring Valley: Putnam County went orange, so Hurricane went home. Now the Timberwolves prep for the 5.5-hour trek to Inwood.
How They Got Here – Musselman: Finally, someone played a game, though thanks to the exploits of leading Kennedy Award candidate Blake Hartman and his offensive line, it wasn’t much of one. The Applemen took care of short-handed University, 64-26.
What to Watch For: Two big questions surround this game. One, can the Timberwolves contain Hartman. Two, given Spring Valley’s own rushing prowess and owning probably the best, and biggest, offensive line in all of West Virginia high school football, will it matter? One team has been able to keep SV under wraps offensively, and that was Fairmont Senior’s combination of size and speed.
Outlook: The other primarily running team Musselman faced was Morgantown and the Applemen shut that ground game down, hard. But, it was Morgantown’s mid-season season opener. The Mohigans’ line also doesn’t feature two Division-I prospects including likely Stydahar Award winner Wyatt Milum either. This may mirror the Martinsburg-Musselman game, albeit with a closer score. Hartman still has a good, but the Timberwolves will advance.
Prediction: Spring Valley 21-14.
Map Problems: Potential issue here, hence the Sunday timeslot. Wayne County’s began the week Saturday at orange. Its percent positivity is presently orange for the fifth straight day and is continuing to trend upward. Berkeley too is orange, but began the week at gold. So, if Saturday rolls around and both counties are in orange then Musselman advances by default as its prior designation was gold.
No. 5 Bridgeport (7-1) at No. 4 Martinsburg (5-1)
Friday at 7:30
How They Got Here – Bridgeport: Bridgeport ran roughshod through Washington’s defense and limited the Patriots Frankie Anmore in a 55-7 win.
How They Got Here – Martinsburg: The Bulldogs made quick work of visiting George Washington, 62-0.
What to Watch For: Both teams beat Washington by similar scores, 55-7 for BHS, 55-0 for MHS. They also have one common loss—Spring Valley. In that matchup, Martinsburg lost 22-20, Bridgeport 35-10. Controlling the line of scrimmage was key in those losses and it will be here. The Indians’ single-wing is clicking and quarterback Cam Cole had a field day against Washington running the ball. The key with Martinsburg is it has multiple backfield weapons, spearheaded by the running of Naieem Kearney and Kevon Warren. The Bulldogs’ have many players who would be the unquestioned star on other teams. Here, they are part of the pack. Individual stats seldom are eye-popping but the team success speaks for itself.
Outlook: Both teams are draped in postseason and playoff success. Martinsburg is the four-time defending AAA champs. Bridgeport has won four of the last seven AA titles, including last season. This should be a good game but I’m thinking Martinsburg’s speed and that dominant defense win the day.
Prediction: Martinsburg 22-20
Map Problems: This game is getting played. Berkeley started the week in gold. Harrison started and remains yellow. If Martinsburg wins, however, Berkeley is presently orange and that percent positivity rate is steadily rising.
