By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Back before the season got under way Parkersburg News and Sentinel sports writer Jay Bennett had a real good article about a Calhoun senior wanting to be the first team in school history to win a playoff game.
Well, the Red Devils are in the midst of playoff season right now and every game, starting with the recent victory over South Harrison, is a do-or-die game for the Red Devils' playoff hopes.
Friday night Calhoun travels to Roane County to face the arch rival Raiders. It is a do or die game.
Should Calhoun lose it would lose the 12 bonus points the Raiders are carrying -- nine for being a Class AA school and three for the three wins its has. Calhoun can ill afford to lose any points at this time of the year.
A loss would drop the Red Devils to 4-3 but more than that it would drop to a 5.285 rating and out of the top 16. And only the top 16 make the playoffs.
On the other hand a win would not only give Calhoun a 5-2 record but also a rating of at least 7.O which could be a number good enough to get into the top 10 teams and move a long way toward a possible home playoff game. The top eight teams in the final standings get to be home teams in the first round of the playoffs.
Roane, too, is talented and looking for a playoff bid. The Raiders are ranked 18th in Class AA after winning three straight games to go .500 on the season. The Raiders' winning streak coincided with a change of schedule. After opening with Scott, Tyler Consolidated and Ravenswood -- all losses -- the Raiders got well when the schedule eased up as they posted wins over Braxton, Webster and Clay. A win over Calhoun is almost a necessity for the Raiders if they hope to get into the playoffs.
Roane will be tough because it is a big Class AA school (the ninth biggest in the state) and it has a lot of talent to get athletes from.
If Calhoun beats Roane then it will have playoff games against Wirt, Braxton and St. Marys.
Wirt would love nothing more than to keep Calhoun out of the playoffs and beating Calhoun will probably be the only way the Tigers have a prayer of making the playoffs.
Braxton will need a win over Calhoun if it hopes to keep its flagging hopes of making the playoffs alive, however, its quite possible by that time Braxton will be playing just for a .500 record after starting the season off 4-0.
The regular season finale -- or the last playoff game to get into the playoffs -- will be at home against a battered St. Marys team. For the last three years the Blue Devils have knocked the socks off the Red Devils and pay back, even against an injury-riddled shell of a St. Marys team, would be sweet.
If Calhoun wins out it will probably finish in the top eight and probably be host to a home playoff game.
And that's what the seniors are playing for.
| 
