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Princeton concludes regular season at Parkersburg South tonight

george thwaites, bluefield daily telegraph, w.va.
·6 min read

Nov. 3—PRINCETON — Princeton Senior High School football coach Keith Taylor would like to take the Tigers to places they've never been — and he'd like to do as much of that as possible inside the friendly confines of Hunnicutt Stadium.

To that end, Princeton travels tonight to a place they've previously been, but have never before won a football game there.

Class AAA No. 6 Princeton (8-1) hits the road for No. 14 Parkersburg South (6-3) on a mission to upgrade their final ranking in the Class AAA bracket.

As Taylor often notes, most of the Tigers' games this season are laced with storylines. This week is no different.

"Not only is it going to put us in a position to possibly host two playoff games and put us in the Top Four in the state, I don't think Princeton has ever won in Parkersburg. That's a nice little storyline as well," said Taylor, whose team is coming off a 55-0 win over Greenbrier East.

The Patriots are coming off of a 64-14 loss to Wheeling Park. Last year in Princeton, Parkersburg South eluded the Tigers 49-41. So it would also appear that mutual redemption narratives are about to collide.

In spite of the recent unpleasantness with Wheeling Park, the Patriots are not a team to be taken lightly and Taylor knows it. They'd surely like a bracket bump themselves. South can be expected to be better than average all over the field, but two Pats have really caught Taylor's eye: senior quarterback Taylor Garrettson and senior running back Gage Wright.

Garrettson (6-1, 212) was already recognized as one of the best linebackers in the state when he moved from wide receiver to quarterback this year. Wright (6-0, 200) is another top-shelf linebacker who has made a great account of himself this season as the Patriots' primary ball carrier.

"[Garretson] is a big, strong kid and has a very strong arm. He's a physical runner. The same thing can be said about Gage Wright. He's an all-state wrestler who's signed with Virginia Tech. If you know anything about wrestlers, you know they're studs. Probably going to be the best running back we've faced all year as well as one of the best linebackers we've faced all year," said Taylor.

"Those two dudes are going to be a handfull. But their overall team speed is really fast. They play a come-and-get you defense. They're going to bring a lot of guys at you. [Parkersburg head coach Nate Tanner] likes to blitz. Offensively, Nate's one of the great offensive minds in West Virginia. He does a good job getting his guys in position to out-maneuver you, out-leverage you and get better numbers to one side," the Tigers head coach said.

In addition to fielding one of the biggest and most efficient offensive fronts in the state, anchored by a Division I prospect, Princeton has a pair of stellar two-way performers in WR-DB Dominick Collins and RB-LB Marquel Lowe.

Collins leads the Tigers receiving corps with 48 catches for 1,152 yards and 20 scoring receptions. Lowe leads the Princeton rushing attack with 1,077 yards on 121 carries, including 14 touchdown runs.

Princeton quarterback Chance Barker has completed 107 of 151 passing attempts for 2,105 yards and 30 scoring strikes with only two interceptions on the year.

Other local games:.

Narrows (7-2) at Bath County (9-0), 7 p.m.

The regular season ends with a cliffhanger for the Green Wave, who travel to Hot Springs, Va. tonight with the Pioneer District championship at stake.

Narrows is coming off a 54-0 win over Craig County. The unbeaten Chargers are coming off a 55-0 win over Parry McCluer — the team that used to customarily challenge the Green Wave for the Pioneer title. Narrows head coach Kelly Lowe credits BC player alumnus Jake Phillips for coaching the Chargers back into relevance with a spread offense he probably learned about while playing at William & Mary.

There's more than merely district pride at stake.

"We're sitting at No. 4 [in the Region 1C rankings] but if we win and things go right, we could jump as high as No. 1 or No. 2. We definitely want to win to put ourselves into a position to host a couple of home games," Lowe said.

Bland County (1-6) at Montcalm (7-2), 7 p.m.

Bland County is coming off a 34-6 loss to the Virginia Spartans (Roanoke, Va.). The Generals are coming off of a 47-6 win over Richwood.

The Generals have persevered in spite of mounting injuries including the loss of playmaker Logan Carver, whose injury will require him to also sit out upcoming boys basketball season at Montcalm.

Head coach Adam Havens isn't ready to put put up the football gear yet, however. Jaden Price and Ryland Parks have both stepped up on offense along with sophomore Tyler Stevenson to infuse the team with optimism.

"It's a must-win game for us, to have any chance to make the playoffs," said Havens, whose team sits at No. 17 in this week's WVSSAC Class A rankings. "We're preparing like it's a playoff game."

Graham (8-1) at Richland (0-9), 7 p.m.

The G-Men are coming off a 49-6 win over Tazewell. The Blue Tornado are coming off a 47-28 loss to Marion. In the penultimate VHSL weekly ratings, Union (8-1) is No. 1 in Region 2D, Graham (8-1) is No. 2, Tazewell (6-3) is No. 3 and Gate City (6-3) is No. 4. Ridgeview (7-2) is at No. 5 and hosts the Blue Devils tonight. The Bears wrap up regular season play versus John Battle (3-6).

Tazewell (6-3) at Lebanon (3-6), 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs are coming off a 49-6 loss to Graham. The Pioneers are coming off a 20-12 loss to Virginia High. Not a time for the favored Bulldogs to take their foot off the throttle.

PikeView (0-9) at Nicholas County (4-5), 7 p.m.

The Panthers are coming off a 55-26 loss to River View. The Grizzlies are coming off a 28-12 loss to James Monroe. 'You ever skin Griz, Pilgrim?'

Mount View (1-7) at Mingo Central (7-2), 7:30 p.m.

The Golden Knights are coming off a 63-89 loss to Westside. The Miners are coming off a 50-6 win over Chapmanville Regional. There will be no contributing to the delinquency of any Miners, tonight.

Fort Chiswell (4-5) at Giles (2-7), 7 p.m.

The Spartans are coming off of a 47-13 loss to Bluefield. The Pioneers are coming off a 42-27 loss to Galax. There is a kid on the Spartans' depth chart who has a relative named 'Max Meador.' True fact, relevant or not.

River View (5-4) at Tolsia (4-5), 7:30 p.m.

The Raiders are coming off a 55-26 win over PikeView. The Rebels are coming off a 32-12 loss to Grundy. Could be a humdinger. River View sits at No. 22 on this week's WVSSAC Class AA rankings.