Only one more week of action remains before area teams either head into the off season or prepare for the postseason. Some area schools, such as Bridgeport and Morgantown, have put the finishing touches on a successful regular season campaign and will spend Friday night scouting other squads as they prepare for the playoff seeds to take shape. Other teams, like University, have now wrapped up the year altogether and now look to embark on an off season program which they hope will carry them into a more productive 2007.

As inclement weather wreaked havoc throughout the region, a number of local teams put up impressive performances despite the elements. Fairmont Senior rolled to an impressive 28-14 win over the Bridgeport Indians. The victory brings the Polar Bears record to 7-2 on the year, matching that of cross town rival East Fairmont and dressing the stage this week for the most eagerly anticipated East-West game in decades. Elsewhere in Marion County, coach Greg Hott’s suddenly surging Elkins Tigers marched into Rachel and upended North Marion by a count of 20-0. The game marked the first time since Rocky Balboa KO’d Ivan Drago that Elkins defeated NMHS on Husky soil. The Grafton Bearcats continued to put their best foot forward toward the playoffs with a resounding 23-0 shutout of the Liberty Mountaineers, a squad which entered the game ranked No. 9 in class AA. Speaking of playoffs, the Robert C. Byrd Flying Eagles continued to fortify their postseason standing with a 28-0 victory over Lincoln on a muddy field in Shinnston.

A special kudos goes out to coach Sam Alvaro and the Notre Dame Irish. After dropping three straight games, no one outside the NDHS program believed they could get it done against unbeaten and 5th ranked Clay-Battelle. Saturday night at Wayne Jamison Field in Bridgeport, Notre Dame did just that with a shocking 21-12 upset of the Cee-Bees.

When it comes to supreme team efforts, however, we would be remiss if not taking note of the accomplishments of the victor in the highest profile game on the ledger this week: The 2006 MoHawk Bowl. Though the contest might have seemingly lacked the luster typically attendant to a match-up between two of the state’s most distinguished programs, it still was pivotal in determining (a) if University would advance to the playoffs or go home, and (b) if Morgantown would host a first round playoff contest or hit the road right out of the gate. Behind a suffocating defensive effort that limited the Hawks to less than 40 yards of total offense in the first half, the Mohigans cruised to a 30-0 lead at the break before ultimately winning 40-14. The Mohigans defense forced 4 interceptions, one of which was returned by senior Levi Johnson for a second quarter score. Offensively, MHS was paced by the explosive antics of senior Derek Long who racked up 131 yards rushing and two scores to lead a Mohigan ground game that churned out nearly 300 yards.

Now at 8-2 Morgantown will climb beyond the No. 7 slot they occupied in last week’s SSAC rankings and will once again be a seed no team wants to draw.