MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WAJR Sports Director Kyle Wiggs breaks down the upcoming playoff games involving University High School and Morgantown High School.
#14 Spring Mills (5-5) at #3 University (10-0)
The Hawks have 21 seniors on the roster and this group has helped the team improve from a 2-8 season back in 2015 to an undefeated group this year. UHS went 8-2 in the regular season last year, but lost to Hurricane in the first round of the playoffs.
“The credit goes to this group for staying with the process,” said University coach John Kelley. “They are a talented group and they take to coaching. They are also very respectful. We’ve managed to rebuild with this group and I’m very happy for these seniors for sticking with it and doing things the right way.
University had its week off during week 11 following a MoHawk Bowl victory over rival Morgantown High that closed out just the second 10-0 regular season in school history. Now the focus is on earning the first playoff win since 2014.
“We were flat for that first playoff game (in 2016) and it really hurt us early,” said Kelley. “We got off to a slow start and fell behind. We came back, but ended up losing at the end.
“These kids have to realize that it’s the playoffs,” Kelley continued. “You can’t afford a bad quarter or a bad half or you’ll be collecting equipment on Monday. These teams in the playoffs are just too good.”
The Hawks have had senior defensive back Kobe Turlington and sophomore fullback/linebacker Logan Raber return to the lineup in recent weeks. Senior running back/linebacker Trevor Barnhart is expected to return for the playoffs. Barnhart was leading the team with 493 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense. He was also the leading tackler on defense prior to his ankle injury at the midway point of the season.
“We’ve got everyone on the field that is capable of playing,” Kelley said. “We are as healthy as we can be in terms of personnel. Not everyone is at 100-percent, but we’ve got all of our players for the first time since week one.”
This will be the first meeting between University and the five year old Spring Mills High School. Spring Mills uses two quarterbacks Trent Kerns and Evan Hurt. Running back Daquan May has also caught the coaches attention.
“Both kids they play at quarterback are really good,” Kelley said. “The running back is a combination of power and speed. They’ve got good receivers but they won’t attack down field like we do.
“They’ve got speed,” Kelley concluded. “They are as fast as we are on defense. They are good at taking the ball away.”
The Spring Mills defense has forced 22 turnovers and the team is +6 in turnover margin. That is also something the Hawks do well as they are +10 in turnover margin.
#15 Morgantown (4-6) at #2 Martinsburg (10-0)
This is the 9th straight season Morgantown has met Martinsburg in the regular season or the playoffs. The teams have matched up in the post season the last two seasons and five times in the last nine seasons.
“They are a familiar opponent that we’ve played a lot,” said Morgantown coach Matt Lacy. We know they are a top team and we know it’s going to be an extremely difficult challenge but it only takes one game to change your season.”
Morgantown has worked quarterback Logan Holgorsen back into the lineup in recent weeks, but injuries have taken a toll on offense as top running backs Ty Konchesky and Javohn Moore are out injured.
“We’ve got to find a way to score some points which has been a problem in recent weeks,” Lacy said. “That’s what we’ve struggled with. Defensively we’ve played OK.
“We’ve been all over the map on offense changing things scheme-wise,” Lacy admitted. “We’ve had to make changes adapting to injuries. We’ve been in the single wing and now we’ve focused on running the spread with Logan back. That’s probably what we’ll continue with moving forward.”