Mountain Ridge, Frankfort to square off tonight

Oct. 1—SHORT GAP, W.Va. — After a one-year hiatus, the yearly Mountain Ridge-Frankfort matchup is back on the docket.

Aside from last season, the Falcons and Miners have met every year since Mountain Ridge opened its doors in 2007. Before that, Frankfort played Beall every season dating back to 1977, a year after Frankfort opened its doors, and had meetings with Westmar 10 times between 1989 and 2002.

Tonight, the local rivalry is renewed as the Miners come into Frankfort Stadium red hot while the Falcons are looking to bounce back from a 28-6 loss to Northern last Friday.

"I've been telling our kids all week long, they're 4-1, last year they were 7-1 with their eight-game schedule and got cut short," Mountain Ridge head coach Ryan Patterson said of the Falcons. "The last time we played them, they beat us. So we have a lot to stay focused on."

"We're facing a very good team," said Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman. "They look good on tape. They look physical and athletic — that's a tough matchup to face.

"We're up for the challenge. Our kids will come ready to battle. Offensively, we can't go three-and-out every time. And defensively, we have to keep them from making big plays. That's a tough task any time you face that kind of challenge."

The undefeated Miners (4-0) enter tonight's contest No. 1 in the Area Top Five and No. 2 in the Class 1A West point standings, having outscored opponents 223-12 this season after routing Smithsburg, 69-6, last week.

Bryce Snyder leads the Mountain Ridge offense at quarterback, throwing for just under 700 yards thus far. The senior play caller is 43 of 67 for 699 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions to go along with 21 rushes for 97 yards and four scores.

"Not only do they have a lot of athletic kids, but their quarterback, he has very good composure," said Whiteman. "He throws the ball, he runs the ball, I think he does a really good job running the team. I watched him a little bit last year and you can just tell he has a good sense for the game playing quarterback."

Nathaniel Washington is the Miners' leading receiver with 292 yards and four touchdowns on 13 catches, Uma Pua'auli has nine grabs for 188 yards and three touchdowns, and Jaden Lee has 11 receptions for 147 yards and a score to go along with 33 rushes for 345 yards and six TDs.

No matter how high the Miners are flying, Patterson knows the Falcons are a team that can hurt you if you overlook them.

"We have no reason to look ahead. I don't think our kids have even mentioned Fort Hill all week," said Patterson, whose Miners will square off at Fort Hill next week. "We have some themes going into this week, including better tackling. We scouted Frankfort as thoroughly as we could and tried to break down their tendencies. We think we match up well up front, but we better be able to tackle their big backs. They're able to break free and make the big plays, but they're also capable of putting together long drives."

Peyton Clark leads the Frankfort (4-1) offense, totaling 438 yards and five touchdowns on 59 carries, with Parker VanMeter adding 54 rushes for 386 yards and four scores. Joel Myers adds a third option out of the backfield, toting the ball 18 times for 223 yards and four touchdowns — two weeks ago, Myers had two carries for 94 yards, both of which ended in touchdowns.

Quarterback Luke Robinette hasn't been tasked with throwing the ball much this season, going 5 of 20 for 52 yards, but he's added 23 rushes for 151 yards.

"We've had a lot of mental mistakes through five games," Whiteman said. "At this point, we have mistakes we can't be making. They kill you in big games. We had a few last week that really hurt us, but Northern's a very good football team."

The sixth-year head coach at Mountain Ridge expects his team to face a challenge on the other side of the Potomac tonight.

"It'll be interesting to see how our team handles adversity," Patterson said. "It's going to come at some point this year, we're not going to breeze through the season. But we think it might come (tonight). You never can plan when you might run into it, so it's just a matter of facing it and seeing how the kids respond."

So far in 2021, there is no game plan that has beaten the Miners. If the Falcons hope to break that, Whiteman's suggestion is a great place to start.

"We've got to be on our A-game in all three phases of the game (tonight), for sure."

