Much like father, Williamstown's Buttrey a leader
Friday, December 1, 2006
By RICH STEVENS - Charleston Daily Mail

The weather conditions won't be ideal for tonight's West Virginia Class AA high school state championship football game, but the passing games of the two combatants won't be affected much.

That's because No. 3 Wayne (11-2) and No. 4 Tolsia (11-2) don't rely much on the pass.

When the "Battle of Wayne County" kicks off at 7:30 at Wheeling Island Stadium, the temperature will be in the high 20s, the wind will be blowing and snow is expected to fall.

And, the ball will be kept near the ground.

The county rivals have combined for 7,444 yards entering their second matchup of the season.

Although the Rebels won the first meeting 30-19, they will be facing history with the Pioneers.

Wayne has been to the title game twice (2000 and ‘04) and has reached the playoffs eight straight seasons, beginning the streak in 1999 with a first-round loss to James Monroe.

Tolsia, on the other hand, slipped into the postseason at No. 11 in 2001, but had to wait four years for another berth, falling to James Monroe in the second round of the playoffs last year.

They avenged that loss with a 7-6 defeat in the semifinals last week.

"This has been kind of a building thing for us," said Tolsia Coach Drew Waller, who will conclude his ninth season tonight.

"We've been to the playoffs four of the last five years, but we couldn't get over the hump.

"This time we decided that one of our goals was not just to get to the playoffs, but to get to the championship game and win a state title."

The Pioneers have the history but ironically have some humps of their own to overcome.

Wayne has made three consecutive appearances in the Class AA semifinals, but the Pioneers lost to the eventual state champion the last two years.

In 2004, Coach Tommy Harmon's team lost to Bluefield in the title game 69-24 and last year fell to Weir, 22-7, in the semifinals.Leading the Pioneers tonight will be a pair of 1,000-yard rushers -- 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior 5-10 Justin Gilkerson and 5-10, 160-pound senior Travis Thompson, who have run for 2,474 of the team's yards.

Wayne's leading receiver is 5-11, 179-pound senior Park Ferguson, but his 19 receptions is an average of fewer than two per game. Three Wayne quarterbacks have combined for 91 passing attempts -- an average of seven per game.

Tolsia's main weapon -- Bill Evans -- has been well-publicized.

He's known as B.J. Evans, is 6-3 and 210 pounds, and has 2,764 yards rushing.

However, the Tolsia offensive line has provided a huge boost to the success of the Rebels, who received 360 yards out of Evans in their first meeting.

The Rebels have tried only 86 passes this season, an average of 6.6 per game.

CLASS AAA

No. 1 Parkersburg (13-0) vs. No. 2 Martinsburg (12-1), noon, Saturday

This is the way it's supposed to go, right? No. 1 vs. No. 2.

Much like the Class AA contest, few passes will be thrown when the Big Reds bring their multifaceted running game against the Bulldogs,

Martinsburg, which has a Kennedy Award candidate in 2005 Class AAA All-State first team selection Josh Twyman, delivered a 40-0 defeat over Fairmont Senior last week. That makes three games and only nine points surrendered by the Bulldogs.

Twyman rushed for 63 yards on five carries in that game before leaving in the first quarter after reinjuring his ankle. He's expected to be ready for Saturday's title game.

The Big Reds have been almost as stingy in the playoffs, giving up 27 points in three contests.

Their most impressive performance this season was a 42-14 state semifinal dismantling of two-time defending Class AAA champion Morgantown at Stadium Field.

CLASS A

No. 1 Wheeling Central (13-0) vs. No. 2 Williamstown (13-0), 7 p.m., Saturday

It's just another daunting task for the Yellow Jackets, who have won 56 consecutive regular season games, but can't seem to grab that elusive state championship.

This may be the toughest test yet for the kings of 10-game schedules.

The Maroon Knights, who have won the last two state championships, may have their best team in the school's history rivaled, perhaps, only by the 1979 team that finished unbeaten and won the Class AA crown.

Even on the Parkersburg News and Sentinel Web site, the home newspaper of the Yellow Jackets, a readers' poll has 75 percent of the respondents picking the Maroon Knights.

Wheeling Central has won five state championships with four of those coming in the last six years.

Among the 13 Wheeling Central victories is a 20-10 win over Shadyside, Ohio, which is playing for the Buckeye State's Division VI championship against Maria Stein Marion Local at 3:30 p.m. today at Canton's Fawcett Stadium.

The Maroon Knights are led by running back Brandon Tucker, who has rushed for 1,984 yards on 233 carries and 34 touchdowns. Quarterback Alex Peluchette has thrown for 1,009 yards and 11 scores.

Williamstown's leader is quarterback Brandon Roberts.

He owns a 26-1 record as a starter with his only loss coming in last year's state title game.

The 6-3, 165-pound senior has completed 81-of-137 passes (59 percent) and has 17 touchdowns.

Running back Benji Powers passed the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season with 77 yards against Mount Hope last week.