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St. Paul, Thomas Walker set for Cumberland clash

While there are still a few games spilling over into next week, this is the Friday night that should settle most questions about the Region D playoff brackets.

Folks inclined to crunch the numbers project several interesting outcomes for the VHSL power ratings.

For instance, one well-known Southwest Virginia radio analyst has calculated that: if J.I. Burton beats J.J. Kelly and Rye Cove beats Twin Springs and Thomas Walker beats St. Paul — Clintwood and J.I. Burton could be tied in the Division 1 standings with 227 points apiece.

Of those three matchups, the battle of Cumberland unbeatens and the Norton-Wise showdown are intriguing in their own right.

The Deacons (6-3, 5-0) will be playing for all the Cumberland District marbles when they travel to Ewing to face the Pioneers (5-3, 5-0).

“What’s better than two undefeated teams playing the last game of the season for a championship?” asked St. Paul coach Mark Palmer. “This is winner take all. Somebody is going to be the champion and somebody is going home,”

Technically, the Pioneers still have Lee High on tap for next week. But the Deacons skipper is correct: only the district champion advances to the postseason.

“They’re doggone good,” Thomas Walker coach Brian Lee said. “They move back and forth between the spread and the I on offense and they’re tough to defend. Defensively, they’re in the 3-5 and they flat get after it.”

Running back Denver Fritz leads St. Paul with his 811 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Tyler Phillips has added 296 rushing yards with six scores while throwing nine TD passes. Reid Edmonds and Corey Ellis pace the receivers.

Thomas Walker relies on the pass a little more than the Deacons. Ryan Scott has passed for 570 yards and eight TDs, with Corey Yeary leading the receivers.

Given the sparks that flew between J.J. Kelly and Appalachia before the game at Riggs Stadium last week, the old Norton-Wise rivarly doesn’t seem particularly edgy. But J.J. Kelly (7-2, 2-2) and J.I. Burton (8-1, 3-1) are both playing extremely well lately. This week’s gate at Lawson-Fitchko Stadium could be even bigger than last week’s.

“It’s been such a financial game for both schools, we both took risks moving it to the end of the season. But it’s worked out this year. We expect a big crowd and a fun, competitive game,” said J.I. Burton coach Jimbo Adams, whose squad is fresh off a 36-0 ambush of Clintwood.

Burton is a lock for the Division 1 playoffs, but a win here would assure the Raiders a share of the Lonesome Pine District title and an opening-round playoff appearance at home.

For Kelly, the Division 2 math is considerably murkier. Coach B.I. Salyers is treating Friday as a must-win.

While running backs Alex McArthur (82-720, 8 TD) and Lucas Kerns (11-688, 13 TD) lead the Indians’ stable of running backs, the strength of Salyers’ base Wing-T offense has been its collective productivity. And when they do shift into the spread or the I or the two-tight T, there are no tell-tale personnel changes.

Last year, the Indians had to defend Burton running back Martinez Miles as a slotback. Now that he’s appearing at tailback out of the I, Miles (132-1,347, 16 TD) is even more daunting.

SW Va. Games

Appalachia (5-4, 1-3) at Powell Valley (4-5, 3-1)

Interesting fact: Powell Valley hasn’t won a district championship in football since 2004 — the longest such drought since Phil Robbins started coaching at Big Stone Gap. Powell Valley wins here and the Vikings not only claim a share of the Lonesome Pine District title, they could be seeded as high as No. 3 in the Division 2 playoff bracket. Robbins doesn’t think Appalachia’s 62-6 loss to J.J. Kelly was a fair measure of the Bulldogs. “I have a lot of respect for them that comes from my association with Tom Turner and the competitive nature of those games when we played,” Robbins said. “It’s like I’ve told our kids. They’re going to come down here and play harder than anyone has played against us all year.”

Castlewood (1-8, 1-4) at Coeburn (2-7, 2-3)

The Blue Knights have had an open date to prepare for this game. They’re not going anywhere but here, so they might as well put all their eggs into this basket. The Blue Devils look to rekindle the offensive fire of last week’s ill-fated horse race with John Battle. After this: basketball season.

Pound (4-5, 0-4) at Clintwood (7-2, 3-1)

Clintwood is in the playoffs, no matter what. But after getting embarrassed at Norton last week, look for the Greenwave to be snorting smoke and fire. As with Burton and Powell Valley, a win here clinches a share of the LPD title. Aaron Balthis (127-1131, 8 TDs) is a playmaker on both sides of the football for the Wildcats. Austin Dotson has scored nine TDs for Clintwood.

Rye Cove (1-8, 1-4) at Twin Springs (4-5, 3-2)

Twin Springs hasn’t been Rye Cove’s main rival for all 50 of the Eagles’ seasons. But it’s been long enough. The Titans offense looks to prove itself after getting blanked by the Pioneers last week. The Eagles look to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. Throw the records out the window. There’s nothing at stake but pride.

Virginia High (5-4, 1-2) at Lee High (1-7, 1-2)

The Bearcats are unquestionably a better team this season under Chris Thurman, but even with a win here Virginia High could get out-pointed by Gate City, Lebanon, Powell Valley and J.J. Kelly — and that’s without factoring a possible Honaker victory over Haysi for the Black Diamond district title.

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