PARKERSBURG -And then there were six.
In this case the six remaining teams in thestate high school football playoffs. Those half dozen coaches and administrators met at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission's home office on W.Va. 47 on Sunday morning to receive final instructions concerning this weekend's state championship games to be played at Wheeling Island Stadium.
"First, I want to congratulate all of you for making it this far," Super Six chairman Bernie Dolan said. "We hope everybody-coaches, players and fans-have a great time when they visit Wheeling."
Class A
Both Madonna head coach Doug Taylor and Wahama head coach Ed Cromley are aware of the constant debate that pervades any contest featuring both a private school and a public school.
"The saga continues," said the Dons' second year head coach. "I guess it was meant to be this way."
Fact Box
W.Va. Prep Football Playoffs
Class AAA
Quarterfinal Round
No. 1 Cabell Midland 28, No. 8 Spring Valley 26
No. 5 Morgantown 35, No. 4 Huntington 14
No. 2 Martinsburg 50, No. 10 Musselman 7
No. 3 George Washington 41, No. 11 Lewis County 14
Semifinal Round
No. 1 Cabell Midland 35, No. 5 Morgantown 28
No. 2 Martinsburg 63, No. 3 George Washington 14
Super Six State Championship
No. 1 Cabell Midland (13-0) vs. No. 2 Martinsburg (12-1), noon Saturday, Dec. 1
Class AA
Quarterfinal Round
No. 1 Wayne 47, No. 9 Nicholas County 0
No. 4 Robert C. Byrd 34, No. 5 Bluefield 20
No. 3 Bridgeport 28, No. 6 Frankfort 0
No. 2 Keyser 53, No. 7 Scott 8
Semifinal Round
No. 1 Wayne 18, No. 4 Robert C. Byrd 0
No. 2 Keyser 42, No. 3 Bridgeport 14
Super Six State Championship
No. 1 Wayne (13-0) vs,. No. 2 Keyser (12-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30
Class A
Quarterfinal Round
No. 4 Madonna 29, No. 4 St. Marys 14
No. 1 Tucker County 48, No. 8 Clay-Battelle 14
No. 2 Magnolia 19, No. 7 East Hardy 14
No. 3 Wahama 21, No. 6 Greenbrier East 12
Semifinal Round
No. 4 Madonna 20, No. 1 Tucker County 14, 2 OTs
No. 3 Wahama10, No. 2 Magnolia 7
Super Six State Championship
No. 3 Wahama (13-0) vs. No. 4 Madonna (12-1), 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 1
Madonna advanced to the state title game via a 20-14 double overtime win over No. 1 Tucker County while the No. 3 White Falcons moved to its second title game in the last three seasons with a 27-yard field goal by senior Zack Wamsley with 25.3 seconds left in their game against No. 2 Magnolia.
"It was tough," said Cromley of his team's 10-7 win. "We don't care about the location. We just care about taking care of business."
That business at 7 p.m. on Saturday will include breaking a three-year stranglehold held by private schools in the Class A division. Williamstown broke a four-year drought by public schools in the title game when the Yellowjackets defeated Madonna by a 23-7 margin in the 2008 contest.
"I've never won one of these (state championship games), so it really doesn't matter who we play," said Cromley. "If Tucker County had taken care of business at home, we wouldn't be talking about private school versus public school."
Class AA
No. 1 Wayne proved that it could win with star running back Brandon Spurlock out of the lineup when the Pioneers knocked off No. 4 Robert C. Byrd by an 18-0 score.
"We've played a lot of kids at running back this fall and we believed we had the kids that could step in and they did," said Wayne head coach Tom Harmon. "We will just have to wait and see where he (Spurlock) is this week. Hopefully, he will be ready to play, but if not, the next guy has got to step in and get the job done."
Making that even more necessary will be the defending champions next opponent-No. 2 Keyser.
"People have been coming out of the woodwork the past couple of weeks," said Keyser head coach Sean Biser. "This is a special time for our fans, our players and our coaches."
The two double-A powers will kickoff Super Six weekend with their matchup at 7:30 p.m. on Fridayt.
Class AAA
History will be made no matter who wins Saturday's noon clash between No. 1 Cabell Midland and No. 2 Martinsburg.
A victory by former Ravenswood standout Luke Salmon's Knights will be the first-ever by Cabell Midland while a win by the Bulldogs, who have won the last two Class AAA crowns, will allow them to tie the mark of three straight championships in the classification set by Charleston High School from 1968-70.
"There have been a lot of firsts for this team this year," said Salmons, who played for both Fred Taylor and Dick Sturm during his days as a Red Devil.
As a player Salmons never got the opportunity to play in a state title match, making Saturday's showdown with the defending champs even more exciting for the former Hunt Award winner and Marshall University standout.
"As a player, you want it, but as a coach, you understand what all goes into it just to get your team here, so you tend to want it a bit more."
