The West Virginia high school playoffs begin tonight with a full slate of games on the table.

Check out who High School On SI predicts will win their first round matchups on Friday, and who will secure a spot in the second round of the WVSSAC postseason.  

First-round matchups

(1) Martinsburg vs. (16) Parkersburg

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Martinsburg

(9) Parkersburg South vs. (8) Washington

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Parkersburg South

(4) Wheeling Park vs. (13) Musselman

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Wheeling Park

(5) Huntington vs. (12) University

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Huntington

(2) Spring Mills vs. (15) Hedgesville

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Spring Mills

(7) Morgantown vs. (10) Woodrow Wilson

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Morgantown

(3) Jefferson vs. (14) Cabell Midland

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Jefferson

(6) Hurricane vs. (11) George Washington

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Hurricane

2024 WVSSAC Class AAAA high school football bracket

First-round matchups

(1) Princeton vs. (16) Hampshire

4:00 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Princeton

(8) North Marion vs. (9) Ripley

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: North Marion

(4) Hoover vs. (13) Elkins

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Hoover

(5) Oak Hill vs. (12) Lewis County

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Oak Hill

(2) Fairmont Senior vs. (15) Point Pleasant

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Fairmont Senior

(7) Spring Valley vs. (10) East Fairmont

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Spring Valley

(3) Bridgeport vs. (14) Byrd

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Bridgeport

(6) Nitro vs. (11) Shady Spring

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Nitro

2024 WVSSAC Class AAA high school football bracket

First-round matchups

(1) Frankfort vs. (16) Westside

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Frankfort

(9) Bluefield vs. (8) South Harrison

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Bluefield

(4) Williamstown vs. (13) Moorefield

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Williamstown

(5) Wheeling Central Catholic vs. (12) Nicholas County

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Wheeling Central Catholic

(2) Roane County vs. (15) Chapmanville Regional

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Roane County

(7) Wayne vs. (10) Scott

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Scott

(3) Independence vs. (14) James Monroe

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Independence

(6) Philip Barbour vs. (11) Clay County

4:00 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Phillip Barbour

2024 WVSSAC Class AA high school football bracket

First-round matchups

(1) Tug Valley vs. (16) Tolsia

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Tug Valley

(8) Petersburg vs. (9) River View

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Petersburg

(4) Cameron vs. (13) Valley

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Cameron

(5) Doddridge County vs. (12) Wirt County

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Doddridge County

(2) Tucker County vs. (15) East Hardy

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Tucker County

(7) Pendleton County vs. (10) Meadow Bridge

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Pendleton County

(3) Wahama vs. (14) Madonna

1:30 p.m. Saturday

PREDICTION: Wahama

(6) Sherman vs. (11) Tyler

7:00 p.m. Friday

PREDICTION: Sherman

2024 WVSSAC Class A high school football bracket

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Picking up a win this weekend means the West Virginia Mountaineers are going bowling. It’s been an extremely disappointing season to this point, but WVU can put an end to their woes at home by taking down a UCF team that has lost six of its last seven.

Here is how we see this Saturday’s game going between WVU and UCF.

The challenge doesn’t get any easier this week for new WVU defensive coordinator Jeff Koonz, who will have to gameplan for the nation’s third-leading rusher, RJ Harvey. UCF is and always will be a run-first football team under Gus Malzahn, but they have found an answer at quarterback over the last couple of games with freshman Dylan Rizk, giving them more of a balanced approach.

For the most part this season, West Virginia has had success defending the run. They rank fifth in the Big 12 in run defense and 50th nationally in yards allowed per carry (4.0). Although Rizk opens up UCF’s offense, I still believe Malzahn will want to remain confident in his superstar running back and try to lean on WVU’s front. With less-than-ideal weather conditions expected to be in play, it should keep UCF from wanting to spin it a bunch, which is great news for a weak Mountaineer secondary.

Whether it was the season opener versus Penn State, the Backyard Brawl against Pitt, the Coal Rush game versus Iowa State, or another primetime game against Kansas State, WVU has not handled distractions all that well this season. Senior Day can certainly provide a lot of distractions with all of the emotions that go into it, but I believe Garrett Greene, Wyatt Milum, and Co. will walk out of Milan Puskar Stadium as winners.

