Man running back Jordan Adams celebrates a second quarter touchdown in Man's 24-8 victory over Tug Valley last week. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Hillbillies and moved them to ninth in the latest Class A playoff ratings (Dave Adkins/Dave's Sports Page).
Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
MAN The final set of West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission playoff rankings were released for the final week of the regular season Tuesday afternoon.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, one Logan County school has clinched a postseason berth while two others are in control of their own destiny and can clinch a berth this week with a win.
Man is the highest ranked Logan County school checking at No. 9 in Class A. The Hillbillies clinched a berth in the Class A playoffs with last week’s 24-8 win at No. 16 Tug Valley.
For the Hillbillies, it will be the first postseason berth since 2019 when they finished 13th in Class AA and were defeated by runner-up and fourth seed Bluefield in the opening round.
Man can secure a first-round home game with a win Friday night over county rival Chapmanville, who is ranked 12th in this week’s Class AA ratings.
The Tigers are on the brink of securing their first postseason berth in seven years but still have some work to do. A win and Chapmanville is in, but a loss doesn’t necessarily eliminate them from postseason contention.
Chapmanville is one of seven schools fighting for the final five spots in Class AA. A loss Friday night and the Tigers would need two of the schools behind them in the ratings to lose. Those schools are No. 13 Nicholas County, No. 14 Logan, No. 17 Point Pleasant or No. 18 Keyser.
Logan is another one of those seven schools still alive. The Wildcats are ranked 14th heading into the final week of the regular season and can wrap up a postseason berth with a win over 11th-ranked Herbert Hoover.
The Wildcats, like the Tigers, are not eliminated with a loss and could qualify for the postseason for the first time in nine seasons with losses by No. 17 Point Pleasant and No. 18 Keyser.
Heading into the final week of the regular season, 37 of the 48 playoff spots have been clinched. Fifteen of 16 spots in Class AAA have been locked up with 11 of 16 spots locked up in Class AA and Class A.
For the third time this season, Parkersburg South is atop the Class AAA ratings. The Patriots were atop the rankings in weeks four and five before suffering their first loss of the season and falling out of the top spot only to return to the top in week nine.
Hurricane is second, while Huntington is third followed by Martinsburg at four and Spring Valley fifth.
Bridgeport and George Washington are tied for sixth with Princeton eighth, Musselman ninth and Jefferson, Morgantown and Wheeling Park sharing the 10th spot. Cabell Midland is 13th, Woodrow Wilson 14th and University ranked 15th in Class AAA.
Hedgesville is 16th and can lock up the final Class AAA playoff berth with a win Friday night over Hampshire. A loss Friday night by Hedgesville opens the door for No. 17 Oak Hill, No. 18 Spring Mills, No. 19 Parkersburg and No. 20 John Marshall to steal the final playoff spot in Class AAA.
Independence took over the top spot in Class AA following Scott’s loss to Winfield last week. Roane County is second with Winfield third, Scott fourth and Frankfort rounding out the top five.
North Marion checks in at sixth place with Clay County seventh, Lincoln eighth and East Fairmont and Fairmont Senior, who share the same stadium, tied for ninth in Class AA and Herbert Hoover at No. 11.
Teams ranked 12th-18th are battling for the final playoff spots in Class AA. Chapmanville holds down 12th with Nicholas County ranked 13th, Logan 14th, Weir 15th, Bluefield 16th, Point Pleasant 17th and Keyser 18th.
Robert C. Byrd is 19th and Lewis County currently 20th, however, both schools have been eliminated from postseason contention in Class AA.
In Class A, Williamstown continues to hold down the top spot. The Yellowjackets have held down the top spot for the past six weeks in the state’s small school division.
James Monroe holds down the second spot with Cameron and Tucker County tied for third and Wahama rounding out the top five.
Wheeling Central is sixth, Greenbrier West and Van tied for seventh, Man ninth and Doddridge County and St. Marys tied for 10th in Class A.
The top 11 schools in Class A have clinched a playoff spot leaving the final five spots to be decided by teams ranked 12th-19th in the ratings.
East Hardy and Petersburg share the 12th spot with South Harrison 14th, Montcalm, who can clinch its first ever playoff berth in school history with a win over Webster County Friday night, is 15th followed by Tug Valley at No. 16, Clay-Battelle at No. 17, Tyler Consolidated No. 18 and Summers County 19th.
Midland Trail rounds out the rankings at No. 20, but the Patriots were eliminated from postseason contention last week.