No. 1 Mountain Ridge (4-0) at No. 5 Frankfort (4-1)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Mountain Ridge leads, 8-5

LAST MEETING: Oct. 4, 2019 — Frankfort won, 35-20

LAST WEEK: Mountain Ridge def. Smithsburg, 69-6; Frankfort lost to Northern, 28-6

IN THE RANKINGS: Mountain Ridge remained atop the Area Top Five for the fourth consecutive week. The Miners are second in Class 1A West in the MPSSAA point standings. Frankfort dropped two spots in the Area Top Five to a tie for fifth with East Hardy. The Falcons dropped to No. 6 in the WVSSAC Playoff Ratings, but would host a first-round playoff game if the playoffs started today.

FOR THE RECORD: Although both teams hold lopsided victories in the series, the 13 games have been decided by a combined five points, 380-375. ... Mountain Ridge won four of the first five matchups before both teams went on streaks — Frankfort won three straight, then the Miners won four in a row before the Falcons won the last meeting. ... Aside from the pandemic season last year, when Allegany and Garrett County schools were only playing each other, the Falcons and Miners have met every season since Mountain Ridge High School opened its doors in 2007. ... Mountain Ridge quarterback Bryce Snyder had four touchdowns in the win over Smithsburg last week, completing 50% of his passes (11 for 22) for 148 yards and three touchdowns to go along with four carries for 37 yards and a score. Jaden Lee added 73 rushing yards and two scores as well as a 33-yard touchdown catch. Uma Pua'auli had four catches for 75 yards and a touchdown and came in to relieve Snyder at QB when the contest got out of hand, completing 4 of 5 passes for 30 yards. ... Peyton Clark had the Falcons' lone score last week, an 11-yard run just over four minutes after halftime to bring Frankfort to within 14-6. Clark led the ground game with 11 carries for 76 yards. Luke Robinette was the second-leading rusher with 29 yards on nine carries while going 3 of 11 through the air for 29 yards — Logan Athey caught a 15-yard pass, Landon Kinser an 8-yard catch and David Holsinger a 6-yard reception.

Smithsburg (1-3) at No. 4 Allegany (3-1)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Allegany leads, 3-0

LAST MEETING: Oct. 4, 2019 — Allegany won, 32-18

LAST WEEK: Allegany def. Albert Gallatin, 21-14; Smithsburg lost to Mountain Ridge, 69-6

IN THE RANKINGS: After dropping out of the rankings for a week, Allegany moved up to a season-best No. 4 in the Area Top Five. Smithsburg is fifth in the 1A West point standings, ahead of winless Clear Spring, Hancock and Southern. The Campers are third.

FOR THE RECORD: Though Allegany has never lost to Smithsburg, the games have all been relatively close, two-score affairs. The first meeting was a second-round playoff matchup in 2004, in which the Campers won, 33-19, at Greenway Avenue Stadium. ... Allegany's 3-1 start is its best since 2018, when it lost 4 of 5 to end the season at 4-5. The Campers opened the previous year with an 8-1 mark. ... Allegany scored a crucial bounce-back win last week over then-undefeated Albert Gallatin. Quarterback Brody Williams starred, completing 6 of 7 passes for a season-high 122 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also added eight carries for 45 yards. Brayden Hedrick led in the ground game with 95 yards on seven carries. Solomon Green caught two balls for 81 yards and a score, and Braylon White tallied 50 yards and a TD. ... Smithsburg was crushed by Mountain Ridge, 69-6, last Friday. Smithsburg has now been outscored 144-28 this year; its lone win is a 15-14 triumph over South Hagerstown. Smithsburg quarterback Dylan Moser left with an injury against South Hagerstown and sat out against Mountain Ridge, with linebacker D.J. Miller filling in. It worked two weeks ago — Miller had the go-ahead touchdown pass and game-sealing interception — but not so much against the Miners.

