Morgantown meets a high-level Maryland program without an official result this season, while Class AA No. 1 Fairmont Senior and No. 3 Bridgeport, along with Class A No. 2 Doddridge County, are each on the road.
Class AAA No. 8 Morgantown (1-1) at Fort Hill, Md. (0-0)
Morgantown and Fort Hill have met just once previously. It was an MHS victory way back in 1955.
This game will be the first for Fort Hill as the Sentinels had their contest against Loyola Blakefield canceled after a severe storm moved in during the second quarter of the contest.
Fort Hill’s Wing-T offense will present a challenge for a Mohigans defense that was very good last week in a close loss at Steubenville, Ohio.
Fort Hill has played in five consecutive Division 1 Maryland state championship games. The Sentinels won state championships each year from 2013-2016 prior to losing in the final last year. It is a young Forth Hill team that returns just three starters on offense and five on defense.
Morgantown coach Matt Lacy was pleased with the defensive improvement from the first to second week. The Mohigans offensive line has helped the ground game be productive.
Lacy now wants to see the passing game improve as the season moves along.
“We’ve decided on a few small changes to help (sophomore quarterback Cam Rice) and the passing game,” Lacy said. “He is managing the game very well and he has definitely progressed. We just need to build out our passing game a bit more.”
Brooke (0-1) at University (1-1)
University bounced back from a loss to John Marshall with a strong 24-7 win at Parkersburg South. The offense churned out 448 total yards on 6.8 yards per play. UHS ran 66 plays and had the ball for nearly 27 minutes one week after John Marshall had a 2-1 advantage in time of possession.
Defensively, the Hawks had 16 tackles for loss, including four sacks by senior defensive tackle Ben Gribble.
“I was proud of the defense and how they improved as a unit,” UHS coach John Kelley said. “We still gave up over 300 yards and we can’t keep doing that. And Parkersburg South turned the ball over twice inside the red zone. That’s another credit to our defense to get those turnovers, but if they convert there, it’s a whole different ball game.”
After opening with a pair of road games, UHS will now play back to back home games vs. Brooke and Wheeling Park.
“We split the first two on the road which is big,” Kelley said. “But now things really ramp up with Brooke, Wheeling Park and Fairmont Senior all in a row.”
Preston (1-1) at Class AAA No. 6 John Marshall (2-0)
A very difficult test awaits a young Preston team.
The Knights beat Hampshire in week 1, only to fall 56-28 to North Marion last week. Inconsistent play was expected from a team that returned just 10 players who had seen action in varsity games prior to this season.
It’s the start of three consecutive games on the road for the Knights.
John Marshall is 2-0 following wins over University and Mountain Ridge, Md.
Philip Barbour (0-2) at Buckhannon-Upshur (1-1)
Buckhannon-Upshur looks to get the offense against a nearby rival struggling early on.
B-U lost to Ripley last week as it was held to just 72 rushing yards and 164 total yards.
Quarterback Ryan Strader scored a pair of touchdowns for the Bucs on the night with a short runs. The Colts have lost to Grafton and Elkins and allowed 67 total points.
Class AA No. 1 Fairmont Senior (2-0) at North Marion (1-1)
Fairmont Senior has outscored its first two opponents, 99-27. It’s a seasoned Fairmont Senior team that lost just three starters from last year, when the Polar Bears reached the Class AA state championship.
“These guys put so much work in during the offseason and during the 7-on-7 camps,” Fairmont Senior coach Nick Bartic said. “The offense really has picked up right where it left off last season.”
North Marion, after scoring 56 points in a win over Preston, will present some unique challenges.
“Coach (Mark) Yoho always has something up his sleeve for us,” Bartic said of the North Marion offensive coordinator. “He always has his guys sound. We’ve come to expect an organized group with a good game plan. They’ve also scored some points on special teams this year.”
Class AA No. 3 Bridgeport (2-0) at East Fairmont (0-2)
This the 55th meeting between these schools in a series that dates back to 1922.
Bridgeport leads the series 44-10, having won 29 of the last 30. East Fairmont’s last win in the series came in 2005.
Overall, East has dropped 13 of last 14 and its last non-losing season came in 2008.
Tailback Jake Bowen bolsters a strong Bridgeport running game.
Class AA No. 10 Robert C. Byrd (1-1) at Class AA No. 8 Keyser (1-0)
RCB jumped out to a 28-0 lead en route to a 35-6 win over Lincoln last week.
The RCB defense forced a couple of key turnovers as Jeremiah King had two interceptions. The Eagles’ ground game got going as Ghovan Davidson rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns.
It will be RCB’s second game against a ranked Class AA opponent in three weeks following a season opening loss to top-ranked Fairmont Senior.
Lincoln (1-1) at Liberty (1-1)
Lincoln has yet to score an offensive touchdown following a 3-0 win at Braxton County to start the season.
Gauge Freeman returned a kickoff 85 yards for the Cougars only touchdown last week in a loss to Robert C. Byrd.
Liberty beat Roane County week one and then battled Bridgeport to the wire in a 28-14 loss last week. Liberty has shown balance this season as the Mountaineers had 130 rushing yards and 151 passing yards in last week’s loss to Bridgeport.
Lewis County (0-2) at Elkins (2-0)
Elkins rolled on the ground with 362 rushing yards in a week 2 win over Philip Barbour. The Tigers got a special teams score as well when Austin Storey returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown.
Elkins will play its second consecutive home game vs. Lewis County this week.
The Minutemen continue with a tough early season schedule as their first three opponents — Fairmont Senior, Bridgeport and Elkins — are a combined 6-0.
Class A No. 2 Doddridge County (2-0) at Calhoun County (1-1)
Doddridge County running back Hunter America is the talk of Class A football following his 463-yard, seven touchdown rushing performance in a shootout win last week over Tyler Consolidated.
“I’ve never been a part of a game like last week,” Doddridge County coach Bobby Burnside said of the Bulldogs’ 62-43 win. “Our offensive line had a great game as did the receivers that blocked for him. It was a back and forth game, exciting and stressful all at the same time.”
America has rushed for 655 yards and 13 touchdowns in two games.
“We do know there are several areas we need to improve on,” Burnside said. “But we do like the feeling of being 2-0.”
Doddridge County had an eight-game winning streak in 2017 but had injury trouble by the end of the season which led to a first round playoff loss.
“The goal is to work hard and improve,” Burnside said. “The offensive line is a perfect example of that. We’ve got three seniors (Michael Childers, Max Cook and Sam Donaldson) and two juniors (Cole James and Devin Farley.) The effort’s been great and the down field blocking has been great.”
Other games: Grafton (2-0) at Petersburg (2-0); Notre Dame (1-1) at Bridgeport, Ohio (0-2); Tucker County (2-0) at Northern Garrett, Md.; South Harrison (0-2) at Parkersburg Catholic (2-0)