Pirates’ field not suitable for playoffs

By Gary Fauber

Fayetteville finished the regular season with the No. 7 rating in Class A, thus securing a first-round playoff home game.

Sort of.

The Pirates (8-2) will technically be the home team when they take on No. 10 Wahama (8-2) Friday night. However, the game will be played at Nicholas County High School instead of Fayetteville.

Fletcher Arritt Stadium has long been approved for playoff use by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission. But the field is still far too saturated from rain that fell nearly two weeks ago, according to head coach Frank Spangler.

“Our field is not in playing condition,” he said. “The field is in terrible shape. It doesn’t drain very well. There is still water on it. When you step on it, it’s like stepping on a sponge.”

Spangler added that trying to roll out any damage caused by rain is not an option because the roller would sink into the mud.

So, Summersville was chosen as the Pirates’ home away from home.

“The (players) voted on it, and we do this for the kids,” Spangler said. “If we played on our field I would be afraid some kid would get hurt.”

Nicholas County principal Bill Dobbins will serve as the game director. Spangler said the administration at Nicholas has been accommodating, especially considering the Grizzlies will be hosting a playoff game for the first time ever, one night later against Ripley.

“They were very cordial about it,” Spangler said. “They told us they would take care of us. They understood our situation as far as the condition of our field. We look forward to going over there and playing.”

n n n

After a one-year hiatus, Liberty is back in the playoffs.

The Class AA No. 11 Raiders (7-3) will visit sixth-rated Bluefield at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“It’s good to be back,” coach Jeff Alexander said. “We set some goals for ourselves this year and we achieved them.”

The Raiders missed out on the postseason in 2008 when a host of key injuries made for a horrible season. Things got off to a bad start in August when senior quarterback Jamie Newman was injured on the first series of the season against Westside. Newman missed the rest of that game and played sparingly the following week against Summers County.

He sat out week 3 against PikeView before returning for good a week later against Mount View, and has turned out to be a weapon in a different way. He has moved around in the Liberty offense, lining up at quarterback or as a running back.

n n n

Coaches from all 48 playoff teams attended meetings at the SSAC office in Parkersburg Sunday to, among other things, exchange game film with opponents.

Westside coach Darren Thomas and PikeView’s Jeff Damewood could have been spared the mileage.

Their teams will meet in a rematch at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Westside. The host Renegades (9-1) are rated fifth, while PikeView (7-3) is No. 12.

Westside beat the Panthers 15-7 on Oct. 9.

While the Renegades last went to the playoffs in 2004, Thomas is going for the first time as a head coach.

“It’s a thrill,” Thomas said. “Things started off pretty rough. That first year we were 1-9. It has been enjoyable to see the kids have some success this year.”