No. 3 Keyser (3-0) at Northern (2-2)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Keyser leads, 13-1

LAST MEETING: Sept. 18, 2015 — Keyser won, 20-13

LAST WEEK: Keyser def. Hampshire, 50-14; Northern def. Frankfort, 28-6

IN THE RANKINGS: After a resounding win over Hampshire last week, coupled with then-No. 3 Frankfort's loss to Northern, the Golden Tornado moved up a spot to No. 3 in this week's Area Top Five. The same combination last week propelled Keyser to the top spot in Class AA in the WVSSAC Week 5 Playoff Ratings.

FOR THE RECORD: The Keyser offense is led by Sammy Bradfield, who has had triple-digit rushing performances in every game thus far. After running 10 times for 248 yards in the season-opener, the senior tailback carried the ball 17 times in each of the past two weeks for 117 and 110 yards, respectively. He has 44 carries for 475 yards and two touchdowns. He also has eight catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. ... Chayse Evans has ran for between 42 and 46 yards in each of the Tornado's games, providing a consistent effort out of the backfield. Benny Oates is the second-leading rusher with 169 yards on 19 carries and two touchdowns. ... Keyser quarterback Seth Healy has provided a consistent option through the air, with between 63 and 67 yards passing each game for 196 on the year with three touchdowns and no picks on 14 of 19 attempts. ... Northern tailback Jamison Warnick is one of the more underrated players in the area, heading into last week's matchup with 48 carries for 376 yards and seven touchdowns and responding with over 130 rushing yards and a pair of scores. ... The Northern defense has allowed 64 points in four games, with nearly half (33) coming in a loss at Albert Gallatin two weeks ago. The Huskies have held opponents to 14 points over the past two weeks while scoring 74. ... The Keyser-Northern matchup has been touch-and-go as far as how frequently the teams meet. They played three years in a row from 1994 to 1996, back-to-back in 2002 and 2003, then played nine consecutive years from 2007 to 2015. The Golden Tornado have won 12 straight against the Huskies.

Pocahontas Co. (3-1) at No. 5 East Hardy (4-0)

KICKOFF: 7 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: East Hardy leads, 18-7

LAST MEETING: Oct. 2, 2020 — East Hardy won, 40-7

LAST WEEK: East Hardy idle; Pocahontas County def. Richwood, 28-0, on Friday, lost to Moorefield 54-0 on Tuesday

IN THE RANKINGS: East Hardy was voted tied for fifth in this week's Area Top Five, deadlocked with Frankfort. The Cougars sit in the top spot of the WVSSAC Week 5 Playoff Ratings, while Pocahontas County is 15th.

FOR THE RECORD: Tonight's game will serve as Homecoming for the Cougars. ... East Hardy comes into tonight well rested after not playing last week, while the Warriors come in quite the opposite after playing last Friday and Tuesday of this week as a makeup game against Moorefield. ... Quarterback Mason Miller leads the East Hardy offense with nearly 900 total yards. The junior QB is 34 of 63 through the air for 603 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 41 rushes for 292 yards and two scores. ... Damian Iman leads the Cougars' rushing attack with 53 attempts for 355 yards and six TDs. ... Dawson Price and Noah Lang account for a majority of the team's receiving yards, catching 25 passes for 499 yards (82.8% of the team's receiving yards). Price, who missed the Cougars' last game two weeks ago against Tygarts Valley, has 19 catches for 364 yards and five touchdowns. Lang has six receptions for 135 yards and two scores. ... East Hardy has dominated its series with Pocahontas County of late, winning 10 of the last 11. The Warriors won the 2018 matchup, 16-13.

Petersburg (1-3) at Philip Barbour (1-2)

GAME CANCELED: This evening's contest has been canceled due to a COVID-19 issue in the Petersburg program. Philip Barbour will play Clay County.

Kyle Bennett and Alex Rychwalski are sports reporters at the Cumberland Times-News. Follow them on Twitter

@KyleBennettCTN and @arychwal.