The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Sports

November 18, 2009

Pirates vs. Hillbillies II: Rematch Friday

By Jim Workman

Rarely is a movie sequel better than the original.

But one can expect an award-worthy performance when Fayetteville vs. Man II opens Friday night.

The teams collide in a Class A quarterfinal football playoff game at Man. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

No. 2 Man is 10-1 while Fayetteville comes in at No. 7 and 9-2.

“Our kids are looking forward to it,” Fayetteville coach Frank Spangler said. “We’ll have to play better than we did (in the first game). Man has a good team. They don’t turn the ball over and they play power football — they run it right at you.”

The quarterfinal round hasn’t been kind to the Pirates of late.

“The last two years, we’ve been eliminated in the second round,” Spangler said. “That gives us more incentive to work harder this week because it’s been our downfall.”

The Pirates were knocked out of the playoffs by Madonna in 2007 and St. Marys in 2008. Fayetteville’s only regular-season loss in 2008 was to Man, 20-10.

In the regular-season matchup this season, Man defeated Fayetteville 23-7 on the Pirates’ home turf Oct. 2. The win moved the then-No. 1 Hillbillies to 5-0 and dropped No. 14 Fayetteville to 4-2.

“That group right there has a pretty good football team,” Spangler said of Man following that loss. “We played with them for 3 1/2 quarters. They got some breaks, but good teams do that. It’s going to take a heck of an effort for somebody to beat them.

“They have the total package,” he added. “They’re big and they have a good run game and a good passing game. They play solid defense. They just get plays when they need them. I see them running the table, I really do.”

Man coach Harvey Arms was equally impressed with the Pirates.

“That was a great game,” Arms said. “We knew Fayetteville had a good football team. They weren’t 4-1 for nothing. We’ve played them for years, and it’s always a battle. This one wasn’t any different.

“Fayetteville is right with anybody that we’ve played. They’re right at the top. They’re as good as anyone.”

“We’ll have to eliminate turnovers, run the ball, play good defense and win the special teams to have a chance,” Spangler said of this week’s rematch. “We’ll go down there and take what they give us (on offense), but usually that’s not much.”

The Hillbillies suffered their only defeat of the season the week following the Fayetteville contest, dropping a 16-14 decision to Class AA playoff participant Chapmanville. But Man rallied to finish the season on a four-game win streak, beating Gilbert, Wyoming East, Buffalo and Matewan, and then defeated Parkersburg Catholic last week in the first round of the playoffs.

Fayetteville hasn’t lost since. The Pirates have put together their own five-game winning streak, knocking off Parkersburg Catholic, Mount Hope, Buffalo and Greenbrier West in the regular season and slipping past Wahama in the opening round of the playoffs last week. Fayetteville’s only other loss was to No. 3 Richwood 48-34 on Sept. 11.

MichaelAngelo Hernandez tossed a 16-yard TD pass to brother/wide receiver Hunter Hernandez with 6:28 left to play to lift the Pirates to their 23-20 victory over Wahama.

— E-mail: jworkman@

register-herald.com

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