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ELKINS – After winning its fourth-consecutive game last Friday, Class AAA, No. 5 Elkins will face its toughest test to date when Class AAA, No. 2 North Marion visits Tiger Stadium tonight.
The Tigers (5-1, 5-0 Big 10) are coming off a 44-21 victory on the road last week at Grafton, while the Huskies (5-0, 5-0) slipped past Lincoln for a 41-40 victory on their home turf.
“When you have two teams who are rated in the Top 5, it creates a lot of excitement in the community,” said Elkins coach Chad Ware. “So we are hopeful that a large contingent of Tiger fans will fill the stadium this week. The boys need their (fans) energy as we host a very good and well-coached North Marion team.”
North Marion dealt Elkins one of its three regular-season losses last season, beating the Tigers 41-13 in Rachel.
“To have success, we will need to match their physical play along the line of scrimmage and be disciplined on defense,” Ware said. “Offensively, we have to take care of the ball, sustain drives, and keep our penalties to a minimum. If every player doesn’t do their job, they (North Marion) will take advantage of it and make them pay.” In Class A, Tygarts Valley and Pocahontas County will be the only area teams in action with Tucker County being idle this week.
The Bulldogs (0-6) will be searching for their first win of the season when Class A, No. 3 East Hardy visits Bulldog Stadium. The Cougars enter the contest with a perfect 4-0 mark after defeating Bath County (Va.) 24-14 last Friday.
Tygarts Valley is coming off a 20-13 loss at Richwood last week and dropped a 52-6 decision at the hands of East Hardy last season.
The Warriors, meanwhile, are coming off a bye week and will entertain Class AA, No. 7 Moorefield. Pocahontas County (2-3) posted a 28-14 win over Richwood in its last contest on Sept. 25.
The Yellow Jackets were also off last Friday and will bring a 3-2 record into tonight’s matchup after dropping a 39-35 decision at home to Petersburg on Sept. 26.
In Class AA, No. 9 Philip Barbour will travel to Petersburg for a non-conference contest. The Colts (3-3) are coming off a 22-16 win at South Harrison last week, while the Vikings (2-3) lost 52-12 at Doddridge County the same evening. Philip Barbour rolled to a 43-0 win over Petersburg in last season’s matchup.
In Class AAAA, Buckhannon-Upshur will look to get back on track after two straight home losses when it travels to Weston to battle rival Lewis County.
The Bucs (1-4) are coming off a 65-30 loss to Fairmont Senior, while the Minutemen (0-5) fell 54-14 at Lincoln a week ago.
Buckhannon-Upshur defeated Lewis County 10-7 in last year’s contest in Tennerton.
All of tonight’s games are scheduled to kickoff at 7 p.m.