The book has now officially been closed on the regular season but not without another full slate of great action and tremendous team efforts this past Friday night. Coach Ryan Wilson’s Preston County squad pulled down their second win of the season behind a strong performance by Knights’ quarterback Richard Robba. Buckhannon-Upshur rocked the boat in Elkins as a sensational performance in all three phases of the game by senior Jon Reed helped BUHS knock off the rival Tigers in a classic at Wimer Field. The Grafton Bearcats rolled on the road at Braxton County with a victory that secures a first round home game in the Class AA playoffs for coach Mike Skinner’s troops, while Notre Dame locked down a playoff spot of their own by upending Doddridge County behind a standout showing by signal caller Preston Musgrave and wideout John Martino. Coach Brad Jett’s South Harrison Hawks completed one of the biggest about-face performances in the state this season with a resounding victory over Paden City. The win was the third in a row for the Hawks, helping secure a Class A playoff berth after a topsy-turvy regular season that saw SHHS overcome a four-game losing streak. A come-from-behind effort helped Clay-Battelle knock off Bishop Donahue and finish at 9-1 heading into the postseason.

The most memorable team performance of the week, however, might in fact have come in the most exciting game of the entire season. Coach JL Abbott’s Fairmont Senior Polar Bears staved off a late push by East Fairmont to land a 35-28 win in one of the most thrilling East-West games played in the 82 year history of the Fairmont classic.
West side benefited once again from a quick strike passing game engineered by Kennedy Award candidate Kyle Allard who threw for nearly 300 yards and 4 scores, while adding another 52 yards and a TD on the ground. In a see-saw match-up between two explosive teams, East side tied the game at 28 late in the final period only to see Allard respond with a 42 yard scoring strike in the final minutes to Joe Buonaiuto that helped Fairmont Senior reclaim the lead. Behind the running and passing of junior QB Carter DeVault the Bees drove to the FSHS fifteen yard line with only 2.6 seconds remaining. On the game’s final play, DeVault found East Fairmont’s Zach Boone inside the Polar Bear 5-yard line. Boone made the grab and immediately turned toward the end zone only to be wrapped up by Allard who had stormed in from the secondary to make the play.

Pandemonium ensued as the final gun sounded and the Polar Bears prevailed in one of the most memorable high school football games anywhere in the state this season.