East Hardy at St. Marys today in Class A playoff game
Nov. 11—ST MARYS, W.Va. — There are few programs as consistent as East Hardy in the state of West Virginia, and the Cougars will try to continue that success at St. Marys today.
The Class A first round game between the sixth-seeded Cougars (6-3) and 11th-seeded Blue Devils (9-1) kicks off at 1:30 p.m.
Under sixth-year head coach Devon Orndorff, East Hardy has won four straight playoff openers — two on the road, at Doddridge County in 2020 and Tucker County last season.
The Cougars have made the state quarterfinals in eight of the last nine years.
East Hardy and St Marys have played seven times previously, five times in the playoffs. The Blue Devils hold a 5-2 edge.
Their most notable matchup came in the 2016 Class A state championship game when St Marys and legendary coach Jodi Mote won 23-8 at Wheeling Island Stadium.
The triumph avenged St. Marys' defeat to East Hardy in the semifinals a year prior. That was the first of three straight meetings between the two schools in the Final Four, with the Blue Devils winning the latter two.
East Hardy lost nearly all of its offensive production of a year ago but won five of its final six games to return to the postseason.
The Cougars have three rushers that average at least 40 yards a game in Tyler Tarallo, Price Strawderman and Damien Dellinger.
Dellinger has thrown for more than 900 yards and eight touchdowns.
St. Marys is making its second postseason appearance in a row after missing the 2021 playoffs.
The Blue Devils rely on senior Ashton Boron, who has carried the ball 116 times for 1,003 yards and 15 touchdowns. Ryan Kent has 906 yards passing and 15 total scores to just one interception.
St. Marys' lone defeat is a four-point loss to defending Class A champion Williamstown, which enters the playoffs at 10-0.
