By Branden Wilt
bwilt@newstribune.info
Tribune Sports Editor
It came to no one’s surprise, even Wyoming East’s, that the Golden Tornado pitched a shutout at “home” Friday night in Morgantown.
It wasn’t a shocker that most of the tournament held to the chalk, as all but two of the higher-seeded teams won their respective matchups.
Those two were not really a surprise to many experts either, as number 11 Bluefield beat number 6 Scott 39-14 to advance easily - as was expected -and number 12 James Monroe moved by number 5 Chapmanville in what might be considered a very mild upset in the opening round’s lone “surprise.”
The James Monroe win sets up a showdown with number 4 Weir at Jimmy Carey Stadium in the lone Saturday game.
The winner of that game will play the victor of the Golden Tornado/Magnolia matchup in the state-semi-final.
Magnolia barely escaped Pt. Pleasant needing a late comeback to squeak by the 9-seed, 21-20.
Magnolia does however, have hands down the best sports name in the tourney in the form of its’ leading rusher Stingray Bates.
The contest to watch this week will be the Wayne (3) and Bluefield contest at Wayne.
Most experts think the winner will take the other side of the bracket, despite Grafton being the 2-seed.
The Bearcats will face Ravenswood (7) Friday.
