Three weeks after they met on the football field for the first time, Hurricane and George Washington will face off again on Friday with both teamsƵ seasons on the line.
The Patriots and ƵSkins meet in the first round of the Class AAAA playoffs at the same site as the Nov. 1 contest Ƶ HurricaneƵs Jim McGehee Field Ƶ where Hurricane pulled away in the second half for a 37-21 Mountain State Athletic Conference victory over GW on Nov. 1, avenging a loss the season before in Charleston.
FridayƵs matchup will kick off at 7 p.m. on the artificial surface at HurricaneƵs stadium, where GW has lost the last three times it has played there. The PatriotsƵ last win against Hurricane at McGehee Field was in 2018.
GW coach Steve Edwards Jr. said there is no different approach that heƵs taking this week than what the 11th-seeded Patriots did before their game with No. 6 Hurricane three weeks ago.
ƵWeƵre just trying to get better,Ƶ Edwards said. ƵWeƵre trying to improve on the things we didnƵt do the last time. WeƵre trying to improve on the little things like penalties Ƶ jumping offsides, not having blown assignments.Ƶ
After GWƵs loss to Hurricane in the regular season, Edwards remarked that Hurricane made the plays when they needed to and that the Patriots did not.
Ahead of FridayƵs matchup, Edwards said the Patriots have the confidence to win.
Victory will send one of the teams to the quarterfinals to face the winner of No. 3 Jefferson and No. 14 Cabell Midland.
For Hurricane coach Donnie Mays, the week off from competition due to court injunctions over the ƵSSACƵs playoff rating system served as a welcome bye week from collisions on the field.
Fully healthy, HurricaneƵs preparation for GW isnƵt any different ahead of the playoff game than it was for the first matchup.
Like Edwards, though, Mays said he wants to see a different style of play this time around than in the previous contest. Hurricane was flagged 12 times in that game for 101 yards. Four of those were for 15 yards.
One unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Hurricane after a touchdown was followed by a kickoff out of bounds. Forced to kick off again from deep in its own territory, GW obtained a starting field position at the Hurricane 43-yard-line.
That helped the Patriots overcome a 14-0 deficit to tie the game 14-14.
ƵWe need to fine-tune the details,Ƶ Mays said. ƵWe didnƵt execute technically. Schematically, we were fine.Ƶ
Indeed, Hurricane flexed the muscles of its high-powered offense with quarterback Noah Vellaithambi completing 18 of 26 passes for 270 yards. Vellaithambi was intercepted twice but threw three touchdown passes, all to JaƵlei Burnette, who finished with seven receptions for 120 yards.
Vellaithambi, Kylan Grace and AJ Gregory combined for 44 rushes totaling 186 yards. Vellaithambi added two rushing touchdowns in that game.
The game was tied 21-21 with 9:52 to play in the third quarter. One of VellaithambiƵs rushing TDs, followed by one of the scoring tosses to Burnette, helped Hurricane to the win.
Rick Elmore covers sports. He can be reached at 304-348-5122 or relmore@hdmediallc.com. Follow @ElmoreSports on Twitter/X.
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