This was supposed to be one of the more exciting AAA playoffs in recent memory.
For the first time since 2015, the championship for the state’s top classification wasn’t a foregone conclusion.
That year, when Wheeling Park beat Capital 23-15 in the Super Six finale, saw Martinsburg fall in the quarterfinal round 35-30 to the Cougars. That was the last time anyone sniffed beating the Bulldogs in the postseason.
In fairness, Cabell played well early last season before a flurry of mistakes resulted in a 49-21 Martinsburg win, its fourth in a row.
This season? Martinsburg is, well was, still a team to be reckoned with. But when Spring Valley went to Cobourn Field and did the unthinkable, it gave the rest of the state a ray of hope.
Of course, as the Bulldogs do, they made a few changes offensively and went back to steamrolling opponents. Next up on the list was former Class AA bellwether Bridgeport.
While the Indians are a formidable opponent, the state’s COVID-19 map is tougher. Despite Berkeley County starting the previous week in gold, by turning red, prior to the game, it cost the Bulldogs their season and a chance to five-peat.
It also cost Spring Mills and Spring Valley their seasons as well. And that’s just in the second round.
The first round featured eight games—only three were played. Four quarterfinal round games turned into one. For those keeping track, only 25 percent of the Class AAA playoff games have been decided on the field.
WVSSAC Executive Secretary Bernie Dolan recently said there’d be no asterisks for the champions this season. That’s the official take. Will the fans feel the same? Will the players?
No. 5 Bridgeport (7-1) at No. 1 Cabell Midland (5-0),
Sunday, 3 p.m.
How They Got Here – Bridgeport: Berkeley County couldn’t get back to at least yellow, so the defending champs lost their title to a map.
How They Got Here – Cabell Midland: Spring Mills, one of three Berkeley County teams to make the postseason, too had its season ended abruptly.
What to Watch For: This game has the potential to set a record for the fastest AAA game this season. Both teams utilize a run-first approach. For Cabell, it’s the midline option, and everything starts with burying or pulling the ball from the belly of bruising fullback Jakob Caudill. Pitches, tosses, play-action passes, it’s all predicated on (a) getting the fullback dive going and (b) having the defense commit to stopping it. Bridgeport knows a thing or two about running the football and all the ways teams try to stop it. The Indians’ program has been a run-first outfit since the invention of the wheel. That philosophy changed this season from the stack-I formation to a single-wing. The results, to no surprise statewide, haven’t changed. Can either team pass? Yes. Do they want to? No.
Outlook: The last time these two met in the postseason, Bridgeport rolled to a 41-8 quarterfinal round win in 2011. There are two things working in the Indians’ favor. Technically three. One, if played, this will be the Knights’ second game played in eight weeks and first in four. Second, Cabell has seen two lengthy layoffs this season, squeezing in only five games. The third, naturally, is the map. Bridgeport has played more games, played more recently, and has faced a superior slate of competition. This should be a dandy.
Prediction: Bridgeport 21-13.
Map Problems: Would it be scheduled for Sunday if there weren’t any? While CM has advanced two weeks in a row without taking a snap, the map is finally working against the Knights this week. Cabell began the week being orange on the Saturday map. The current WVDHHR map has Cabell in gold for daily percent positivity, and it has been so for the last few days. Harrison County, meanwhile, is in yellow and hasn’t been above 4.0 percent positivity all week. This game may actually get played if the downward trend in Cabell continues.
No. 3 Musselman (7-1) at No. 2 South Charleston (6-0)
Sunday, 5 p.m.
How They Got Here – Musselman: The only Berkeley County team still standing. The reason being? While Berkeley ended the week in red and still is, it started the week in gold. Wayne County, home to the map-vanquished Spring Valley Timberwolves, started the week in orange. They won the battle of which county is more “COVID-y” than the other.
How They Got Here – South Charleston: Facing its toughest test of the season, the Black Eagles passed with flying colors, dispatching Princeton 57-18.
What to Watch For: If this game is played, it will pit the likely Kennedy Award winner in Musselman’s Blake Hartman against an emerging sophomore whose name should rocket to the top of next season’s candidacy list in SC’s Trey Dunn. Hartman is the Applemen’s show pony, rushing for 1,696 yards and 30 touchdowns. Conversely, quarterback Caleb Hardy has 346 yards and one touchdown and has thrown 40 passes all season. On the other side, Dunn averaged 299 yards passing during the regular season and beat that average against Princeton with 339. The Eagles can run too with fellow sophomore Mondrell Dean averaging 71 per game and the team, 194 a night.
Outlook: SC doesn’t have Martinsburg’s pedigree, but the teams are similar in the size and skills of their athletes. Both have power, and both have speed. The Eagles have the edge in the passing game, and Martinsburg, in the run. That being said, this will be a similar test for the Applemen. Like against Martinsburg, Hartman will get his yards, but can the Applemen slow down SC’s offense which is averaging better than 50 points and 500 yards per game?
Prediction: South Charleston 35-18.
Map Problems: Again, see the date schedule. Berkeley County is red and has been for the last few days. It will require a big downturn in percent positivity for this game to get played. Kanawha hit its first yellow day in over a week Sunday and is trending downward from its gold status. There’s been a lot of misery for Berkeley County football teams this season related to that map. Sadly, there may be more to come.
