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The Press Box

By Randy Rutherford - | Oct 23, 2024

When my kids were growing up, soccer was big in youth sports in Michigan. We, of course, went to all those cold early morning games, but it was never my favorite. Mostly at that young age it’s just a bunch of kids in a huddle trying to kick the ball and their biggest concern is whose mom brought the snack. Lately though, I have covered several high school matches and found myself beginning to like the sport more and more. Perhaps it has something to do with local teams having success which makes the matches a lot more interesting and competitive. For example, the TCHS Boys Soccer team recently competed for the LKC Championship, and although they fell short by the score of 2-1 to Braxton County, the hard fought back and forth affair demonstrated a lot of kids on both teams playing their hearts out. I remember when my son played soccer at a very young age how hard the sport was with no contact allowed. It was a lot of running with not much scoring and probably why my son decided to pursue other sports. As all the local boys and girls prepare for sectional play, let’s hope their success continues. Their efforts have made it fun to watch.

TCHS Volleyball is having a great season as they now stand at 20-4. They have dominated almost all opponents during the season sweeping most of them in three sets. The Lady Knights will look to finish the season strong with the LKC tournament and then begin their march to Charleston for the state finals.

If you have not noticed for some reason the WVSSAC decided to go to four classes in football (4A, 3A, 2A and Single A). While four classes already existed in other sports, to me football in WV did not make sense to have four classes. Class 4A for example has only 16 teams in the class and the field for the playoffs consists of 16 teams, so everybody makes the playoffs in 4A regardless of their record. Realistically, I guess on the opening day of practice this season all 4A coaches in the state could have handed out playoff tee shirts saying State Bound! Locally the valley has six teams currently ranked in the top 16 starting with Wheeling Park sitting at number four in 4A and followed by Wheeling Central sitting at number seven in 2A. Four other teams in Single A are ranked with Valley at number five, Cameron at number six, Tyler Consolidated at number 10 and on the outside with a chance to crack the top 16 is Clay Battelle at number 18. Good Luck to all area teams as we near the end of regular season, but I expect some big blowouts in the playoffs in Class 4A when number 16 has to travel to number 1.

Well, the Mountaineers did it again and got our hopes up then laid an egg against Iowa State. Coach Neil Brown offered a lot of excuses but fell short of explaining how he was out-coached. In his press conference he was just happy that all the fans had a good time with the Coal Night uniforms and atmosphere. I can’t figure out why our secondary is so bad. Wide open receivers for the Cyclones are inexcusable as they ran untouched for a touchdown. Perhaps another week will yield a better result for the Mountaineer faithful as nationally ranked Kansas State rolls into Morgantown.

Tyler Consolidated has won their last three football games after traveling to Ravenswood on Friday October 18th and picking up win number five by the score of 57-13 against the winless Red Devils. Magnolia fell to the 1-5 St Marys Blue Devils 41-8. Valley was back in action after suffering their first loss of the season to Cameron and defeated Calhoun County 63-21 for win number six. Hundred faced off with the always strong Man and fell 32-0 after defeating county rival Paden City a week earlier. Paden City was scheduled to play Southern Racine but had to cancel due to lack of healthy bodies. The trend continues for small schools across our state and there is not much hope for this trend to end. So, enjoy the product you have on Friday nights and continue to cheer them on through thick and thin.

In closing the press box this week, I have to mention that Tyler Consolidated’s lopsided victory over Ravenswood did not come without a price. Starting offensive and defensive lineman Trent Webster suffered a broken leg and will be out for the remaining season. Injuries are a big part of football at any level but when it comes midway through your senior season, it is a hard pill to swallow. Trent was a valuable lineman to the team and will be greatly missed. The Silver Knights will now have to count on the next man up as they continue their charge to the postseason.