(Note from the Managing Editor: This article is the first of three that preview the second round of the West Virginia high school playoffs. The final six teams, of course, will battle for titles at Wheeling Island Stadium.)
Week Two of the West Virginia high school football playoffs gets under way Friday across the Mountain State as the dreams of 24 hopefuls were dashed via defeat after round one.
While blowouts were aplenty, upsets were not. The home team held sway in all but three games, one in each class.
For Class AA and A, it was the No. 10 v. No. 7 matchup that saw the visitors pull out a victory, with Wheeling Central getting some last-second heroics to knock off homestanding Tolsia, 13-12 in Class A.
In Class AA, No. 10 Mingo took care of No. 7 Shady Spring by a similar score, 13-7, in a game that many viewed the Miners as the favorite. Class AAA it was No. 11 Capital knocking off No. 6 Wheeling Park at Wheeling Island Stadium to advance.
All three state champions from 2018 remain alive. Will the mighty fall during the second round? Or, will the favorites hold service in their inevitable march to glory?
Class AAA
The last time a team not named Martinsburg won the Class AAA championship, Wheeling Park was enacting revenge and defeated Capital in 2015 for its first football title in a rematch of the 1991 overtime loss to the Cougars.
Since then, the orange and black have owned the state’s top classification and it hasn’t been close.
The Bulldogs, they of the three-time defending champion status and owners of a now 53-game winning streak, showed much might while dismantling unsuspecting No. 16 Preston when exploding for 84 points by halftime.
Related: The Road to Wheeling – Class AAA
Martinsburg-Spring Valley Part IV looms in the wings as the No. 3-ranked Timberwolves also came to play in the first round, flexing their defensive muscles.
The T-wolves overcame a slow start offensively to put away Hurricane, 34-6. SV’s defense, which yielded the least amount of points during the regular season in Class AAA, now owns the second-best mark. The top-unit statistically? You guessed it, Martinsburg.
The embarrassment of riches continues in the Eastern Panhandle as the Bulldogs not only boast two of the top receivers in seniors Jarod Bowie and 2017 Moss Award winner Malakai Brown, but also the top-ranked defense.
If any teams have hopes of slowing down Martinsburg though, it’s Spring Valley, and quite possibly Cabell-Midland.
The No. 2-ranked Knights have a solid 1-2 punch offensively and are battle tested, with wins against six playoff teams during the regular season.
No. 9 Spring Mills (7-4) at No. 1 Martinsburg (11-0), Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
How they got here: Spring Mills upset No. 8 ranked Greenbrier East 28-27 to advance to the quarterfinal round for the first time in school history. Its reward? A rematch with top-ranked Martinsburg, a team it lost to 77-0 at home back on October 11.
The Bulldogs just set the largest margin of victory in playoff history in beating Preston 84-0. The previous mark was a 77-7 win by Spring Valley in 2018 against—Spring Mills. The Bulldogs average 60.3 points per game offensively while yielding a class-best 7.4 per game.
No. 5 Musselman (9-2) at No. 4 Parkersburg South (10-1), Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
How they got here: The Applemen took care of Parkersburg for the second time in 2019, this time with a 48-29 victory. Their two losses have come against Martinsburg and Tuscarora, Va. Parkersburg South dispatched of South Charleston 47-13 and owns wins against Huntington and Parkersburg, with its lone loss coming against Wheeling Park, 35-27.
No. 7 George Washington (8-3) at No. 2 Cabell Midland (11-0), Friday at 7:30 p.m.
How they got here: GW dispatched Huntington 17-10 and owns wins against Capital and Parkersburg. Cabell Midland took care of Riverside, 42-16. The Knights, led by J.J. Roberts and Jakob Caudill, complied an impressive resume, beating six Class AAA playoff participants, coming out spotless despite a difficult schedule.
No. 11 Capital (6-5) at No. 3 Spring Valley (10-1), Friday at 7:30 p.m.
How they got here: Capital upset No. 6 Wheeling Park and held Kennedy Award candidate Alex Dunlevy and company to 21 points. The Cougars lost to Spring Valley 41-0 on October 4 on the road a week after a narrow Cabell Midland. The Timberwolves’ only loss was a 28-21 defeat at the hands of the Knights. Their defense has pitched three shutouts and has held teams to fewer than 10 points eight times.
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