Is This Really Week #7???

It is amazing to me how fast the high school football season goes by!  This week will constitute the 7th week of play for a lot of teams across the state and for me, that is so hard to believe! However, the good news is of the 120 schools in WV that play high school

Football and Academics!

West Virginia certainly likes its football!  Whether at the college level…..the high school level….junior high school level……or, pee wee and midget football……it’s all important to a lot of youngsters around the state! However, to play football the athlete must first earn the right and that “right” must be attained in the classroom!  In order to

Almost To The Halfway Point…….

I seemingly say every year, “the high school football season flying by”!  And, 2021 is no different!  Case in point, it seems as if we just started the 2021 season and a lot of teams will play game #5 of their 10 game schedule this weekend. And then there is Richwood…..you honestly have to feel

Week #4 Brings SSAC Rankings and Big Time Games!

Is this possible?  Week #4 in the 2021 high school football season is already here which means we are very close to the halfway point of the year!  And, as we enter week #4, it has certainly been a trying season for a lot of the teams around the Mountain State.  Take for example the

Covid Is On The Scoreboard; Local Teams Fighting Hard To Win!

As we enter week #3 of the high school football season, we cannot ignore the fact that Covid is still playing a huge part in high school athletics across the state.  And, even though this column is devoted mostly to high school football, I am fully aware of the fact that Covid is certainly entrenched

2021 Friday Night Lights – Great Opening!

Fifty Six games played in week #1 of 2021!  Now, that’s a great start!  And, yes I know, we did have a few games cancelled/postponed because of Covid, however I will be the last person that let’s a handful of not played games put a damper on the many games that were played!  And to

High School Football Returns This Week!!

I am not one of the many that believe “if you don’t talk about it, it will go away!”  However, I do believe you can talk about something way too much!  So, with that said, here’s hoping we don’t have to deal with Covid and that despised “map of many colors” this fall!  To the

Super Six or Super Four?

The high school football championships are less than two weeks away and still a lot of questions remain!  But, before we look ahead, let’s take a quick look back! Last weekend, the quarter-finals were much like the 1st round with several games lacking opponents!  In Class AAA, only one game was actually played out of

First Round of Playoffs: 12-12!!

Last weekend, the 2020 high school football playoffs got underway and once again it was the Coronavirus making the headlines.  Of the 24 games scheduled in the 1st round last week, 12 games were played and 12 had to be forfeited because of the wrong color on the Covid map!  In Class AAA of the

Typical 2020 – 24 Playoff Games – 12 Could End in Forfeit!!

It is a weekend that almost wasn’t and even though the matchups for the first round of the football playoffs are set, we could be looking at half of the games never kicking off! It is certainly no secret Governor Jim Justice toyed with the idea last week of cancelling all post season play in

It’s Time For A Big Pat on the Back!

It certainly is no secret, 2020 has been a very lamentable year!  However, high school athletics is much like show business…..and that is, the show must go on! This year, more so than any other, Athletic Directors around the state have been busier than ever just trying to give their high school football players and

Covid Continues To Reign Supreme!

As we enter week #9 of the high school football season this week, one thing is for certain……the playoff field is going to look unlike anything we have seen since the number of playoff teams was increased to sixteen back in 1991! One major change in the playoff field, because of the coronavirus, is the

Covid Map Strikes Again…..How Many More??

I am confident I was with the majority this past Saturday evening at 5p when I ventured on to the website of the WV Board of Education to check out the Covid 19 colored map!  For you see, that colorful map of West Virginia is our go to……it is the piece of document we all

Six Weeks Down – With Fingers Crossed, Four Weeks to Go!!

Last Wednesday night (October 7th), WVSSAC Executive Director Bernie Dolin was gracious enough to appear on High School Sportsline and I thought his most profound statement was “we plan to start the football playoffs on time”!  That would mean we have four weeks left in the regular season, already shortened by one week, and the

It’s Time For Steam Release!!

As we enter week #6 of the 2020 High School Football season, I want to write about a subject that is, without question, very frustrating!  That subject is all encompassing as we talk about Covid 19, the daily infection rate, the positive cases in relation to 100,000 and that brightly colored map that is filled

What A Difference One Week Can Make……

Green 39 – Yellow 10 – Gold 4 – Orange 2 – Red 0!  I’m certain all of you know what those colors and numbers mean  I’m also certain you know the numbers, along with their corresponding colors, indicate what we all saw this past Saturday evening at 5p when the new map was released

MetroNews Power Rankings – 3 New #1’s

As we traverse through 2020, everywhere we look, something new and very different is happening in just about every walk of life, and I am very certain it’s not always good and well received!  This calendar year of 2020 has been one we would all at times like to forget, however we still have over

A Lot of Extra Miles – Thanks Covid 19!

As we enter week #3 of the 2020 High School Football season, the biggest effect the coronavirus has had on high school football teams in WV has been several teams have yet to play a single game!  The orange and red colors have so far derailed the start of the season for many large and

Common Sense….Where Did It Go?

Seemingly every day, we are finding something new and different concerning the coronavirus.  And, I know, I have heard it thousands of times…..the coronavirus is new….we have never seen anything like it and we don’t have a play book that tells us what to do!  While all of that is true, it still leaves me

High School Football in 2020 – All About the Colors!

I know we all remember in years gone by, when we would talk about high school football, it was all about the x’s and o’s…..the Jimmy’s and Joe’s……and the wins and losses!  Well, here we are in 2020 (a year we will never forget) and it seems as if we must now include colors…..four to