I’m going with the Mountaineers in a high-scoring affair.

Prediction record: 6-4.

UCF may have found its footing with quarterback Dylan Rizk – the Knights’ fourth starting QB this season. Rizk has made the last two starts for a team looking to remain bowl eligible. The freshman threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start and nearly pulled off the upset at Arizona State in game two. He’s been efficient in his passes, completing 74.6% of his passes.

The Knights have leaned on an effective rushing attack, ranking third nationally, and lead all Power Four programs, averaging 262.8 rushing yards per game.

Leading the UCF ground game is RJ Harvey. The senior has rushed for 1,328, ranking third nationally, with 19 touchdowns and was named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist for the second consecutive season.

Statistically, the West Virginia defense has been formidable against the run and is second in the Big 12 in rushing yards allowed per game at 126.8. However, last week against Baylor, the Mountaineers nearly allowed the Bears to reach their season average of 5.7 yards per carry, gaining 5.4 yards per rush. UCF is second in the country in runs of 10 yards or more with 86.

West Virginia was unable to keep pace with a surging Baylor offense last week at home and there is no indication they will be able slow the Knights down Saturday. The Mountaineers had an opportunity for a game turning interception against Baylor but what has occurred often with this unit, it was dropped. The defense will have to make plays for this team to win and they did it two weeks ago to steal a win in Cincinnati.

I’m reluctant to pick West Virginia for a multitude of reasons but what has been preached by the coaching staff since the arrival of Neal Brown, the lack of consistency in all three phases of the game, sums it up.

I’m going to go out on a shaky limb this week and pick the Mountaineers. It’s quarterback Garrett Greene’s last home game of his Mountaineer career and I think he will motivate and will this team to a win while the defense will dial up more pressure against a freshman quarterback and force mistakes, but it will not be easy.

West Virginia finds a way to win 27-24.

Prediction record: 6-4.

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West Virginia’s passing game hasn’t struck fear into the hearts of its opponents all year long, but the Mountaineers lost one of their biggest receiving threats, Traylon Ray, last week in the loss to Baylor.

A Baylor defensive back landed on Ray’s leg on a deep ball in the second half, causing the sophomore receiver to be carted off the field. Over the weekend, Ray underwent a successful surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Prior to the injury, Ray hauled in 28 receptions for 426 yards and four touchdowns on the season, giving him an average of 15.2 yards per catch. He scored three of his four touchdowns throughout his final four games played and made some big catches deep down the field. He leads all Mountaineer receivers in touchdowns, is second in receiving yards, and third in receptions.

So, how do the Mountaineers go about replacing Ray’s production for the final two games of the season?

“I think similar to when Hudson (Clement) was out. We take a team approach,” head coach Neal Brown answered. “Now, we’re going to miss him. I think that by the time Traylon’s career is done here, he’s going to be a really high-level player, and I really think the NFL is in his future. This is a minor setback. He’ll make the full recovery. It looked bad, but he’s going to make the full recovery, and he’s in good spirits. We’ll miss him.

“But we also got some guys that we can plug and play,” he continued. “Preston (Fox) will take a bigger role. Jarel Williams will play a little bit more on offense. Justin Robinson needs to play more like he did against Cincinnati, not like he did against Baylor. And I believe he will. It will be a committee approach.”

DayDay Farmer is another one who will likely see more action, although he has been splitting reps in the slot with Rodney Gallagher III for the last couple of weeks. While Farmer, Robinson, Fox, Williams, and others may become a little more involved, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll see a significant increase in targets.

Instead, look for tight end Kole Taylor to see a healthy dose of targets in these final two games. Over the last two weeks, Taylor has combined for ten receptions for 86 yards and a touchdown. He’ll likely play a big role in the season finale at Texas Tech, but with cruddy weather in the forecast for Saturday, Ray’s absence shouldn’t impact the Mountaineers too much against UCF.

West Virginia and UCF will kick it off at 3:30 p.m. EST. The action can be streamed live on ESPNU.

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