SHORT GAP, W.Va. — Mingo Central won its first playoff game since 2019 last week. Frankfort is hoping to make it a one-off.
The top-seeded and defending state champion Falcons (11-0) bring their 25-game winning streak into the matchup with No. 8 seed Mingo Central (9-2) on Saturday at 1 p.m. with a spot in the Class AA state semifinals on the line.
Frankfort is enjoying the spoils of locking down the top seed and home field advantage with its sixth unbeaten regular season. Mingo Central, located in Delbarton, West Virginia, on the Kentucky border, is making a five-hour, 316-mile trek across the state.
“We’re tickled to death to be playing at home throughout because, just the nature of Double-A and where we’re located, teams have to travel,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said.
“Our first-round opponent had to go about three-and-a-half hours. This opponent’s probably five-and-a-half hours (on a bus). If we get to next week, whoever we play would have a long drive too.”
Frankfort won its fifth playoff game in a row last week with a 49-7 rout of No. 16 Williamstown.
The Falcons have won by double digits in every game during their streak and by 20 or more points in 24 of 25 games.
Mingo Central, which won the 2016 Class AA state championship, defeated James Monroe, 24-14, in the first round last week.
The Miners, led by Marshall commit Aidan Burke at wide receiver, started 8-0 before a pair of losses to close the regular season.
“You don’t just magically become 9-2,” Whiteman said. “They’re 9-2 for a reason. They’ve done a lot of good things and played a lot of good football, or they wouldn’t be where they’re at at this time.”
Burke has made 67 receptions for 916 yards and seven touchdowns on the season as the top target for junior Jamere Knuckles, who is completing 68% of his passes for 2,195 yards and 17 touchdowns to five interceptions.
“Offensively, they’re going to spread it out and use a lot of spread formations,” Whiteman said. “They’ll have a good mix between the pass and the run, and the quarterback throws a nice ball.”
Burke leads the defense with six interceptions and three forced fumbles. The Miners have forced 27 turnovers this season.
Mingo Central, which will likely line up in a 5-3 defensively, will have to contend with a Frankfort offense averaging 44.3 points per game, just shy of the school record 44.5-point average it posted last season.
Frankfort’s potent Wing-T rushing attack is gaining 302.4 rushing yards per game.
Braydn Tyler is among the area leaders with 1,500 yards of total offense and 26 touchdowns, and his running mate Carder Shanholtz adds 1,086 total yards and 16 scores.
On the ground, Tyler has gained 13.7 yards per carry and Shanholtz gets 10.3 a run.
Quarterback Blake Jacobs is 35 for 55 through the air for 635 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception, adding 355 yards and five touchdowns rushing.
If Frankfort is able to handle Mingo Central’s blitz and get to the second level, that could spell doom for the Miners.
“Sometimes they bring all three linebackers,” Whiteman said. “Hopefully we’ll do a good job picking that up. Our kids are well-coached by my coaches to pick that stuff up. Coach (Jimmy) Jones, my line coach, does a good job with that.
“Once we get past that first level, we’re gone because there’s nothing left. So hopefully that’ll be the case on Saturday.”
Frankfort’s defense is led in tackles by Cole Shanholtz (68) and Gunnar Bradshaw (67). Eli Hesse has seven sacks.
Frankfort had a possible matchup with No. 4 Independence, widely seen as the second-best team in the classification, on the horizon.
Independence couldn’t get past unbeaten Doddridge County (12-0), falling 38-27 Friday, and Frankfort knows it can’t look ahead either.
“We know we have to focus on the task at hand,” Whiteman said. “We have to focus on maintaining for one week at a time. We don’t ever talk about looking ahead or we always go one week at a time, and this is the opponent we need to zero in on.”
In the meantime, Whiteman wants to see if his Falcons can play with the intensity and effort needed to become a champion.
“We also have to play to the whistle,” he said. “Sometimes we get lackadaisical in certain games, maybe it’s because we get ahead, but we’ve got to do a better job at playing every play like it’s our last play and playing to the whistle, carrying out our fakes and doing all the little things we need to do.
“We need to play like a championship caliber team would play.”