MAN — Ever since the WVSSAC’s Computer Ratings were released after Week 3 of the season the Man High School football team has been the No. 1 ranked Class A team in the state.

The Hillbillies would like to keep it that way with two games left to be played in the regular season.

If Man if able to hold onto the No. 1 or No. 2 spot the Billies will have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Billies (7-1) could cement that with a pair of wins, beginning with this Friday night’s game at Buffalo. The Bison have been up and down this season and enter the contest with a 3-5 mark.

After playing Buffalo, Man is scheduled to host 4-3 Matewan on Saturday, Nov. 7 in the finale.

Matewan is still a week away.

Man has to take care of business this week against Buffalo, which was blown out 48-12 by Class A No. 10-ranked Fayetteville last week.

Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Buffalo High School football field.

Man coach Harvey Arms said the Buffalo game will be a huge one for his team as far as nailing down home field advantage. The Billies are coming off a 61-0 rout at home over Wyoming East last week.

“It would be nice to be able to play at home in the playoffs if we can finish this thing right,” Arms said. “In my experience here we haven’t had a home playoff game yet. We’ve had to travel on the road three different years. It would be nice to have one at home.”

Man traveled to Mount Hope last year in the first round of the playoffs and beat the Mustangs 27-6. The Billies then went to Williamstown in the second round and lost a narrow 21-16 game to the eventual state champions.

In 2005, Man beat Hamlin, 14-0, in the first round and fell at Williamstown in the quarterfinals.

Man also had to travel in 2004 and fell at Madonna in the first round of the Class A playoffs.

The last home playoff game for the Billies was back in 1997.

If Man can beat Buffalo and Matewan the Billies will almost certainly nail down home field advantage

“We’ve got two tough games yet to go,” Arms said.

The Bison were stung by Fayetteville running back Drew Weis in last week’s game. Weis rushed for five touchdowns on runs of 46, 18, 3, 50 and 29 yards – and finished with 278 yards on 19 carries as Fayetteville defeated visiting Buffalo. Pirates’ quarterback MichaelAngelo Hernandez also threw TD passes of 25 yards to Hunter Hernandez and 52 yards to Caleb O’Neal.

Buffalo was led last week by Cameron Jones, who carried the ball eight times for 76 yards and two TDs, including a 70-yarder. Jones also caught six passes for 110 yards from QB Levi Jordan, who connected on 9-of-20 passes for 186 yards.

Man and Buffalo began its series last season as the Billies won 14-6 at home over the Bison.

Buffalo, a usual Class A playoff contender, has struggled at times this season. The Bison began the season with three straight losses to Gilbert (40-0), Parkersburg Catholic (47-6) and Putnam County rival Poca (56-16) before scoring a 40-14 win over Portsmouth East (Ohio) on Sept. 18. Buffalo then won 20-12 at Clarksburg Notre Dame, lost 24-18 at Tolsia and won 18-14 at home over Clay County.

Despite the ups and downs, Arms said Buffalo is no slouch.

“It’s going to be a tough game on the road. They are always a tough football program,” Arms said. “They’ve won some games this year but we have to go over there and take care of business. The thing for us now is to maintain focus and continue to play our game. We can’t get too involved with worrying about what someone else is going to do. We have to focus on what we’re going to do and keep playing physical.”

Man scored early and often last week in the blowout over the 2A Wyoming East Warriors and was led by its stout defense. Derek Lomax had an interception for a touchdown, while Ryan Crawford and Wade Maynard each had a sack and Steven Craddock also had an interception.

Jimmy Duba had four tackles and two assists for Man on defense. Manual Gibson had three solos and two assists, while Zack Underwood had two solos and three assists. Lomax had two solos and three assists for the game. Crawford had two solos, two assists and a sack. Ryan Hatfield added three solo tackles. Derrick Earnest and Cody Owens had two solos and one assist.

On offense, Man quarterback Ryan Crum scored on a 37-yard touchdown run and passed for a 47-yard score to Hatfield and a 12-yard TD to Earnest.

Lomax scored a second touchdown in the game on a 7-yard run. He also had a 35-yard interception return for another score.

Earnest added a long field goal from 39 yards out. Backup kicker Josh Booth also kicked an 18-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Running back Brandon Plymale, who has missed the last two games, is expected to be back on Friday night. He was ill last week and did not play. Two weeks ago, he sat out with a banged up knee.

“I think he’ll be back. He had some flu last week but other than that he could have played,” Arms said. “Our backs have done a good job in his absense. But it’s always nice to have your full complement of players.”