When George Washington and Capital played two weeks ago, the motivation for the winner was supposed to be home field in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.
When George Washington and Capital played two weeks ago, the motivation for the winner was supposed to be home field in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.
As it turns out, it didn't matter. The two teams that call Laidley Field home wound up drawing each other in the opening round.
GW finished sixth and Capital 11th as the SSAC announced its final ratings in AAA and AA Saturday afternoon, meaning those two will square off next weekend, most likely on Friday night.
The other AAA team using Laidley Field as a home base for the playoffs, defending state champion South Charleston, edged Bridgeport for the No. 2 seed and wound up with a date against No. 15 Lewis County. That game is expected to be played at either 1:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Capital, as the "visiting'' team with the better seed than Lewis, gets first choice of playing date at Laidley. Game assignments, including dates and kickoff times for all three classes, will be determined today during a meeting at the SSAC offices in Parkersburg. When it becomes available, that Information will be included on the scoreline at 304-348-1713.
The only other Kanawha Valley team to qualify for the postseason was AA Herbert Hoover (6-4), which placed 13th in the ratings and will play at No. 4 Frankfort (9-1).
GW coach Steve Edwards Jr., whose team won that Oct. 23 showdown with Capital 14-0, doesn't see any difference in drawing an opponent he knows so well as opposed to a team from another part of the state.
"We've been asking ourselves that today,'' Edwards said, "but basically, your ultimate goal is to get into the tournament. Everybody in there is a good team, so you're going to have to play someone who's good. It doesn't matter whether you played them or not. We're just glad to be in the tournament. We figured we might end up playing Capital, and I think they figured the same thing. It's no surprise to each team.
"It's a fun time of year. It's a challenge for everybody. It really does start a whole new season. We look forward to the challenge of getting started and doing the best we can. But it changes your mood. You have to try to go undefeated here - those are the only ones who survive. You miss a step, and you're out.''
GW survived all the way to the finals last year, where it fell to SC 39-8 in the Super Six at Wheeling Island Stadium. The Black Eagles (9-1) look to make another run themselves, starting with Lewis County (7-3).
The Minutemen are in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, which marked their only other postseason berth. Their seven regular-season wins ties a school record for victories in a season.
"It's great from a coaching aspect to get into the playoffs this year,'' said SC's John Messinger, "because it'll be a fight and a battle all the way through whoever ends up in Wheeling.
"This year is one of the most interesting playoffs people are going to see for a long time. There are so many [good] teams out there . . . Bridgeport's as solid as can be, Fairmont Senior's still a great football team, Morgantown and University. If there was ever parity in the state in triple-A, it's this year.''
Bridgeport looked as if it would claim the No. 2 seed in AAA, a spot it's held the past few weeks. But SC won a tiebreaker with the Indians, pushing them into the No. 3 hole, where they drew No. 14 Parkersburg and the state's leading rusher, Allan Wasonga.
In all, seven Mountain State Athletic Conference teams qualified in AAA, including GW, Capital, SC and Parkersburg. The others were No. 4 Spring Valley, which plays host to No. 13 University; No. 9 Ripley, which visits No. 8 Nicholas County; and No. 16 Princeton, which squeaked into the last spot and drew a trip to No. 1 Brooke.
The Spring Valley-University game is a rematch of the 6 vs. 11 first-round game in Morgantown last year, when the host Hawks won 35-14.
When George Washington and Capital played two weeks ago, the motivation for the winner was supposed to be home field in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.
As it turns out, it didn't matter. The two teams that call Laidley Field home wound up drawing each other in the opening round.
GW finished sixth and Capital 11th as the SSAC announced its final ratings in AAA and AA Saturday afternoon, meaning those two will square off next weekend, most likely on Friday night.
The other AAA team using Laidley Field as a home base for the playoffs, defending state champion South Charleston, edged Bridgeport for the No. 2 seed and wound up with a date against No. 15 Lewis County. That game is expected to be played at either 1:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Capital, as the "visiting'' team with the better seed than Lewis, gets first choice of playing date at Laidley. Game assignments, including dates and kickoff times for all three classes, will be determined today during a meeting at the SSAC offices in Parkersburg. When it becomes available, that Information will be included on the scoreline at 304-348-1713.
The only other Kanawha Valley team to qualify for the postseason was AA Herbert Hoover (6-4), which placed 13th in the ratings and will play at No. 4 Frankfort (9-1).
