Doddridge County’s Brandon Davis (4) carries the ball during a high school football game against Williamstown earlier this season. (Photo by Nikki Allen)

Doddridge County and Wirt County are the final two local football teams standing.

Both teams are on the road this week looking to keep their seasons alive. The Bulldogs, the fifth seed in Class AA, are headed to No. 4 Independence at 7 p.m. today, while Class A’s No. 11 Tigers will visit third-seeded Clay-Battelle at 4 p.m. Saturday. Both teams can advance to the state semifinals with a win.

Doddridge is a perfect 11-0 on the year, coming off a 52-7 rout of Logan in the first round. The Bulldogs are armed with a plethora of weapons on offense. It all starts with quarterback Brysen Dixon, who is 86 for 135 for 1,574 yards, 26 touchdowns and two interceptions this year. Dixon is a dangerous pocket passer who makes smart decisions and limits mistakes. He spreads the ball around, with Landon Thomas getting the most opportunities (34 catches, 482 yards, 10 TDs).

Head coach Bobby Burnside’s squad features good balance on offense. Lyric Blake is the leading rusher at 127 carries, 1,998 yards and 15 scores. Caleb Hall has come on the last four games, tallying 54 rushes, 414 yards and five touchdowns. Brycen Eidel (56-622-10 TDs) and Brandon Davis (74-418-5 TDs) are not to be slept on out of the backfield as well.

Defensively, the Bulldogs have a number of guys who change the game. Calob James and Dayne Murphy both have surpassed 100 tackles while Eidel is knocking on the door at 93. DCHS makes a habit of meeting opposing ball-carriers in the backfield. James (20), Jacob Britton (16), Thomas (15), Samuel James (14) – a game-time decision – and Eidel (11) all are in double figures in tackles for loss.

Wirt County’s Brodie Goodwin (3) and Bryceston Nichols (1) combine to wrap up St. Marys’ Eli Wilson (44) during last week’s playoff game at Bill Hanlin Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

They’ll look to get after Patriot quarterback Brock Green, who was 16 for 21 for 278 yards and two TDs in last week’s win against Lincoln. Thomas and Britton have eight sacks apiece this year, while Joshua DeHaven has a team-best three picks.

The DCHS secondary will be tested as Independence has multiple options in the receiving game. Christian Linksweiler and Kellen Viars both had north of 100 yards receiving last week.

When the Patriots keep it on the ground, they typically give it to Paxton Myers and Sylas Nelson.

IHS’s only loss of the season came on Oct. 24 when the Patriots fell 42-30 at Princeton. Lincoln is the lone common opponent between Independence and Doddridge — the Patriots won 42-17 last week while the Bulldogs claimed a 53-20 victory on Halloween.

Wirt County (8-3) is looking to send home a top-seven single-A team for the second week in a row. The Tigers played sound football in an upset of St. Marys last week.

Quarterback Tyler Smith was in charge throughout the game, going 11 for 18 for 211 yards and four touchdowns. On the year, he’s 153 for 252 for 2,024 yards, 29 TDs and two INTs.

Andrew Lemley (43-636-10 TDs), Easton Wyer (44-530-9 TDs), Jake Moore (39-489-6 TDs) and Brodie Goodwin (31-436-4 TDs) all are threats in the passing game.

Adryon Hartford (134-807-7 TDs) and Anthony Morgan (109-795-10 TDs) head the Tigers’ ground attack.

Defensively for Jason Hickman’s squad, Moore has a team-high 108 tackles with 11 TFLs. Peyton Dye (12 TFLs) and Wyer (10 TFLs) also have made a habit of getting in the opponent’s backfield. Caiden Stilgenbauer has a team-high four sacks, with two coming last week against Blue Devils QB Jeremiah DeMoss. DeMoss was picked off by Dylan Hutchinson, who leads the team with four interceptions. Lemley has three.

Clay-Battelle is the three-seed for a reason. The Cee-Bees have a fearsome running game which racked up 342 yards on 48 attempts against Ritchie County last week, when Clay-Battelle attempted just seven passes.

Caleb Hall — not to be confused with Doddridge County’s Caleb Hall — led the way against the Rebels with 22 carries 165 yards and a TD. Caleb Snodgrass added 10 rushes, 79 yards and a score while QB Corey Coen chipped in nine attempts, 49 yards and two touchdowns.

The Cee-Bee defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 14 points in a game since Oct. 17, surrendered just 136 yards of total offense against the Rebels.

Clay-Battelle’s only loss of the season came against Cameron in week one (22-16). The Cee-Bees have wins over Valley (48-6), Gilmer County (58-6) and Magnolia (30-0), which are all teams Wirt County played as well. The Tigers beat Valley 42-6, Gilmer 55-26 and Magnolia 47-12.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.