Published: October 07, 2008 11:49 pm      

Winter workouts working wonders for Mustangs

Looking for a reason Mount Hope is 5-0 and No. 3 in the latest Class A ratings?

It would be easy to pinpoint senior running back Da’Von Marion, who sits right below 1,000 yards rushing with 16 touchdowns.

With those numbers, there is little doubt he is a main weapon for coach Eddie Souk’s Mustangs.

But Marion is quick to credit his teammates, as he did after the Mustangs’ 46-7 win over rival Midland Trail Friday.

“I was able to see my holes and we executed really well, which is a credit to my teammates,” Marion said.

And Souk knows why. His offensive line.

“They are workhorses. Those guys are the ones in the weightroom all winter long,” Souk said. “They worked their tails off, never missed a workout, and it shows. They don’t play basketball or run track. They come in, get their workout done, and come back the next day and get ready to go again. That’s all you can ask for.”

And that is reason No. 1 why Mount Hope has gone from a 1-9 team last year to perfect and No. 3 in the state in the space of a year.

Mount Hope is at Valley Friday.

Nicholas County coach Gene Morris was almost apologetic for his team’s 76-7 win over Braxton County last Friday.

The 76 points is a school record.

Morris was emphatic that he didn’t run up the score.

“We had our starters out by the middle of the second quarter,” Morris, one of the good guys in coaching, said. “I know they had some injury issues. They had a rough time and you never want to embarrass kids from any school on a Friday night. I don’t feel bad about winning. I know the score looks like it got way out of hand.

“You talk to the kids about sportsmanship. But I would rather go ahead and play football. I think it would be more embarrassing to kneel on it or punt it right back to them.”

The Grizzlies, who visit Class AA No. 18 Liberty Friday night, are averaging 51.7 points after a 21-3 loss to East Fairmont in Week 3. Nicholas County (5-1) is No. 10 in the latest Class AAA ratings.

Wyoming East and James Monroe have engaged in some classic prep battles in the past and last Friday night was no exception. The Warriors beat the Mavericks 8-6.

Those thinking that a mid-season win isn’t important haven’t talked to Wyoming East coach Kevin Grogg.

“I think that win might end up getting us a home game,” Grogg said. “Obviously, we have to finish what we have started. But that was a big step. It’s important for us to get a game at our place. We’ve gone on the road the last couple of years, and that’s hurt. It would be nice to play one here.”

Wyoming East is No. 8 in the latest Class AA ratings, the highest among local teams.

The Warriors, a pass-happy spread type team in the recent past behind quarterback Thad Grogg, have gone back to its running game behind tailback Rob Harley and fullback Jason Penley.

“I have a lot of confidence in my offensive line,” Grogg said. “You have to be able to run the ball to pass it. It’s hard to sit back there and throw the ball 30 times and win games. We use the run to set up the pass.”

Which is what happened against James Monroe.

“We were waiting for the right moment to throw that pass because it was open the entire second half,” Grogg said. “We just so happened to use it at that point and Thad hit Andrew Bishop from about 15 yards out. It was wide open.”

Wyoming East (4-1) has games left with Iaeger, Westside, Man, Liberty and Independence.

Fayetteville is trying to overcome a somewhat stunning 20-10 loss to Man last week, a loss that dropped Fayetteville to 5-1 and tied for No. 9 with Parkersburg Catholic, the Pirates foe Friday night at Fletcher Arritt Memorial Stadium.

“It was a tough one to play and a tough one to lose,” Fayetteville coach Dave Moneypenny said. “Man is a good football team. They had a lot of speed. It was hard for us to simulate that environment, that type of speed, in practice.”

Stunning is the fact that Fayetteville got beat in the trenches, a battle the Pirates usually win.

“For us, as it is for any team, if we get beat up front, we aren’t going to be successful,” Moneypenny said. “And we did get beat upfront, on both sides of the ball.”

He doesn’t anticipate it getting any easier this week.

“Parkersburg Catholic is probably the most sound, fundamentally speaking, team we will face,” Moneypenny said. “They are not going to be out of position and they aren’t going to make mistakes that beat themselves. They’ll bring their own type of intensity down here.”

Parkersburg Catholic is 4-1 on the season.

No. 11 Webster County will try to avoid the trap that befell Shady Spring this Friday when it travels to Oak Hill.

Shady was in a tie for No. 5 in Class AA when they visited winless Oak Hill.

When the smoke cleared at John P. Duda Stadium, the Red Devils had earned a 14-7 win over the Tigers.

That loss dropped Shady (4-2) to No. 12 in Class AA.

Greenbrier West, which beat Oak Hill badly two weeks prior, is No. 10 in Class AA.