Time for teams to find out where they stand.
Welcome back to “At the Game,†a feature we're producing on high school football game nights to keep readers in the loop of what's going on across the area, in as close to real time as we can manage.
A handful of West Virginia teams got opening-night tests on Thursday. Among teams under the HD Media coverage-area umbrella, George Washington upended Spring Valley 27-7, Herbert Hoover dropped a 37-34 decision at Independence and Mingo Central bested rival Tug Valley in dramatic fashion, 35-30.
We’ve got more of the same tonight. Rivalry games (Poca-Buffalo, Scott-Chapmanville, Logan-Man and Tolsia-Wayne) dot the schedule. Those fixtures figure to be beneficial in multiple areas: it’s a chance to beat the team up the road, as well as a cauldron of emotion and drama to test mettle right out of the gate.
Big-play Panthers rally
Chesapeake pulls within 14-6 at 1:13 of the first quarter when Jon-Cooper Barker throws a 73-yard touchdown pass to Philip Thacker. Lily Helmstetler's extra point kick failed.
Marquis Branch then intercepts a pass to set up Barker's 23-yard TD sprint and a 2-point conversion pass to Thacker to tie Minford 14-14 with 11:23 left in the second quarter.
Poca strikes first
Kam McBride finds Jack McClanahan for a 29-yard touchdown pass to give Poca the 6-0 lead with 4:48 to go in the first quarter. Buffalo has yet to gain positive yardage but the Bison defense has come up big in stopping Poca's Spencer Jones, holding him to 4 yards on six carries.
McBride was stopped by Buffalo trying to add the 2-point conversion.
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Minford takes early lead
Minford drives 67 yards in 14 plays, with Curt Glenn capping the trek with a 7-yard touchdown run. Mason Bradley kicks the extra point for a 7-0 at 3:33 of the first quarter.
The Falcons then recover a fumble and Glenn throws a 26-yard TD pass to Wyatt Swick. Bradley's kick makes it 14-0
Pregame
Here's where we'll be Friday evening:
- Poca at Buffalo – Rick Elmore
- Princeton at Capital – Taylor Kennedy
- Scott at Chapmanville – Cameron Maynard
- Logan at Man – Matthew Britton
- Greenbrier East at Riverside – Christopher Wade
- Shady Spring at St. Albans – Joey Johnson
- Tolsia at Wayne – Ryan Epling
- Lincoln County at Winfield – Rick Ryan
- Minford at Chesapeake – Tim Stephens
- Central at Belfry – Jarrid McCormick
Our goal is to get you real-time updates on this page from as many of these games as possible, pending availability of Wi-Fi or signal to get them posted.
Looking back, looking forward
Previews of tonight’s games and recaps of Thursday night’s action are available at the HD Media Sports Facebook page.
It's one-stop shopping for our stories, photos and video coverage of the sporting landscape across the Tri-State, from Morgantown to Huntington and ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä to Williamson.
