Two dominant backs in Logan Payne and Brody Scarbro are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. After each having a week off, the Braxton County Eagles and the Clay County Panthers will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both come into the game bolstered by wins in their previous matches.
Last Friday, Braxton County needed a bit of extra time to put away PikeView. In a tight contest that could have gone either way, they made off with a 27-26 win over the Panthers.
Jamie Nettles
| 10/24/25 vs PikeView | 9 |
| 10/17/25 @ Doddridge County | 9 |
| 10/10/25 vs Buffalo | 7 |
| 10/03/25 @ Poca | 6 |
| 09/26/25 vs Roane County | 14 |
| + 5 more games |
One reason for the win was Braxton County's imposing defense, which managed to get into the backfield for four sacks. PikeView's QB won't forget Jamie Nettles anytime soon given he sacked him twice. Nettles is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in each of the last ten games he's played dating back to last season. Another thorn in PikeView's side was Landon Helmick, who picked up a sack, made 13 total tackles, and defended one pass.
Meanwhile, Clay County never let their opponents score last Friday. They claimed a resounding 41-0 victory over Ravenswood. The result was nothing new for the Panthers, who have now won six matchups by 21 points or more so far this season.
A big part of Clay County's win came down to the chemistry between Cooper Collins and his top target Jakoby Nichols. Collins threw for 320 yards and five TDs while completing 77.8% of his passes while Nichols picked up 119 receiving yards and three scores. Collins' passing game has become a key predictor of Clay County's success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 100 or higher, but only 0-3 otherwise. A healthy portion of Collins' aerial production (80 yards to be exact) also went to Joel Elliott, who also brought in a receiving touchdown.
Clay County's run defense was locked in: Ravenswood could only muster 3.4 yards per carry. The team can thank Blake Coleman for the heroic effort on defense: he. Clay County's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 4.85 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 9.47 on average over their last five games.
Clay County's victory was their fourth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 6-3. The home wins came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 9.3 points on average over those games. As for Braxton County, their record now sits at 4-5.
Braxton County might still be hurting after the 37-15 loss they got from Clay County in their previous meeting back in November of 2024. Thankfully for the Eagles, Noah Collins (who threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 59 yards on only seven carries) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
