Pratt and the Cougars hope to keep the good times going at 7:30 p.m. Friday when they host Musselman in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs at Laidley Field.

The game assignments for all opening-round matchups were set Sunday during a meeting at the SSAC offices in Parkersburg (see brackets, Page 6B).

George Washington and Hurricane will also play at 7:30 Friday at GW's Steve Edwards Sr. Field, while the only other Kanawha Valley postseason team, Class A Buffalo, meets Wahama Friday night at Point Pleasant.

Pratt, who was expected to alternate at quarterback with returning starter Carrington Morris at the season's outset, became the full-time signal-caller when Morris was suspended. And Pratt came out of the gates electric.

In his first four games, he completed 63 percent of his throws for 739 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions as Capital burst to a 4-0 start.

Then, however, he seemed to hit a wall of sorts. Over the next four games, he was just 21 of 56 for 209 yards and two TDs with three picks. Plus, after running for 162 yards and three scores through four games, he added only 13 yards and no TDs in the next four.

But something seemed to click late in the first half of Game 9 against Woodrow Wilson. After beginning that game 1 of 5, Pratt hit on 9 of 10 throws to end the game and wound up 10 of 15 for 160 yards and two TDs.

He added to that in Friday's 48-18 pasting of Huntington, completing 12 of 20 for 200 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions. For the season, Pratt's now passed for 1,308 yards and 16 scores.

Capital coach Jon Carpenter is more than willing to live with the ups and downs of his young QB, even though it seems Pratt's turned the corner.

"You're going to have that, even if you're a senior,'' Carpenter said. "I can't imagine how he does what he does. That touchdown he threw [against Woodrow], he was throwing [to] four verticals, and that's pretty impressive. He did a lot better than he has been for a couple games.''

Late-season makeover

When senior fullback and Division I recruit Dustin Crouser went down with a knee injury two weeks ago, it threw a bit of a monkey wrench into the George Washington offense.

Sure, the Patriots still had senior tailback and Kennedy Award winner Ryan Switzer to lead the attack, but gone was his lead blocker and the guy who often got the tough yards near the goal line or in short-yardage situations.

In some ways, GW had to reinvent its offense.

"We had to spread it out a little bit more,'' Switzer said. "We're not so much a ground-and-pound team, and it's worked out well.

"Trevor [Bell] has been throwing the ball good and our receivers are stepping up and making some nice catches with Dustin not in there. We're just changing the fact that we've got to spread it out and get some [defenders] out of the box, and that's what we're starting to do.''

Patriots coach Steve Edwards Jr. said last week's limited practice, owing to two missed school days because of heavy snow and rain, curtailed the evolution of his team's offense.

"I think we can do a little bit more,'' Edwards said. "We didn't do a whole lot [in Saturday's 54-17 win over Parkersburg]. We didn't have much practice this week, live everybody else.

"We kept it real simple. We did some things we felt we could do, and did them pretty well. Hopefully, we can get a little bit better at doing that.''

Looking out for No. 1

For much of the season, Cabell Midland has been fixed squarely in the bull's eye of Class AAA.

The Knights, who posted the school's first-ever 10-0 season, have been ranked No. 1 for weeks and enter the playoffs as the only remaining AAA unbeaten in West Virginia.

But if the pressure's been building in Ona, you'd never know it, according to second-year coach Luke Salmons.

"We've been doing good with that,'' said Salmons, whose team drew Oak Hill for a Friday date in the first round of the playoffs. "Every week, it's kind of an extra job for the coaches to keep them focused on what we want to do, and they've proven all year long that they've done a good job with that.''

Half of Midland's wins have come by 35 or more points, and seldom have the Knights been tested by the time the fourth quarter rolls around.

"[Being No. 1], that's not really important,'' Salmons said. "We can enjoy everything when it's over. Each and every week, we've got to keep pushing as coaches and players.

"We lift three, four days a week and they get after it in the weight room. It almost seems like summertime they work out so hard. They're motivated and energetic. It's not like it's toward the end [of the season], even from a coaching standpoint. We're eager and anticipating and hungry. We've got 90 kids, and they're upbeat. They're high-fiving each other like when we're making plays, and it's exciting to me. To be in this spot after 10 weeks and to be motivated and hungry the way they are, it's great to me.''

Experience counts

Ask Woodrow Wilson coach John H. Lilly what the difference is for his program the past two seasons (in which it secured Class AAA playoff berths) from those previous, and he doesn't hesitate to answer.

"Experience,'' he said.

The Flying Eagles went five seasons without a postseason spot (2006-10) before making the grade last year and this year. Like last year, they're headed to Martinsburg - the two-time defending champ - for the first round.

"The biggest thing,'' Lilly said, "is that offensively we've got quite a few seniors, quite a few kids who have played in those battles in the MSAC week in and week out. You really don't have time to feel sorry for yourself in order to do this and play that schedule and be successful. You have to bring you're A-game every single time you step to the plate.

"It's like the SEC of high school football in the state. It kind of is. Capital gets a big win against GW, then has to turn around and play Woodrow. We get a big win over Parkersburg, and have to go play Riverside. It's a tough challenge. It's fun for the kids, but as coaches you've got to learn to manage that a little bit.''

Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.