The Super Six nearly hit the jackpot over the weekend, but two out of three surely ain't bad for the folks who run the games in Wheeling.
This week's state high school football championships almost wound up with an Ohio Valley team in every game, but No. 2 seed Magnolia was knocked off by Bluefield 13-10 in the Class AA semifinals, leaving two Wheeling-area teams in the finals - Brooke (AAA) and Madonna (A).
The weekend kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Friday with the Class AA title game, as No. 1 Wayne (13-0) tangles with No. 6 Bluefield (11-2), whose only two losses have come out of state.
Saturday's doubleheader finds No. 1 Brooke (13-0) meeting No. 2 South Charleston (12-1) at noon in the AAA finals, with No. 1 Madonna (13-0) colliding with No. 2 Man (12-1) at 7 p.m. for the Class A crown.
The mix of teams finds both new blood and old blood.
The new - Brooke and Man make their Wheeling Super Six debuts. The Bruins last played in the finals in 1992 in Charleston, and the Hillbillies haven't reached the title game since 1984, when they were AA.
The old - Bluefield is the old hand at this, making its ninth trip to the Northern Panhandle since the games relocated there in 1994. That's more than any school in any class, including Wheeling Central. The Beavers are 3-5 in their past visits. Wayne (1-2) appears for the fourth time, and SC (1-1) and Madonna (0-2) make their third trips.
All three teams ranked No. 1 in the SSAC's final playoff ratings have secured spots in the finals, but only one defending champion - South Charleston. Last year's other titlists were Grafton (AA) and Williamstown (A).
The presence of Brooke and Madonna could attract record crowds to Wheeling Island Stadium. Currently, the largest attendance figures came in 1998 when Kennedy Award winners and state record-setters J.R. House (Nitro) and Quincy Wilson (Weir) led their teams to championships.
"I think Brooke will bring a real good crowd,'' said Bernie Dolan, one of the Super Six co-directors. "The single-A game should be pretty respectable, too, since Madonna should bring a nice crowd and it's the first time for Man that I can remember, and they seem to be pretty excited.
"Those two double-A schools know their way to Wheeling, and the Friday night crowd should be a decent one. Hopefully, we can get weather as nice as we had [Sunday]. That plays as big a role in attendance as anything. The long-range forecast doesn't look bad. I know in 1998, great weather coincided with great teams. That's the best we've had so far.''
The celebration for South Charleston's players after Saturday's victory was a bit muted, save for a quick chorus of "We goin' to the s-,'' much like they did last year after wrapping up their Super Six bid. They seemed more focused than joyous.
By comparison, it was tamer than the bit of singing and dancing they did a month earlier after wrapping up the Mountain State Athletic Conference championship with a win at Riverside.
Perhaps it's because they know a final challenge lies ahead against Brooke.
"It's a great feeling,'' said quarterback Tyler Harris, "but you know what? You can't get excited because whoever we play next, they're going to be over-excited, but you don't want to be too overly excited because things get the best of you.''
Some were still saluting the resistance they received from No. 3 Bridgeport (12-1), which had gone unbeaten before falling to SC 28-25 on Saturday.
"Give all the credit to Bridgeport,'' said receiver-defensive back Perry Henry. "They're a great team. They run very well, very hard. They're hard to take down. They have a good program up there. You can tell. But our defense, we just sucked it up. It started with our defensive line, really, and then our linebackers. We had to suck it up, fill it in. Then the corners just had to bring on their blocks, and we just had to play physical. They're a great team, and it's just an honor to do it again.''
Henry, like fellow junior Ray Coleman, the team's top running back, will man a bigger role in this year's Super Six than last year, when both were just bit players.
"It's lovely,'' Henry said. "I learned from one of the best wide receivers to come out of South Charleston High and that's Aaron Dobson. He's doing real good [as a freshman at Marshall], and I learned from him, from playing behind him. So everything, he taught me. It's just a blessing, so I thank God for giving me the chance to be part of the team, and to be able to finish it.''
SC coach John Messinger thinks his team has learned a lot from the three games it took to earn a repeat trip to Wheeling. The Black Eagles faced a wing-T team (Lewis County), a spread team (Martinsburg) and a stick-I team (Bridgeport).
"If there was ever a playoff that ever prepared you for every situation,'' Messinger said, "for every-type football team, for anything and everything you have the potential to face, it was this bracket we were in, and it was these good football teams. It's just a great day, a good day.''
Bridgeport coach Bruce Carey admitted after the game that he'd decided to step down because of health issues. He suffered a spinal aneurysm in the offseason, numbing him from the waist down. He used a golf cart and walker to get around at practices and games.
"It's been tough,'' Carey said. "I know I have no desire to get back in the weight room right now. I want to go back to therapy, and I just believe a head coach needs to be in the weight room molding these kids for next year, and I didn't want to cheat them out of that.
"You never say never [about returning] but if I get healthy, I think I'd rather come back as an assistant coach anyway. I think it's more fun.''
