Mavericks' perfection rewarded in playoff pairings

Staff report

BLUEFIELD - It's been a long, perilous climb to No. 2 in the West Virginia high school football ratings. James Monroe High School's Mavericks have made that ascent with a 10-0 record, and the first reward is a home playoff game Friday night.

The H.E. Comer Jr. Sports Complex in Lindside will be the site for a first-round Class AA playoff contest with the Generals of Winfield High School. Winfield (5-5) finished 15th in the state.

The Mount View Golden Knights finished eighth with a 7-3 record, locking up the final home playoff slot in Class AA. Mount View will be the host team for a game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against No. 9 Magnolia, also 7-3.

That game is scheduled for Princeton since the Knights' home field does not meet the facilities standards set by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC).

The defending Class AA champion Bluefield Beavers, who finished their season a week ago, settled in at No. 11 with a 5-4 season slate. That means a road game in Clarks-burg and a date with 9-1 Liberty High School of Harri-son County.

The Beavers and No. 6 Moun-taineers will tangle on Friday night at Clarksburg's Hite Field.

Dates and times were announced Sunday after coaches had their pre-playoff meetings at the WVSSAC office. Coaches of teams ranked No. 9 through No. 16 got to choose whether to play at 7:30 p.m. on Friday or 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Montcalm missed the Class A playoffs by one point and Princeton was edged out of the Class AAA tournament, after both schools were in the No. 16 position going into the weekend.

Second-round games will be played Nov. 18-19.

James Monroe will continue to host through the semifinal game if they keep winning. The Class AA championship match will again be in Wheeling, at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2.

The Mavericks closed out a 10-0 regular season Friday night with a 28-14 win over Class AAA Greenbrier East. Jason Jackson ran for 262 yards and Andrew Robertson added 100 more in the come-from-behind victory over their rivals.

Jackson scored on runs of 59 and 23 yards in the first half as the Mavs took a 13-0 lead.

The Spartans' Tommy Mutter ran for a score and Dexter Johnson ran a blocked field-goal try 76 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, and the home team led 14-13 at the half.

On their next possession, James Monroe's Robertson tallied a one-yard TD and added a conversion run to make the score 21-14.

After a Zach Mann interception, Jackson got the game's final touchdown on a 35-yard dash late in the third period.

W.Va. high school football playoffs

By The Associated Press

Pairings for the first round of the West Virginia high school football playoffs. Friday games are at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday games are at 1:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted:

Class AAA

First round

Friday

No. 16 St. Albans (6-4) at No. 1 Morgantown (10-0)

No. 15 Fairmont Senior (6-4) at No. 2 Jefferson (10-0)

No. 14 Capital (6-4) vs. No. 3 Nitro (9-1), location TBA

No. 13 Cabell Midland (6-4) at No. 4 Woodrow Wilson (9-1)

No. 11 Parkersburg (7-3) at No. 6 Buckhannon-Upshur (9-1)

No. 10 University (7-3) at No. 7 Bridgeport (9-1)

No. 9 John Marshall (8-2) vs. No. 8 South Charleston (8-2), at Laidley Field, Charleston

Saturday

No. 12 Hurricane (7-3) at No. 5 Martinsburg (9-1)

Second round

Nov. 18-19

St. Albans-Morgantown winner vs. John Marshall-South Charleston winner

Cabell Midland-Woodrow Wilson winner vs. Hurricane-Martinsburg winner

Fairmont Senior-Jefferson winner vs. University-Bridgeport winner

Capital-Nitro winner vs. Parkersburg-Buckhannon-Upshur winner

Class AA

First round

Friday

No. 16 Liberty Raleigh (6-4) at No. 1 Wayne (10-0)

No. 15 Winfield (5-5) at No. 2 James Monroe (10-0)

No. 11 Bluefield (5-4) vs. No. 6 Liberty Harrison (9-1) at Hite Field, Clarksburg

No. 10 Independence (7-3) vs. No. 7 Tolsia (7-3), at Huntington

Saturday

No. 14 Grafton (5-5) vs. No. 3 Herbert Hoover (9-1), at Laidley Field, Charleston

No. 13 Logan (5-5) at No. 4 Weir (9-1)

No. 12 Berkeley Springs (5-5) at No. 5 Scott (9-1)

No. 9 Magnolia (7-3) vs. No. 8 Mount View (7-3), at Princeton

Second round

Nov. 18-19

Liberty Raleigh-Wayne winner vs. Magnolia-Mount View winner

Logan-Weir winner vs. Berkeley Springs-Scott winner

Winfield-James Monroe winner vs. Independence-Tolsia winner

Grafton-Herbert Hoover winner vs. Bluefield-Liberty Harrison winner

Class A

First round

Friday

No. 16 Tucker County (7-3) at No. 1 Williamstown (10-0)

No. 14 Midland Trail (7-3) at No. 3 Buffalo (10-0)

No. 12 Clay-Battelle (8-2) at No. 5 St. Marys (9-1)

No. 9 Man (7-3) at No. 8 Hamlin (9-1) Saturday

No. 15 Wheeling Central (6-4) at No. 2 Greenbrier West (10-0)

No. 13 Madonna (8-2) at No. 4 South Harrison (9-1)

No. 11 Calhoun County (8-2) vs. No. 6 Tygarts Valley (8-2), at Elkins

No. 10 Pocahontas County (8-2) vs. No. 7 Parkersburg Catholic (7-3), at Parkersburg

Second round

Nov. 18-19

Tucker County-Williamstown winner vs. Man-Hamlin winner

Madonna-South Harrison winner vs. Clay-Battelle-St. Marys winner

Wheeling Central-Greenbrier West winner vs. Pocahontas County-Parkersburg Catholic winner

Midland Trail-Buffalo winner vs. Calhoun County-Tygarts Valley winner