PioneerPA

The threads I have read all have Bluefield posters claiming a 20+ point win for the Beavers Friday. Games aren't won or lost in pick'em contests.

Princeton Wheeling Park Spring Valley Phillip Barbour Williamstown St. Marys Oak Hill Meadow Bridge Wyoming East Hundred

Here is the link, just posted today: http://wvmetronews.com/high-school-football-scores/

George Washington Robert C. Byrd Huntington Keyser Williamstown Wirt County Winfield Oak Hill Nicholas County Lewis County

West Virginia Metronews has a scoreboard that is updated during games. Since their site redesign, they haven't posted the Gamenight scoreboard, but look for it this week and bookmark it. Great Friday night tool.

This may be the landing spot...it may not be. I don't mind. Looking into a short term TSP solution...then push traffic elsewhere and let it go.

It won't be legit until we get a "Martinsburg gets no respect" post

Thanks guys. There's still enough talent at Bluefield to make a run. That was the best offense Wayne saw all season, and the only one to score a legit TD against the starting D. Both will be making changes upfront so that's a push for now. That game in November could have a lot riding on it.

So what's the word on Bluefield? I know the Beavers had a young corps of skill players with Edwards, Leggett, and Stewart, a potential beast in training in Coppola, but most of the linemen last year were seniors. Haven't heard much from the Beaver fans this offseason. Just curious how things are looking there. Can't wait for the November trip to Mitchell Stadium...great setting for football.

Believe me, the 2010 Bluefield at Wayne game was very forgettable. Bluefield won 47-6, it rained right up until the start of the game, and the Beavers were just far superior...however there was a glimmer of hope because every big play came on 3rd and long. Then two weeks later in the quarterfinals at Bluefield...it was worse :/

Presuming Wayne and Bluefield was a 2-year contract, Wayne will head to Mitchell Stadium in Week 11 in 2013. They played at Wayne in 2010, at Bluefield in 2011, and at Wayne in 2012. I have no inside information, but this series may end for a short time after 2013, just to let things cool off for literally 2 years or so...or if it is a typical Wayne-Bluefield game where there aren't any issues, which there were none from 2002-2011, I wouldn't be surprised if it was renewed. Both teams help fill a void and bring excellent competition to the other. As far as what Wayne loses, Wayne loses 16 seniors. A significant chunk for sure, but Wayne's lost more than that before. There was a lot of quality in those 16 though. Wayne's 2012 team was a once-in-a-generation team in terms of being a complete team (not easy to have with AA numbers). That said, Wayne does bring back 2 first team all-state performers next year, so there is a solid base to build around. Also return a kid than ran for 200 yards in the state semifinals against RCB in his only varsity backfield start to this point. 3 OL return. Two inside LB's return, as does 2/3 of the secondary from the state championship game. It's impossible to expect them to play at the same level in 2013 they did the last 6 games of 2011 and the entire 2012 season...but they work hard and are well coached...they're just going to show signs of vulnerability, not a complete collapse. There are some pretty good sized athletes in the lower classes too. And they all got a lot of playing time against varsity teams this past season...so I think Wayne will be in the thick of things next year. Wayne, Keyser, Bluefield, Bridgeport should be the top 4 (in no particular order) next year. Bluefield will be good but I'm curious about their line play. I thought it took a step forward in 2012, but still had some upperclassmen there. The skill kids were good and almost all return. I really liked Corey Coppola at TE/MLB. I'm sure Bluefield will work to involve him more on offense.

Carey is in his first season back. He's not running the Stick-I like Bridgeport, though. Fisher was the coach at RCB in 08 and 09 when Bluefield beat them soundly. I think this RCB team matches up better to this Bluefield team than those did...and I think Carey is a better high school coach than Fisher was. But that's opinion. Bluefield has better players and a better team still. As far as the roster, they don't dress freshmen. They're listed on that roster. They dress under 30 kids. I hear they're big up front with good speed. I think they'll challenge Bluefield, but I just think the Beavers are better.

