Class AAA

Ripley 21, Nicholas County 14

SUMMERSVILLE -Ripley's defense limited Nicholas County to just 126 yards and a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Vikings advanced to the Class AAA quarterfinals with a 21-14 win here Saturday night.

No. 9 Ripley (9-2) scored the only touchdown of the first half just 5 minutes and 30 seconds after the game started when Adam Rutter scored from 10 yards and Dustin Sorrell added the extra point kick for a 7-0 Viking lead.

The Vikings would extend their margin to 14-0 early in the second half as Seth Hamrick, who finished with a game-high 82 yards rushing, scored from 21 yards out with 8:28 left in the third quarter.

But No. 8 Nicholas County (9-2) refused to fo away as the Grizzlies finally lit up the home side of the scoreboard on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Ramsey to Jordan Hogan with 5:13 to play in the third quarter. When Hogan successfully booted the extra point, Ripley's lead had been cut in half.

Then came the key play of the football game. Nicholas County was punting from Ripley territory. The Vikings managed to block the punt and Ripley linemen Caleb Derenberger scooped up the ball and didn't stop running until he had reached the Nicholas County 10-yard line.

That set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Ronnie Mullins with 1:35 left in the third quarter that made it 21-7 Ripley.

Nicholas once again bounced back, cutting the deficit to 21-14 on a 7-yard Ramsey TD pass to J.P. McClung with 4:59 to play.

But Ripley got the ball back and and never gave it up. Rather than punting on fourth down at the Nicholas 36 with under a minute to go, the Vikings successfully faked the punt and ran out the clock.

Ripley will travel to Wellsburg next weekend to meet No. 1 Brooke (11-0) in a state quarterfinal game.

As the visiting team, Ripley will pick the time and date of the game. That selection will be made when representatives of the 24 remaining playoff teams meet at the West Virginia Secondary Activities Commission office in Parkersburg this morning.

South Charleston 45, Lewis County 18

Tyler Harris threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more scores as No. 2 South Charleston earned a 45-18 victory over Lewis County in a Class AAA first-round game Saturday at Laidley Field in Charleston.

Harris completed 11-of-13 passes for 275 yards, including scoring strikes of 30 and 14 yards to Eddie Gordon and 97 yards to Moe Makhene. Harris also ran 10 times for 49 yards and a pair of 1-yard TDs.

Makhene caught five passes for 176 yards and Perry Henry returned an interception 85 yards for another touchdown for the defending state champion Black Eagles (10-1).

For No. 15 Lewis County (7-4), making its first playoff appearance since 2001, C.J. Rahming carried 26 times for 146 yards, including TD runs of 15 and 5 yards. He also caught a 2-point conversion pass and totaled 71 yards on six kick returns.

Class AA

Sherman 48, Chapmanville 41

Colby Treadway threw for 334 yards and four touchdowns, including a tiebreaking 54-yarder to Jacob Rollo with 1:22 left in the game Saturday to lift unbeaten and No. 3 Sherman to a wild 48-41 victory over No. 14 Chapmanville in the first round of the Class AA playoffs.

Chapmanville (6-5), which led 35-34 early in the fourth quarter, tied the game at 41-all on a 50-yard pass from Josh Easterling to Dylan Wiley with 1:37 left to play.

After the ensuing TD by the Tide (11-0) on the long pass to Rollo, the Tigers drove as close as the Sherman 2-yard line. On the game's final play, a Todd Terry run was dropped for a 3-yard loss by Treadway.

Treadway also rushed for 72 yards and two scores for the Tide. Rollo grabbed five passes for 161 yards and three TDs and Tyler Boulet added four catches for 107 yards and a score. Terry led Chapmanville with 155 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries and four catches for 86 yards and another score.

Frankfort 42, Herbert Hoover 16

Joey Luciw scored three touchdowns, two on running plays and one on a pass from James Jones, as No. 4 Frankfort pounded out a 42-16 win over No. 13 Herbert Hoover Saturday in the first round of the Class AA playoffs in Short Gap.

The Falcons (10-1) play host to No. 12 PikeView (8-3) in the quarterfinals.

Frankfort ran for 356 yards and Jones threw for 138 yards and two scores. Jones also had a 46-yard TD run.

For the Huskies (6-5), Nathan Cooper returned a kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown and Robbie Kidd had a 5-yard scoring run. Hoover was held to 141 net yards. Leading rusher Storm Robinson managed just 26 yards on 13 carries.

The Huskies lost a fumble at their own 14 on their first possession, helping Frankfort grab a 21-0 halftime lead.