In high school sports, there are away games, and then there are road games.
Hurricane will have the latter on its schedule Friday when it travels to DeWitt, Michigan, to take on the Panthers at DeWitt Memorial Stadium at 7 p.m.
Mays said the players are hyped for the road trip to the school near Lansing, Michigan, calling it a “different, unique type of excitement.â€
The coach, in his third year at Hurricane, shared the team’s itinerary for the trip, which includes an 8 a.m. departure from school on Friday.
The trip includes a stop at the University of Toledo, where Hurricane (2-1) will have a walk-through practice and lunch around 1 p.m. After an hour, the team will depart for DeWitt and expects to arrive around 4 p.m.
When the teams kick off, Hurricane will face a DeWitt team in its home opener at 5,000-seat Memorial Stadium.
The Panthers (3-0) are coached by Rob Zimmerman, who has compiled a record of 253-54 over 26 years as coach at DeWitt. Zimmerman said he also coached for two years at a smaller school near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good kids come through here,†said Zimmerman, who has coached the Panthers to six state finals, winning it in 2020.
With an enrollment this year of 950 students, DeWitt plays in Michigan’s third-highest division out of eight that play 11-man football. Two other divisions in the state comprise schools that play eight-man football.
Zimmerman and Mays exchanged film last summer and again last Friday, giving the DeWitt coach a peek at what Hurricane can do.
“They have a lot of weapons,†Zimmerman said of Hurricane. “[Noah Vellaithambi] is a good player. Their receiver [Tyshawn Dues] can really run. They’ll be a huge test for us.â€
Zimmerman said DeWitt features a dual-threat quarterback in Elliott Larner. Larner ranks second in the Lansing area in passing yardage and leads with 12 touchdowns. The QB is also the Panthers’ leading rusher, Zimmerman said.
At running back, Traverce Moore is second in rushing and has gained offers from Central Michigan and Toledo to play at the college level.
Larner’s twin brother Abram is another rushing threat from the slot receiver position and has caught eight of his brother’s TDs this season, in addition to 400 yards receiving.
“We run a lot of sets, so we can be a lot to prepare for,†Zimmerman said. “We’re extremely diverse. We might run 40 plays one week and pass for 30 the next week.â€
Zimmerman said a change in Michigan law allowed teams from non-border states to play in the Wolverine State, but DeWitt is prohibited from playing outside of a non-border state, preventing a return trip to West Virginia in the future.
Van at Buffalo
Closer to home, the Bison will attempt to shake off a loss at Poca last Friday by hosting the Bulldogs.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bison Field.
Buffalo (1-2) struggled to maintain offense in a 46-8 defeat at Poca in a nonconference matchup in which the Dots were missing three starters to injury. Wesley Oldaker’s 11-yard TD run provided the lone scoring play for the Bison in defeat.
Van (0-3) is playing its third of four consecutive road games to start the season, a stretch that ends at River View next week. The Bulldogs have not had a home game this season after they forfeited the first contest of the year — a scheduled home game — with Meadow Bridge.
Buffalo leads the all-time series 20-18, but the Bulldogs have won the last two meetings.
Bison coach Bob Mullett held the same position at Van from 1977-88.
Nitro at Chapmanville
The Wildcats will try to bounce back from the season’s first defeat last Friday against Herbert Hoover in their first away game of the season at the Tigers’ Barker Stadium.
Nitro (2-1) is led offensively by quarterback Josh Moody and receiver Malachi Thompson. Moody passed for 152 yards in the 13-7 overtime loss to the Huskies, while Thompson caught four balls for 50 yards.
Eli Littlejohn rushed 10 times for 86 yards for Nitro in that game.
Chapmanville dropped to 1-2 last Friday with a 28-14 loss at Winfield.
Tigers running back Robert Cook counter Littlejohns. Both running backs have amassed 208 yards and three touchdowns this season, with Cook carrying 31 times and Littlejohn 46.
Poca at Logan
Dots coach Seth Ramsey is expecting Poca’s leading rusher, senior Preston Bonnett, to return from a concussion this week, he said.
Ramsey said Tuesday Bonnett was “progressing nicely†for a return to help Poca (3-0) in the 7 p.m. contest.
In Bonnett’s absence last week, Spencer Jones rushed for 164 yards and scored his first two touchdowns of the season to help the Dots defeat Buffalo 46-8 last Friday.
Ramsey said Jones would handle a larger workload if necessary.
Logan (1-2) lost a 13-6 decision to Tug Valley. The Wildcats are home Friday for the final time until Nov. 1.
Following the matchup with Poca, Logan will be away from Wildcats Field for four games against Winfield, Scott, Roane County and Chapmanville.
Sissonville at Clay County
The Indians will be on the road for the third time in four weeks at Bradley Field to meet the Panthers.
Sissonville (0-3) won’t be home again until it plays host to PikeView on Oct. 4 and hasn’t been at Joe Sawyers Field in two weeks.
Quarterback Maddox Balog has passed for 307 yards this season and two touchdowns. Sissonville has struggled to mount a rushing attack this season, with Noah Evans becoming the top ground gainer with 19 yards on 14 carries.
Clay County (2-1) enters the contest having suffered its first defeat of the year, 47-46 at home to Roane County last Friday.
Since Clay County and Sissonville resumed their series in 2021 after a six-year hiatus, the Panthers have won all three meetings, including 41-0 in 2023. Sissonville leads all-time 8-6.
