Let the party start in Ohio...

Welcome to the second half...er, I mean Week 6 in high school football. This is definitely an exciting week -- especially for those in the Buckeye State as OVC play gets underway with some great matchups.

Fairland and Coal Grove have a contrast of styles, but their goals are the same as they battle to get the upper hand in OVC play at Patterson Field this week.

Meanwhile, the ever-dangerous Chesapeake Panthers host an upstart South Point team looking to turn heads while also knocking off its rival.

In the Mountain State, there are a pair of tough matchups for local teams with Cabell Midland traveling to 4-1 Riverside and Spring Valley hosting George Washington. Riverside beat previously undefeated GW by a point in Week 5 action.

Huntington's best chance at cracking the win column thus far will come Friday when they host Princeton while Wayne travels to Point Pleasant for another Cardinal Conference tilt.

Here are my picks for this week....feel free to post your own or bash mine. And while you do so, take time to enjoy the look of the new Web site.

Coal Grove 28, Fairland 21
Chesapeake 22, South Point 14
Riverside 21, Cabell Midland 14
George Washington 41, Spring Valley 14
Huntington 31, Princeton 26
Wayne 48, Point Pleasant 6


GDT

Huntington vs. South Charleston

On the surface, this game looks like a snoozer. It is a pair of 0-4 teams facing off against each other.

NOTE: YOU MUST LOOK DEEPER!!

Coming into tonight, Huntington has been its own worst enemy in three of its four losses and was simply outplayed by Capital. However, this Highlander team could easily be 2-2 or even 3-1 had it not started so poorly in each of its contests.

Huntington has all the athletic weapons to be successful, but poor play in the trenches is keeping the high-octane Huntington offense off the field and the Highlander defense on the field.

To the Highlanders' credit, their strength of schedule is not shabby with their four losses coming to opponents with a combined mark of 12-3.

In that sense, South Charleston is in the same boat. The Black Eagles have lost to teams with a combined mark of 15-1.

South Charleston may very well be the best 0-4 team in the state and could still make the playoffs after losing to undefeated George Washington, Parkersburg and St. Albans in three consecutive by a combined six points. The Black Eagles also lost to Riverside 19-8.

So which team will win their first game of the season this weekend? Can C.J. Crawford and the Highlanders avoid the early deficit or will South Charleston get over the hump?

Monday morning quarterback

After looking at this weekend's games, it appears that quarterback play propelled several teams this weekend.

The Tolsia-Fairland game that I was at simply got ridiculous with passing -- over 530 yards and six touchdowns between the two teams.

Cabell Midland also found its running attack that had been missing in the first three losses...the end result was a 49-6 win over Lincoln County. Tyler Bartley was also efficient, completing four passes for 135 yards to Jordan Marcum -- three that went for scores.

Bartley and Marcum will most assuredly test their ability to connect this week after Spring Valley gave up five touchdowns and 301 yards passing to Nitro in a 49-21 loss.

Huntington also is showing signs that they can score on the opposition, but they are spotting teams double-digit leads before they get in gear. After being down 33-10 in the fourth, C.J. Crawford led the Highlanders to a pair of scores but fell short in a 33-25 loss.

With all this being said, the norm in West Virginia football has always been a power attack and a strong running game key victories. Locally, we are seeing teams try to air it out with mixed results this year.

THIS WEEK's QUESTION: Do you think the de-emphasis of a running attack is hurting local teams in West Virginia?

Hit me up...Week 5 starts now!

Whew, do I feel better...

After a grueling week that included 3 games in 36 hours plus preparation for MU-WVU, I took a couple days to clear my head, hug my little girl (who is five months old today!) and gain my composure as we head for the meat of the high school season.

Now, on with the show!!!!

This week, Cabell Midland will be out to prove something in a big way and I'm going to go ahead and predict that this will be turn around week for the Knights. They will win six of their last seven games and once again be in the playoffs. A return date with Parkersburg on the horizon?!?!? It starts this week.

As for Huntington, I'm not so optimistic. When the running attack does not work, teams can send seven guys to cover four or even five receivers with virtual ease. Any chance the Highlanders had of catching an overconfident Hurricane team went out the window with the Redskins 30-29 scare at Ripley last week.

In Wayne County, Spring Valley will look to continue Nitro's turnover woes this week, but could be in for a long night against Scott Tinsley's team. Meanwhile, Wayne will need Jason Thompson to set the tone early against Winfield. Tolsia also travels to Fairland looking to avoid going 0-2 against the OVC this season.

Speaking of the OVC, the most improvement from Weeks 1 through 3 could very well belong to another 0-3 team in South Point. After being handled at home by Johnson Central, the Pointers pushed Wheelersburg for a half before succumbing to defeat and had Waverly on the ropes this past week. This team is on the rise and I see four or five wins for them.

Also, everyone can bash me if they want, but I think that the Big Reds have avoided the upset for their last time. Riverside is playing well, buying into a new coach's system and has the tools and defense to knock the Big Reds from their pedestal. Riverside 28-24.

Call me an idiot. Call me a genius. Just get on here and call me something!

GDT

Reactions from Week 2?

Post your reactions from Week 2 right here.

I'll start things off...

Cabell Midland dropped to 0-2 after an uninspiring loss to Capital. The Knights once again had plenty of opportunities to win, but squandered them.

The game's most telling stat is this: Cabell Midland had three drives start in Capital territory. Those three drives led to ZERO points.

If the Knights are to make the playoffs this year, they will have to learn how to finish games.

In other action, Huntington had just scored to cut Riverside's lead to 21-13 and decided to go for two. If anyone knows why, let me know.

The end result was a 21-19 loss as the Highlanders scored on a late touchdown pass and failed once again on the conversion. Had they gone for the extra point, could have possibly gone to overtime!

Cabell County is now 0-4 with losses by a combined 22 points.