Sports

Getting ready for the debate

West Virginia University's football team was primed to make a run for the national championship as the season unfolded three weeks ago. Those hopes are still alive, but the outlook is not as good now as it was then.

The Berkeley Springs High School Volleyball Team hosted Martinsburg on Thursday, September 13 and gave the Bulldogs quite a battle before losing the best of five match, three games to one.

Martinsburg edged the Indians 26-24 in game one, before Berkeley Springs bounced back in game two with a 25-19 victory. Martinsburg won the next game, in the seesaw battle, 25-18 and then closed out the match with a hard fought 25-22 win in game four.

Area baseball players who played during the 1950s through 1970s will gather 2-5 p.m. on Sunday, September 23 at Warm Springs Intermediate School to honor legendary player and coach Tex Hessler.

Tex Hessler & Friends Day will be a rare opportunity to share memorabilia, pictures and memories with Hessler and friends. Attendees are encouraged to take pictures, old uniforms, hats, equipment and stories about their baseball experiences. Admission is free and light refreshments will be served.

This wasn't the best game of the year for the Berkeley Springs High School Football Team, statistically speaking, but statistics can be deceiving. And, that was never more evident than it was on Friday, September 14, at Morgan Field in Berkeley Springs. Berkeley Springs, which came into the game averaging 428 yards per game managed only 282 yards of total offense, but still destroyed South Hagerstown, 56-22.

Berkeley Springs' first 28 points of the game came on 95 yards of total offense. Normally the Indians would churn out 200 yards or more on four scoring drives, but they didn't have to because of the terrific field position they were afforded by good defense, turnovers and poor punting. The short fields mask another very efficient performance from the Indian offense and in particular the double-headed monster of Cody Reed and Cody Hess, the two talented senior running backs.

Grafton, rated fifth in the state in Class AA by Charleston Gazette, visited the number six team in the Gazette poll, Berkeley Springs, in one of the feature Class AA match-ups in the state at Morgan Field on Friday, September 7, in Berkeley Springs. The Indians used a "bend-but-don't-break" defense and its vaunted offense to stampede the Bearcats 40-3, in front of a large and enthusiastic home crowd.

For the second time in as many meets, both Lenny Roach and Rachel Buser brought home individual gold medals.

Traveling all the way to Cabell-Midland High School in Barboursville in order to compete against some of the state's best competition and the opportunity to run on the course where the state meet will be held, Berkeley Springs performed well and now know what improvements are needed as they move forward.

Berkeley Springs overcame adversity to defeat St. James 3-2 on Tuesday, September 4, at Morgan Field.

The Indians playing shorthanded because of injury, and with other players hampered by injury, managed to juggle the lineup and come up with a big win over an opponent they had never beaten.

The Lady Pirates traveled to Moorefield last Tuesday evening and were defeated 3-2.

Moorefield took the first two games 25-18 and 25-17 and game five 15-12, Paw Paw took games three, 25-23 and four 25-20.

A trip to Huntington

There are those West Virginia University football fans who have said all along that West Virginia should not play Marshall University in football.

Berkeley Springs High School opened the 2007 volleyball season with a road loss to Jefferson County on September, 4. The Indians competed well against their Class AAA opponent, before losing in three games to the Cougars 25-19, 25-23 and 25-14.

"The first contest of the year always provides anticipated excitement and emotion and tonight was no different," said Berkeley Springs coach Phil Hofe. "For us to win we need to have an attacking offense and most of the night we were on our heels and off balance. We stayed close in the first two games, especially the second, but in the third game we lost our intensity. Overall I was pleased with the way the girls played and I thought we were very competitive."