SETH — For the second consecutive season, Sherman had to reschedule its season-opening high school football game against Wyoming East.

The teams agreed to postpone the game last year after the death of Wyoming East assistant coach Andy Grogg, the brother of the Warriors' head coach and the father of their starting quarterback.

The teams decided to do the same this year because the Warriors' field wasn't ready.

"They installed some new Bermuda grass, and they haven't had a very good summer for that," said Sherman coach Shann Elkins, whose team instead will open its season Friday at Independence. "They called to let me know that it wasn't ready."

Elkins offered to move the game from New Richmond to Seth.

"We would have loved to have them come to Boone County," Elkins said with a laugh, "but I knew the answer before I asked the question."

Elkins said he didn't mind postponing the game. Sherman now will visit Wyoming East in week three instead of week one.

"When you have an open date this early in the year, it doesn't matter if it's the first week or the third week," said Elkins, who drove to Ravenswood to scout Herbert Hoover and sent his assistants to Midland Trail to scout Independence on Friday. "It really wasn't a big deal.

"We were able to continue with our preseason schedule and get our work done. Some might have thought it would be a liability for us, but I think it's something that's going to help us out down the road."

The postponement also affects Sherman's archrival, Scott, which will host Wyoming East on Friday.

The Warriors will be able to watch game film of the Skyhawks from week one; the Skyhawks won't have the same opportunity. Instead, the Skyhawks will have to rely on footage from the Warriors' lone scrimmage.

"The big difference when you break down a scrimmage compared to a regular game is, in a scrimmage, coaches are more likely to manipulate personnel to see who can and who can't rather than manipulate personnel for success," said Scott coach Shane Griffith, whose team opened the season with a 26-14 road win over Roane County. "You don't necessarily see the pieces of the puzzle where they are going to be.

"Also, special teams are eliminated. So, you don't have an opportunity to evaluate and prepare for punts, kicks, returns and everything else that goes into it. It's completely different when you look at those (two types of) films. We have to make sure we assess and evaluate and prepare for what is presented to us."

If Scott is to make the Class AA state playoffs for the seventh consecutive season, it would behoove the Skyhawks to take advantage of their early-season schedule.

Scott has a 24-4 record against its first four opponents since 2000.

The Skyhawks are 7-1 against Roane County, 6-0 against Wyoming East, 6-3 against Chapmanville (with back-to-back losses, however) and 5-0 against Westside under Griffith, who is in his 10th season at his alma mater.

"You can't rely on your past to accomplish your future," Griffith said, repeating a statement he often tells his team to make sure it doesn't underestimate any of its opponents. "You have to hold that ground from year to year and not give it back."

Scott also is 1-0 against Lincoln County, 5-1 against Logan and 6-3 against Sherman in that span.

"When those types of games get to the fourth quarter, if they're still in doubt, if they're still up in the air, I believe those past experiences start to play in our favor," Griffith said. "That's just a psychological advantage. Roane County and Wyoming East and some of those schools, they really have to knock us out early to not let that advantage sway in our favor."

Getting as many wins as possible against that group would help the Skyhawks because the rest of their schedule isn't as favorable from a historical standpoint.

Scott is 1-5 against Wayne, 0-5 against Bluefield and 0-2 against James Monroe under Griffith, who has strengthened the Skyhawks' schedule in an effort to prepare them for the playoffs each year.

Bob Pruett delivered on his promise.

When he visited Van for a football fundraiser on Aug. 11, the former Marshall University head coach told the Bulldogs he would return for their season opener.

And there he was Friday night, participating in the pre-game coin toss between Van and Paden City.

Pruett watched the Bulldogs take a 35-24 halftime lead before leaving Herschel Jarrell Field at the intermission.

"I'm here to support high school football," said Pruett, who drove almost 10 hours and 500 miles roundtrip from his home in Charlottesville, Va.

"When a high school loses its athletic programs, it loses its identity. The football team means so much to this school and this community. I'm just happy they were able to come together and keep the team and have a season."

Van, which outlasted Paden City for a 49-38 victory, remained in the media spotlight throughout the summer because it appeared the Boone County school would be unable to field a team.

Officials from the school board and the high school agreed to drop football on June 30 because only 11 players attended the first day of summer conditioning.

However, a group of parents and concerned citizens generated enough interest to persuade 27 potential players to attend a meeting with officials from the school board and the high school on July 6. That allowed the Bulldogs to save their season.