GW coach Steve Edwards Jr., whose team won that Oct. 23 showdown with Capital 14-0, doesn't see any difference in drawing an opponent he knows so well as opposed to a team from another part of the state.
"We've been asking ourselves that today,'' Edwards said, "but basically, your ultimate goal is to get into the tournament. Everybody in there is a good team, so you're going to have to play someone who's good. It doesn't matter whether you played them or not. We're just glad to be in the tournament. We figured we might end up playing Capital, and I think they figured the same thing. It's no surprise to each team.
"It's a fun time of year. It's a challenge for everybody. It really does start a whole new season. We look forward to the challenge of getting started and doing the best we can. But it changes your mood. You have to try to go undefeated here - those are the only ones who survive. You miss a step, and you're out.''
GW survived all the way to the finals last year, where it fell to SC 39-8 in the Super Six at Wheeling Island Stadium. The Black Eagles (9-1) look to make another run themselves, starting with Lewis County (7-3).
The Minutemen are in the playoffs for the first time since 2001, which marked their only other postseason berth. Their seven regular-season wins ties a school record for victories in a season.
"It's great from a coaching aspect to get into the playoffs this year,'' said SC's John Messinger, "because it'll be a fight and a battle all the way through whoever ends up in Wheeling.
"This year is one of the most interesting playoffs people are going to see for a long time. There are so many [good] teams out there . . . Bridgeport's as solid as can be, Fairmont Senior's still a great football team, Morgantown and University. If there was ever parity in the state in triple-A, it's this year.''
Bridgeport looked as if it would claim the No. 2 seed in AAA, a spot it's held the past few weeks. But SC won a tiebreaker with the Indians, pushing them into the No. 3 hole, where they drew No. 14 Parkersburg and the state's leading rusher, Allan Wasonga.
In all, seven Mountain State Athletic Conference teams qualified in AAA, including GW, Capital, SC and Parkersburg. The others were No. 4 Spring Valley, which plays host to No. 13 University; No. 9 Ripley, which visits No. 8 Nicholas County; and No. 16 Princeton, which squeaked into the last spot and drew a trip to No. 1 Brooke.
The Spring Valley-University game is a rematch of the 6 vs. 11 first-round game in Morgantown last year, when the host Hawks won 35-14.
Princeton finished the regular-season with a six-game winning streak after starting out 0-4. Its opponent, Brooke, nearly didn't remain at No. 1, needing to rally from a 13-0 hole with seven minutes left at Musselman before winning 14-13. Bruins first-year coach Tom Bruney wasn't around to see the end, as he was ejected late in the first half on back-to-back personal fouls. He's expected to sit out the first-round playoff game.
The home game for Nicholas County is a first in the postseason. The Grizzlies are in the playoffs for a third straight year. Its county neighbor, unbeaten Class A Richwood, also plays at home after posting the school's first 10-0 mark since 1953.
Two other Kanawha Valley teams just missed out on AAA berths after losing their final games and going 5-5 - Riverside and Hurricane.
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In Class AA, four teams from the Cardinal Conference made the grade, including Hoover, which appears in the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
The others are No. 1 Wayne, which plays No. 16 Oak Glen; No. 10 Point Pleasant, which meets No. 7 Keyser; and No. 14 Chapmanville, which visits No. 3 Sherman.
Sherman will also hold its first-ever home playoff game, but its Boone County neighbor, Scott, finished two bonus points out of the No. 16 spot and misses the postseason for the first time since 2002.
The Tide didn't meet Chapmanville this season, but the teams did play four common opponents - Hoover, Sissonville, Scott and Tug Valley.
Roane County, which rallied from an 0-3 start to go 6-4 and claim the No. 15 spot, faces a trip to No. 2 Magnolia.
After Friday's loss to Jackson County rival Ripley, Ravenswood dropped to No. 8 and plays at home against No. 9 James Monroe.
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Madonna has the No. 1 seed locked up in Class A, and Man came in second by beating Matewan Saturday night. Richwood, Williamstown and Wheeling Central round out the top five.
Williamstown and Central, who met for the state title three straight years from 2005-07, would clash in the quarterfinals if each wins this week.
Valley earned its first playoff spot since 2002 by finishing 13th, giving the Greyhounds a trip to Wood County to meet Williamstown.
Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.
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