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Week 4 prep grid takeaways

The emergence of a legitimate Class A Kennedy Award candidate, two AA schools on win streaks, and three down-to-the wire finishes highlight last week in high school football. St. Marys and Marietta (Ohio) kicked off the gridiron action last week on Thursday. The reigning Class AA champions made for a tough act to follow after a 63-19 win over an offensively gifted Tigers’ squad. Perhaps the most impressive part of the evening was the Blue Devils’ Jaiden Smith absolutely going off on offense and special teams. Jodi Mote’s tailback picked up 266 yards rushing on just 17 carries ...

West Virginia shakes off Delaware State

West Virginia and Delaware State were two teams woefully mismatched last Saturday in Morgantown. But the Mountaineers did their best to be in the role of gracious hosts in an early effort to play down to their level of competition. Dropped passes, fumbled snaps, and a blown coverage on an 81 yard pass play highlighted a less than stellar first quarter. But the Mountaineers finally shook out of their doldrums and scored six first half touchdowns and a field goal utilizing only 10 minutes of clock time. The average scoring drive lasted only 1:18 in duration, highlighted by three ...

Week 3 prep grid takeaways

There can never be enough football talk this time of year. One of the most watched sports in the Mountain State is in full-swing and with it comes me catching up on all the action around the state from the previous night, which kicks off an always busy Saturday for me afterwards. Here are a few of my thoughts from Week 3: One easy observation right away in Class AAA is this is Martinsburg’s house with everyone else paying rent to live there at the moment. Dave Walker’s Bulldogs are 3-0 with victories over a trio of out-of-state teams. No one has been close to the orange and ...

Delaware State is up next

After a disappointing close loss to Virginia Tech the previous weekend, the West Virginia Mountaineers took out their frustrations on an overmatched East Carolina squad Saturday in Morgantown. WVU fans were all smiles in the first half as the Mountaineers were nearly flawless on their way to an overwhelming 49-3 lead. I haven’t checked the record book, but I would venture to say that was an all-time high for West Virginia points in a half of football. East Carolina clearly had a strategy of trying to slow down the tempo of the game in order to limit possessions for the WVU ...

Position made the Virginia Tech game

West Virginia and Virginia Tech played one of the best games of the first college football weekend on a national television stage Sunday night, but that was little consolation for Mountaineer fans who endured a tough 31-24 loss. As we mentioned here last week, WVU had won all four of its close games in 2016, but this time it was the Mountaineers who were throwing into the end zone to tie at the end of the game but couldn’t connect. Both teams were evenly matched, each with outstanding quarterback play. Will Grier, in his first outing at West Virginia completed 31 of 54 passes for ...

Middle of the pack for WVU?

It is hard to believe that this begins the 30th year writing the Monday Morning Quarterback Column. By my estimate we are approaching 400 columns, but with WVU football one never runs out of things to say. Thanks to all you loyal readers. The Mountaineers overachieved in 2016, taking advantage of a down year in the Big 12 Conference and winning all four of their close games. Realistically, they were about an 8-4 team that with the stars aligned turned it into a 10-2 regular season. We have occasionally been on the opposite side of that scenario in past years, so it was fun while it ...