I think Bluefield wins a grinder. Byrd's defense has been really good, but Bridgeport and Braxton Coutu had a lot of success. RCB has a really good coach, whose defenses at Bridgeport were disciplined. I hear they have two good DL and a good LB. That's not enough to beat Bluefield, but maybe contain the big plays. Offensively, Byrd has been above average. But Bluefield's team speed is what they will struggle with. I'll take Bluefield 31, RCB 20.

Byrd's performance today solidified the prevalent thought that Bluefield will be back in two weeks. Nobody who struggles with Braxton is going to touch Bluefield. Wayne's last offensive possession, which ended in a fumble, the fourth RB (Wayne starts 3, so this kid is the first sub in the backfield, to be clear), carried 6 times. That was a grouping Wayne hadn't used all year together. Brandon Spurlock, James Egnor and Mason Hodge were all out of the game. Wayne had a couple of non-starting seniors mixed in with the line, and TE playing FB. However, on the 4th quarter TD drive for Bluefield, there was half and half for Wayne. Again no problem. Bluefield scored at the 8:36 mark to make it 45-14 and onside kicked. Wayne played the entire JV defense the last few plays of that ensuing series (check out Marcus Constantino's photos, you'll clearly see Leggett running against 31 and 34 for Wayne near the end). Wayne played about 40-45 kids in that game. Bluefield had a bunch that never saw the field. But that game doesn't matter one bit. I just found that statement ironic. I'm not here to talk trash about kids or scream about coaches. Just wanted to point it out. Both teams took the foot off the gas in the fourth quarter to run the clock out faster. The kids handled things really well the second half. Best wishes at RCB. Sans a monsoon hitting this week, I doubt Bluefield has much problem with them.

Ironic. Bluefield never took out its starters at Wayne the previous week, even though Wayne played reserves most of the 4th quarter. Didn't see any complaints then.

No one on this year's Wayne team has ever been enrolled at another high school. Part of being a rural community is sticking together.

Actually, you said what I didn't say and claimed I did. You don't have a dog in the fight...what do you care? Graham got 3 kids from Bluefield...it's not like its a one-way street...

DO NOT PUT WORDS INTO MY MOUTH, G-Man. Who said anything about it being easy? I broke down the game for you. If you don't like the facts, don't play the game. Speaking of the game, D. J. Edwards was hurt and didn't play against Wayne last year. That was huge. I really think Bluefield quit quickly because he didn't play and they lacked confidence without him. They were a completely different team with him throughout the season. The schedule was easier. Last year, what may have been (and what I felt was) the third best AA school in WV, didn't even make the playoffs. It NEEDED to be easier. That shouldn't happen. I don't get your angle here whatsoever. Show me anything I said that was not correct. Bluefield may be better than Wayne this year. I don't know. I can't gauge Bluefield based on last season. It's a different team. The roster is totally different. The guys making plays outside of Edwards and Leggett are all different. We'll find out who is better Friday I guess.

Those guys expecting blowouts are like three guys sitting together in Mitchell Stadium watching a game together...they just have access to the Internet. Their opinions are theirs...they're entitled to them...but they don't mean anything. I think it will be a great game. I hope the weather cooperates and we can have a full house that a game of this magnitude deserves. I know Bluefield put a heck of a lot into getting better this year (Johnny David, Corey Coppolla, C.J. Green, etc...). It certainly paid off, as did the weaker schedule. Last year, Bluefield was probably the 3rd best team in AA...they just didn't get in. By the time Wayne started fast last year, everything snowballed on Bluefield. I don't expect that to happen again. Bluefield has some kids flat our faster than Wayne does. I don't think Bluefield is more physical but I don't know...I haven't seen half those kids play in person before. The question may turn out to be...is the difference in speed greater or lesser than the difference in strength? This is probably the best Wayne team in terms of being fairly complete in school history. But they haven't been tested this year, and Bluefield will do that. We'll see how they respond. Things have been almost too easy for them for well over a calendar year now. Unfortunately, 4 of the teams Wayne tried to upgrade its schedule with for this year fell through (no dodging, all were legit). Ravenswood has its worst team in memory. Mingo Central wasn't anything like they were supposed to be. Chesapeake (OH) which beat Wayne last year and had 5 returning starters...was not very good this year. Those were the OOC games...and the Cardinal beyond Scott was terrible. Back to the game at hand though, obviously turnovers and the like will play a big role. I would say Bluefield will be looking for redemption from last year, but I think Montel Leggett is the only full-time starter this year that even played in that game. I know he's a heck of a player...was one of the best I've seen as a middle schooler at Princeton. Hopefully we'll get fortunate and either miss the major snow completely, or it will clear by then. Wayne should be fine, but the roads between Bluefield and Wayne may not be. I hope any of you Bluefield folks that haven't made it up here before can. We've beaten Bluefield, been blown out by Bluefield, etc...regardless, always enjoy the challenge and the folks from down there. Last year, Bluefield's folks were some of the classiest, most gracious people I've ever seen after the way that game played out. I gained tons of respect for the people...whom I never lacked respect for to begin with.

