South Charleston football coach Donnie Mays is sticking with a simple mantra entering tonight's game at winless Spring Valley.
"I told them, we don't want to lose to the same team twice," Mays said Wednesday night.
SC (1-1), the second-ranked team in this week's Gazette-Mail Class AAA Poll, lost at home to top-ranked Capital (2-0) a week ago, 26-21. Mays is adamant that the Black Eagles need to put that loss behind them and focus on the Timberwolves (0-2), a team that routinely gives SC a challenge regardless of win-loss records.
"They're always immense up front, they tackle well in space and bring pressure with their corners," Mays said of the Timberwolves. "Any team that does those things is going to give a team like us trouble."
Another challenging element for SC this week will be designing a game plan without the services of senior all-state wide receiver Fred Crozier. Crozier broke his left foot early in the team's loss to Capital and is out for 6-8 weeks.
Mays agreed that Crozier's experience will be hard to replace, although the Black Eagles have plenty of receivers to fill in for the star.
"It's a lot of little things. He knows how to get open and he'll take chances where other guys might not be as confident," Mays said. "The good thing is that now we have something to play for. We're playing for Fred, because he can be back for the playoffs.
"But no one in [the Mountain State Athletic Conference] is guaranteed a playoff spot. We've got to earn it."
Senior quarterback Kentre Grier has completed 33 of 40 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns in two games. Grier is also the Eagles' leading rusher with 159 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries.
Junior Derrek Pitts has seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, while sophomore Curon Cordon - who Mays said will be the most likely replacement for Crozier in the senior's absence - has eight catches for 57 yards and a score.
Spring Valley lost its first two games to rivals Cabell Midland and Huntington.
Gazette-Mail Poll Game of the Week - Class AAA No. 5 Point Pleasant (2-0) at Class AA No. 9 Wayne (1-1): The teams that met in the 2011 Class AA state championship game in Wheeling will tee it up against each other for the first time since, as Point moved to Class AAA the following season.
The teams used to meet on an annual basis when the Big Blacks were part of the Cardinal Conference, but that, too, changed in 2012.
What hasn't changed is the style of football played by both clubs, a smash-mouth wing-T that lends itself to quick games and plenty of physicality. The Big Blacks make the trip to Wayne with two Marshall commitments in tow, senior running back/defensive back Cody Mitchell and junior two-way lineman Seth Stewart.
Wayne was upset by rival Tolsia (2-0) in Week 1 but bounced back to beat Sissonville 49-20 last week.
In other games:
George Washington (1-1) at St. Albans (1-1): GW nearly overcame its toughest challenge in the first half of the season last week when it fell short, 26-25, at Ashland Paul Blazer. The Patriots have not lost to St. Albans since 2006, and have the area's second-leading rusher - senior NuNu Miller - driving their multi-dimensional offense into Crawford Field.
Hurricane (2-0) at Riverside (0-2): The Redskins can better position themselves for a playoff run with another win before their schedule gets more difficult in the second half of the season. Hurricane blasted Nitro a week ago while the Warriors barely missed completing a comeback against St. Albans, falling 26-24.
Ripley (0-2) at Winfield (0-2): Generals coach Craig Snyder said in the preseason his team's early schedule was brutal and he's been right. This could provide a reprieve, however. Ripley enters after taking a 64-6 shellacking from Point Pleasant, while No. 3 Cabell Midland thumped Winfield 56-6. With an experience edge in its backfield of Isaac Withrow and Ethan Copeland, this could be Winfield's best chance to get into the win column until later this year. The Generals have games against Huntington and George Washington on the other side of this matchup.
Sissonvile (0-2) at Class AA No. 7 Mingo Central (1-1): The Indians find themselves on the verge of repeating their frustrating start to 2014, which saw them open the season with three losses before they reeled off seven conseuctive wins to qualify for the playoffs. The Miners are coming off a 44-41 loss to surprising Tolsia, and Mingo Central coach Yogi Kinder surely will be in no mood to be accommodating a week later.
Herbert Hoover (1-1) at River View (0-2): The Huskies missed a chance at a significant win last week when a last-minute field goal by Chapmanville handed them their first loss. A three-hour bus trip to Bradshaw now awaits, offering a chance to get back on the winning track. The Raiders opened the year with a shocking 50-0 loss to rival Mount View, and lost to Grundy, Virginia, in Week 2.
Poca (0-2) at Class A No. 8 Buffalo (2-0): The Dots refused to let Class AA No. 6 Nicholas County blow them out after the Grizzlies took an early lead last week, while Buffalo was pressed to overtime before getting a win in Willow Wood, Ohio, against Symmes Valley. The Dots and Bison have alternated wins in this series each year since Poca last won two in a row in 2009-10. Buffalo won last year's game 45-22.
Nitro (0-2) is idle this week.