Sports
Parkersburg South Not Looking Ahead To Playoffs
By: Josh Vermillion
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The Parkersburg South Patriots are entering the final two weeks of the regular season. This week, they take on a Wheeling Park team that could not be more similar.
Here are just a few characteristics they share: both teams enter this game at 6-2, both nicknamed the Patriots, both have blue and red as their colors and both are top-10 teams in the WVSSAC Class AAA rankings.
Wheeling Park’s running game is a force with which to be reckoned and Parkersburg South head coach Mike Eddy knows that subduing the rushing attack will be the key to victory.
“I think it’s going to come down to our ability to stop their run and our ability to pick up first downs on offense.” Eddy said.
Parkersburg South comes into this game with the eighth ranking, while Wheeling Park comes in holding down a tie for ninth with Hurricane. The result of this game could determine how the seedings shape up once playoff time rolls around, but Eddy isn’t looking ahead to the playoffs just yet.
“Where we’re sitting in eighth, we might slide into 16th if we lose out,” Eddy explained. “That doesn’t give us an opportunity to play again at home. So that’s what we keep preaching to our kids.”
The Patriots have looked strong lately and have now won three straight after their 59-34 victory over Greenbrier East last week. The other Patriots, on the other hand, were just dealt a 42-21 beating at the hands of Steubenville.
“We’re really starting to play well,” said Eddy. “Both offense and defense, and I think that plays off of each other.”
In this matchup a season ago, Wheeling Park delivered a huge blowout to Parkersburg South, 62-0. Eddy and his team are determined to keep that from happening again this time around on Parkersburg South’s senior night.
“Our seniors have never beaten Park before,” said Eddy. “There’s a lot of motivation there. We have our home playoff we’re playing for, we have a little bit of payback in that we got really embarrassed by them last year. I’m sure they’ll be focused and ready to go.”
The game will be held in Parkersburg South this Friday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.