Madonna (9-0) at Clay-Battelle (9-0) – The Cee-Bees are looking for the first 10-0 regular season in school history. Madonna is looking to go 10-0 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.

Clay-Battelle earned a come-from-behind, 32-27 victory last week over rival Notre Dame, as Nick Bragg caught the game winning 37-yard touchdown pass from Lucas Cottrell with 5:50 to go. Cottrell made the play for the touchdown, as he broke a tackle at the 10-yard line to get into the end zone. The victory tied the school record for wins in a regular season. Now the Cee-Bees will try and set a new school record at home Friday.

"This game is not going to make or break our football program," Clay-Battelle coach Ryan Wilson said. "If we can get the win, fantastic. That will be 10-0, and the school has never had that.

"But our program is established," Wilson continued. "We've had winning seasons. We've been in the playoffs for several years. If it does not work out with a win Friday night, it is still a great year, because we will be playing next week in the state playoffs."

Wilson says, win or lose against Madonna, his team will host a team in the first round of the playoffs.

"Madonna is the state runner-up from last year with several kids returning," Wilson said. "So they are a team that was picked preseason as one of the top teams, and they are living right up to that.

"This is what we like heading into the playoffs," Wilson said. “You like to be challenged, and this is one of the top teams in the state."

The Clay-Battelle/Madonna game can be heard Friday night on 1440-AM WAJR in Morgantown.

Robert C. Byrd (6-3) at Bluefield (7-2) – The Eagles make the long trip south with the playoffs still hanging in the balance. RCB gave itself a chance of getting into the Class AAA playoff field with a stirring 26-19 win last week over Lewis County. Trailing at halftime, coach Bryan Fisher says he appealed to his seniors.

"I just told them that the playoffs hung in the balance, Fisher said. "I turned to the seniors and told them that four years of hard work would end right here if they didn't bring up the intensity. Up front, the offensive and defensive lines took over the game."

The comeback win gives RCB a chance of extending its season.

"We had to have that one to have any chance to get in," Fisher said of the win over Lewis County. "We've been in that mode for a couple of weeks now since the Grafton game. By winning last week, it gives us a chance. If we can beat Bluefield, we will get in. If we lose, we'll have about a 50/50 chance."

The trip to Bluefield will certainly be a tough assignment.

"It doesn't matter what class, Bluefield is as good as any team in the state in any given year," Fisher said. "It doesn't hurt to play a AA team like Bluefield, because they are going to give you bonus points if you are fortunate enough to win."

Fairmont Senior (8-1) at East Fairmont (3-6) – Fairmont Senior is coming off a loss at Bridgeport. Still quarterback Logan Moore is among the top Kennedy Award candidates in the state. Moore has thrown for over 1,800 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has also rushed the ball for over 400 yards and eight scores. Fairmont Senior will enter the playoffs in a much better position this season than last when the Polar Bears took a No. 14 ranking on the road for a first round match-up with Wheeling Park. A win in the annual East/West game would ensure the Bears a top five finish in AAA.

Bridgeport (9-0) at North Marion (3-6) – The Indians can earn their highest ranking playoff seed (No. 2 or 3) since returning to the AAA level. The previous highest was No. 6. Bridgeport is also in pursuit of its first unbeaten regular season since 2001. The Indians had back-to-back unbeaten seasons in 2000 and 2001, as they went 20-0 during that stretch, winning the 2000 state Class AA championship and then reaching the title game again in 2001. The Indians easier-than-expected 35-7 win over previously unbeaten Fairmont Senior last week followed a familiar script this season. Bridgeport dominated from the start. The Indians have not trailed in a game in the second half all season and have only been tied once, that came during a week two win over Wheeling Park.

Elkins (3-6) at Buckhannon-Upshur (2-7) – Both teams look to finish the season strong, as they are coming off wins. Buckhannon defeated Preston 30-7, while Elkins defeated North Marion 24-23. The Elkins win came in dramatic fashion, as kicker Cory Broughton hit a 21-yard field goal as time expired.

Trinity (2-7) at Ieager (7-2) – A journey of 2,208 miles comes to an end for Trinity with a game this week on the road at Ieager. Trinity played eight of its 10 games on the road with long trips to the likes of Petersburg and Williamson, as well as Ieager.

The school has experienced victory twice this season in its initial campaign, and that is enough for Trinity coach Scott Werdebaugh to consider the year a success.

"This year has been a success," Werdebaugh said. "We really got hit by the injury bug, but our kids found a way to persevere.

"We set the foundation this year," the coach continued. "We needed to get our program up and started and get through that learning phase. Our kids have transformed themselves from athletes to football players. Now they know what it takes to succeed in terms of preparation and weight work during the off season."

"We need more players," Werdebaugh added. "We need to get our numbers up. The hardest part about it is that we don't have a feeder school. We have to rely on kids who want to come to high school at Trinity Christian School. We would like to put a middle school program in at our grade school level, but right now we do not have the numbers there either."

One bit of good news for next season is that the schedule is much more forgiving. Most of the long trips will be eliminated, and Trinity will play six home games next year compared to just two this season.

Preston (0-9) at Nicholas County (8-1) – Last year, Preston pulled out a thrilling 28-14 home turf win over an 8-1 Nicholas County team to clinch the school's first playoff birth in 13 seasons. This year, however, the Knights were not able to capitalize on the momentum as three tough, early season losses zapped the team of energy. Then the injuries started to pile up. The Knights’ last chance for a win in 2009 comes up Friday. Nicholas County, meanwhile, will make it back to the postseason again. Coming off a bye week, a win Friday by the Grizzlies would ensure a first round home playoff game.

Grafton (4-5) at Magnolia (9-0) – The Bearcats had just too much to replace from last year's Class AA title team. The Bearcats started the season 3-2, but then entered into a tough stretch with games against defending Class A champ Williamstown and then against AAA foe Robert C. Byrd. The losing streak reached three when the Bearcats suffered a close loss on the road to a ranked Oak Glen team. Grafton has, perhaps, its toughest challenge yet against an unbeaten and No. 2 ranked Magnolia team on the road.

Other games around the region:
Tucker County (7-2) at Philip Barbour (1-8)
Wirt County (7-2) at South Harrison (6-3)