A couple of things... 1. Don't they only play 9 regular season games in PA? and 2. I love the WV system because it works for our state's size. It allows smaller schools to schedule aggressively. It also guarantees that the best team will at least have a chance to earn the title. Over-fluff won't necessarily get you a home game. WV only took the top 2 for a long time, went to 4 in the 70's, 8 in the 80's, and 16 in the 90's. We haven't had many 16-1 upsets, but that's still ok. Border schools specifically get to play better out of state opponents because as long as they get in the playoffs, they're ready to rock (i.e. Wheeling Central in A, Bluefield in AA). And with the way points are done, a AAA has incentive to play a good AA team that scheduled other AA teams it can beat...i.e. South Charleston-Bluefield in 2008. That game wouldn't have been likely in an 8-team format, but it was fantastic. As far as VA goes...y'all need to knock out a round or something. As an unattached out of stater, I can't make heads or tails of what you're doing (or Pennsylvania for that matter). We border Kentucky, and 0-10 teams make the playoffs regularly over there...meanwhile in Ohio, 8-2 might leave you at home. Ohio playoffs still mean a lot, but I can't compute their complicated system...haha. I do think WV's 16-team field for classes of roughly 40 schools each does cheapen it somewhat, but there have been some fantastic teams in the 9-12 range over the years...they don't get punished for challenging themselves in the regular season.

The part that stands out to me is that #2 for Hurricane, Fletcher, who started throwing punches out in the open...was not listed in the officials report and therefore will receive no sanctioning from the SSAC. If you need any further proof of how flawed the system is, there you go. If they "illegally" viewed video, you would think they would have gotten him, right? No good guys in this...SC's principal and coach should get together, view the film, and discipline those who deserve it. They can have tougher sanctions than the SSAC, and they can impose them. An honest show of good faith by the principal and the head coach would go a long way toward helping resolve this matter. The coach would know who was going out on the field to kneel the ball and who was out there and shouldn't have been. If Messinger has ANY integrity whatsoever, he'll handle it. There are a lot of fine coaches in this state that would do the right thing. I want to find out if Messinger is one or not.

This certainly makes you appreciate the class displayed by most programs in this state in both victory and defeat.

Never thought I would see Bluefield fans actually have a preference in a bracket. Considering how difficult Magnolia's game with Oak Glen was, I just don't think there will be a major difference in the brackets this year...but I could be wrong

The rumor is that they used 3 ineligible players this year.

Strong rumor that has legs based on WVSSAC site now listing Webster County a 1-0 winner over Oak Hill. This has VERY strong playoff seeding implications for quite a few teams in Class AA, including Bluefield. Bluefield loses the bonus point it got for Oak Hill's win over Webster County. Greenbrier West, whom the Beavers are trying to tie (and would win tiebreaker for 3rd), played both Webster County and Oak Hill this year, and thus are not affected. Every team that played just Oak Hill lost a point. Every team that played just Webster County gained a point. That makes Bluefield's quest to tie Greenbrier West for third more difficult. It also jumbles the bottom part of the AA playoff picture, and may even cost AAA Nicholas County a home playoff game with Brooke. Crazy how one forfeit can have such a large effect. Just goes to show that every game, including ones between teams that don't have a win against anyone else, matters in West Virginia.