PARKERSBURG - It appears there will be three area playoff rematches in the opening round of the West Virginia Class A playoffs, although official pairings will not be released until later today by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.
Thanks to a big win on Friday night at Roane County, head coach Terry Smith's Williamstown Yellowjackets have earned the No. 15 seed and will travel to New Martinsville to tangle with No. 2 Magnolia, which won a 24-7 affair versus the Wood County program back on Aug. 31.
No. 5 St. Marys finished off a 9-1 regular season and the reward will be a chance to avenge its lone setback when No. 12 Wirt County rolls into town. The Blue Devils had a big lead late in the game versus the Tigers before the orange and black roared back to win 35-22. Wahama, which went unbeaten and earned the No. 3 seed, just defeated Buffalo 41-13 in Mason on Friday night and now the No. 14 Bison will meet up with the White Falcons for the second time in two weeks.
"A couple weeks ago we weren't sure if we were going to make it. Basically, we are just glad to be there," coach Smith stated. "We played Magnolia in the second week.
"That was a long time ago if you think about it, two months or more. Every team changes a little bit here and there. We're just glad for the opportunity."
The other expected Class A battles will see No. 16 Moorefield at No. 1 Tucker County, No. 9 Valley Fayette at No. 8 Clay-Battelle, No. 13 Tug Valley at No. 4 Madonna, No. 10 Wheeling Central at No. 7 East Hardy and No. 11 Meadow Bridge at No. 6 Greenbrier West.
Ritchie County, thanks to Braxton County's victory against Sissonville on Saturday night, just earned enough points to play a first round Class AA home playoff game. The Rebels of head man Mike Dawson will play host to Nicholas County in an eight-nine matchup. The victor then heads to No. 1 Wayne.
From all indications at press time, Roane County finished as the No. 12 seed and will make the long trek to No. 5 Bluefield. The Raiders of head coach Paul Burdette should've finished with a 7.1 rating, the same as Braxton County, but the squad from Spencer won the tiebreaker. That means the Eagles are expected to be the No. 13 seed and will play at No. 4 Robert C. Byrd.
Despite falling to Tug Valley late Saturday evening, it looks as though Clay County still managed enough points to sneak into the Class AA field, albeit with a road trip to defending state champion Wayne.
