Sports

Mountaineers watch their dream go up in smoke

Confidence can be a wonderful thing, overconfidence just as bad. Whether that is what happened to the Mountaineers one will never know, but WVU certainly laid an egg in their annual backyard brawl against Pittsburgh, ending their dreams of a national championship.

Yeah, it was a nightmare

It was in the back of my mind all week. The jinx of being number two in the Bowl Championship Series, that is. Still, West Virginia University's Football Team was a four touchdown favorite at home against a 4-7 Pitt team which had been beaten like a drum for most of the season, so I took solace in that.

Berkeley Springs High School opened their 2007/08 season wrestling season with a third place finish at the Beckley News Invitational held at Shady Spring High School in Shady Spring on Saturday, December 1.

The Indians were led by individual champions, Derek Hovermale (112), Brad Reed (119), Josh Conner (125) and Damen Capper (130). Zach Risinger (135) and Zac Younker (215) each placed second, Jake Stotler (285) finished third, while Cohen Hovermale (103) and Nick Kidwell (140), each placed fourth in the 9-team field.

The JV Girls Volleyball team finished their season with a three-11 record. Although the team struggled, they battled and demostrated true sportsmanship. Team captains, junior Maddy Parrill, outside hitter, and sophomore Lesley Yost, setter, kept the team upbeat and enthusiastic. Both girls were found to take on a larger, more significant role this year on the JV team and then also participate on the Varsity team.

Junior Rachel Shambaugh, setter, and sophomore Hilary Trump, back row defense, were likely the two most improved players of the season and the team is looking forward to where their game will go next year. Sophomore Lindsay Williams, outside hitter, took last year off, but came back this year as a starter. She is a hard worker and is good in all facets of the game.

Paw Paw High School girls basketball coach Bine Blick is optimistic about the upcoming season. He believes his Pirates, that finished with a record of 9-11 last season, have the pieces in place to make a run at a sectional title and more.

Depth would be a concern for most, since Paw Paw will only have eight players on the varsity team. However, that doesn't seem to be a major problem, according to Blick.

On December 5 the Berkeley Springs High School Girls Basketball Team will open their 2007/08 season at home against Clear Spring, with hopes of taking the first step on a journey that will land the Indians in the state tournament at the Civic Center in Charleston in March.

It's within reach

As a lifelong West Virginia University athletics fan, I am having a hard time believing what is happening right now. The WVU football team entered the season with high hopes and lofty expectations. A loss to South Florida in September seemed to have dashed those hopes. Now, two months later, the Mountaineers are poised to play in the Bowl Championship Series championship game in the New Orleans Superdome on January 7. For the record, the BCS title game is not the Sugar Bowl as I've heard some radio types refer to the game. The Sugar Bowl is played six days earlier

Wow! What a difference a week makes. Last week when the Bowl Championship Series standings were released, West Virginia was in sixth place and facing long odds of making a leap into the top two. The top two teams in the final BCS standings play for the national championship in New Orleans.

When the season began, West Virginia University's football team was one of four or five teams favored to appear in that game. A late September loss to South Florida seemed to end those hopes, but since then teams ahead of WVU in the polls have tumbled. Eerily, the second place team seems to lose almost weekly.

Jordan Roberts of Scott High School came into the second-round Class AA playoff game against Berkeley Springs as the front runner to win the Kennedy Award. The award is given annually to the top high school player in the state of West Virginia and Roberts did nothing to hurt his chances, while leading the Skyhawks to a convincing 50-24 victory over Berkeley Springs at Coburn Field in Martinsburg on Saturday, November 17.

The Warm Springs Little JV team finished a tremendous season with a 7-0 loss in the Super Bowl against the Browns of Martinsburg. The game was played on the turf at Martinsburg High School on November 11.

The Wolves opened their first drive with a costly fumble at the 50-yard line setting the Browns up with great field position. The Browns drove the short field and converted the turnover into seven points.