PikeView looks to make more history

GARDNER — History beckoned the PikeView Panthers last Friday night — and the Panthers responded.

When offered the opportunity to shed their image as a loser, they took it, upsetting No. 5 Westside 34-21 in the first round of the West Virginia Class AA playoffs last Friday. It was an experience that those involved will likely never forget.

“It was just a great feeling,” Damewood said. “I think it was wonderful to have all of the fans down there to witness it. It just feels like to the school that a monkey really got taken off their back.

“Even though I think the kids expected to win, I think that was actually more for the fans than the kids. I think they had more enjoyment of it. Our kids were dead tired, wasn’t really feeling like celebrating like the fans were. But it meant the world to us and we were fortunate to get out of there with a win and now we’re taking it one more week and see what we can do this Friday.”

The PikeView community has watched as the school’s football program has gone through losing season after losing season. The Panthers’ success this year has been a breath of fresh air to those who have watched for years.

“I think the kids, they know they have to show up on Friday nights,” Damewood said. “But just as far as the community and everybody wishing them luck, actually the expectations that the teachers and the other student body are putting on the kids, it’s a better feeling than it used to be when nobody cared and they were looking forward to basketball season to start.”

The Panthers themselves went into the game expecting to win.

“I think we were fortunate playing a team that we already had seen, and especially a team that we played close the first time,” Damewood said. “And I think mentally our kids realized that the first game was very close and a break here and there, we could have won the first game. I think that played to our advantage going back down there, seeing a team that we already played and knowing that we played that close to them the first time.”

Quarterback Ben Nester and running back Josh Neal have led the PikeView offense with 798 and 459 yards respectively. They are also the main leaders in a locker room that is targeted on the task at hand despite the success of the very recent past.

“They’ve been real focused,” Damewood said. “Even last week, after we got into the playoffs, the first day back at practice, our focus was different than I’ve ever seen and that’s really carried over to this week, too. They’re enthusiastic to be here and you can tell they’re focused. So we just hope they keep that focus through the remainder of the week and we’ll be O.K.”

Their reward for being the lone road team to win in the playoffs last week: a five-hour trip to Ridgeley, a town in the northeast corner of the state on the border with Maryland. Planning that journey has made coaching the easy part.

“That’s been more stressful than coaching,” Damewood said. “The administrators have done a great job planning the trip for us and lining things out, where we need to be and at what time.

“I think the kids are excited about taking a road trip. I think the coaches as well are pretty excited. And we’ve got some things planned for them, hopefully more than just football. We’re going to go up there and experience some things that maybe some of these kids haven’t experienced. Hopefully things like that, they’ll bring back a lot of memories and if we win we’ll definitely bring back a lot of memories.”

The Panthers will take on Frankfort, who ended the regular season with a 9-1 mark and blew out Herbert Hoover in their playoff opener 42-16. Dalton Brown (593 yards, six touchdowns) and Dan McCormick (559 yards, four touchdowns) key their rushing attack while quarterback James Jones (1,461 yards, 13 touchdowns) and receiver Logan Wolford (32 catches for 587 yards and six touchdowns) are the Falcons’ main threats through the air.

“They look like strong kids, well-coached,” Damewood said. “Didn’t really see no flaws in watching the game film. It’s a team we really have to show up and bring our best game and make it a contest.”

The Falcons will work out of a wing-T attack that Damewood had trouble finding faults with.

“They execute it real crisp,” Damewood said. “We’re really going to have to be prepared to stop it. They’ve got a fullback that’s one heck of a runner and their quarterback is listed at 6-3, 205 or something. So they’ve got some big kids. They just look like a well-coached team and they look like a good team that we’re facing.

“... One thing that we all noticed as coaches across the board is you really couldn’t find a weak link and all the kids look strong. They just look methodical in what they did. They pick their assignments. The backs hit their holes. They look well-coached. That’s about the best compliment I could give them.”

Defensively, Frankfort will base their attack out of a 6-2 or a 4-4 front.

“They’re aggressive to the ball,” Damewood said. “They gang-tackle well like I think we do. We’re just going to have to take advantage of what they give us.”

The PikeView coach also noted that the Falcons have quick pursuit.

“They get to the ball quickly,” Damewood said. “When you watch the film, I don’t think they have anybody as fast as the kid we saw last week. But as a team, they rally to the ball and when they get there, they’re there to tackle. They’re probably quicker than we are.”

They may be making a five-hour drive to face the No. 4 seed in the postseason, but Damewood wants to keep the trip as conventional as possible.

“I always tell people they’re kids and kids should be relentless, they should be able to do some of these things,” Damewood said. “As a coach, we’re going to try to keep them relaxed and try to make it as fun and as normal as we can.

“We don’t want them sitting around the hotel room all day but we also don’t want them out running around all day. But we’re going to keep it as normal as we can and hopefully we’ll show up and have our legs and everything will be fine. It’s an experience that hopefully they’ll take for a lifetime. We’ll just have to make the best of it.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com

The roads to Frankfort

Frankfort High School is located in Ridgeley, a town in the northeast corner of the state that is on the border with Maryland.

1. Take Interstate 77 north going to Beckley for 34 miles.

2. Exit I-77 at exit 48 for US Route 19 going to North Beckley and Summersville. Follow US-19 for 67 miles.

3. Merge onto Interstate 79 going north to Clarksburg. Stay on I-79 for 90 miles.

4. Take exit 148 to merge onto Interstate 68 going east toward Cumberland. Stay on I-68 for 73 miles, driving through Maryland.

5. Take exit 43B Industrial Blvd./Airport/Route 51. At the stop sign, go straight and bear right onto Canal Parkway/Airport. Canal Parkway will turn into County Route 28 going south.

6. After crossing the Potomac River Bridge, go approximately seven miles. Look for Frank’s Coffee Service on the right and a log cabin on the left. Make the next left turn. The school is on the hill on the left. The field is located approximately 200 yards from the school.

•In addition to spaces on school property, parking will be available in a large field across from the school and along the street.

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