Last week, Man was on the outside looking in as the Billies sat in 18th place in the Class A WVSSAC Computer Ratings.
With the top 16 teams making it to the playoffs Man needs to make up some ground.
Quickly.
But it won't be easy this week as Man (2-2) is scheduled to host unbeaten Fayetteville (5-0) on Friday night during Man High School's annual Homecoming Game.
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Man's George A. Queen Memorial Field.
Fayetteville, which beat Man last season 31-14, was ranked No. 7 in the state in last week's poll. The new ratings are scheduled to be released later today.
The Pirates won 40-6 last week over Valley Fayette, while the Billies were idle.
Man coach Harvey Arms said it's crunch time for his team.
"It is especially for us because will still have a tough schedule coming up," he said. "We're playing Fayetteville this week and they are undefeated."
It doesn't get any easier for Man after taking on the Pirates.
The final five games of the season have Man playing at Chapmanville on Oct. 3; playing at Gilbert on Oct. 10; playing at Wyoming East on Oct. 24; hosting Buffalo on Oct. 31; and hosting Iaeger on Nov. 7.
Chapmanville is 5-0 in the Class AA rankings and currently have a 5-0 record.
Gilbert is 2-3 while Iaeger is 3-2. The Cubs beat the Lions last week as the two met head-to-head.
Double-A Wyoming East was ranked 15th in the state last week. The Warriors are 3-2 after beating winless Mount View, 44-34.
Buffalo (2-3) is a usual Class A playoff contender but is somewhat down this year. The Bison beat South Gallia (Ohio) last week, 40-12.
"After Fayetteville we've got Chapmanville and they are undefeated," Arms said. "Then we've got Gilbert, Wyoming East, Buffalo and Iaeger. It's a tough schedule and we have to be on the ball."
Fayetteville had no trouble last Friday night in its win over the Greyhounds.
Drew Weis scored four touchdowns for the Pirates in the game which was played at WVU Tech's Martin Field. Fayetteville scored on five of their six first-half possessions.
"We came down here to win a football game and we won it. That's what matters," Fayetteville coach David Moneypenny told the (Beckley) Register-Herald. "And we didn't have any injuries, which is very important right now."
After Weis opened the scoring on a 5-yard burst at the 10:28 mark, the Pirates maintained the pressure on Valley's first possession. They forced a fourth-and-17 from the VHS 19, and the Greyhounds opted not to punt. A Jack Simms pass fell incomplete, giving the Pirates the ball on downs. Weis scored from the 3-yard stripe four plays later.
Fayetteville got a third touchdown from Weis, a 6-yarder on the first play of the second quarter, that was set up by an interception. Then the Pirates' Troy Hopkins got in the act, racing 29 yards to paydirt on an inside handoff from Weis on a reverse play.
Weis tacked on a 1-yard TD in the third quarter, then Valley finally got on the scoreboard on a 28-yard pass from Simms to Nick Accord.
Weis finished the game with 17 carries for 105 yards for Fayetteville.
Arms said the Pirates have a solid team.
"They were way up in the ratings last year and at this point they are seventh in the state," he said. "They're undefeated. They're a good football team. They play a tough, physical game. They have a balanced team. They have decent size and quickness. They're a tough team."
Arms said Weis is a good tailback.
"We know that he was very good last year and he's back this year," he said. "They also have a good quarterback with the Hernandez kid. They also have a few other good running backs and they have decent size on their offensive and defensive lines. They're a good football team."
Arms said Man's offense must be able to get into a rhythm. The Billies are led by quarterback Cory Spence and running backs Khris Tolliver and Brandon Plymale.
"We have to be able to move the football," he said. "We've got to try to be able to control the clock a little bit. We have to be able to keep the ball away from them and play mistake-free and penalty-free like always. We gave them too many advantages last year as we had three or four turnovers. They were all crucial."
Arms said Man had a productive bye week last week.
"We had several good practices," he said. "We worked on some things that we needed to improve on. We thought that we had a pretty good week."
Arms said Man is healthy going into the game.
"We're in good shape so far," he said. "Everybody is ready to play."
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