BLACKSVILLE – The only thing that changed for the Clay-Battelle High School football team during its bye in Week 4 was the fact that they didn’t play a game on Friday night.
“We have a weekly routine that we believe in,” C-B head coach Aaron LaPoe said. “We stuck to that routine and took Friday off instead of playing a game. We focus on getting better every practice. So that didn’t change either. The strategy was to just schedule 10 games. We ended up with a Week 4 bye due to numerous schedule changes in the offseason, including teams folding and schools closing. ”
The Cee-Bees are 2-1 entering Week 5 and sit at No. 10 in the latest WVSSAC Class A playoff ratings, released Tuesday. They’ll travel to Glenville on Friday night to visit No. 15 Gilmer County in a crucial midseason matchup.
The Titans are 2-2 in 2025 and are coming off a 55-26 defeat to Wirt County last week. They only have a two-point difference in points scored (137) and points allowed (135), and haven’t played a contest with a margin of victory less than 26 points, regardless of victory or defeat.
Gilmer is led by junior running back Tyler Ratiliff, who has 598 yards on 83 carries and seven touchdowns in 2025.
“Gilmer is big on the line of scrimmage,” LaPoe said. “They run a stick-I offense and are disciplined in their scheme. Their QB can make plays, and their running back runs very hard.”
The Cee-Bees also have their own playmaking abilities in the backfield with the duo of Caleb Hall and Caleb Snodgrass, who have become a dangerous one-two punch for their team.
“We run the ball a lot because our offensive line is so good,” LaPoe said. “Both Caleb’s are very talented, but what is more impressive is their unselfishness. They both just want to do their part to help the team win. What’s more impressive, however, is how hard they block for each other rather than how hard they run.”
Clay-Battelle is outscoring its opponents 106 to 48 through three games, with one-third of its points coming on defense, including three touchdowns.
“Our defense is doing just about as much scoring as the offense is,” LaPoe said. “I believe the defense has scored three touchdowns so far this year. Offensively, we are big and strong where we need to be, and we are fast where we need to be.”
With a tough home contest against No. 4 Meadow Bridge ahead in Week 6 and another road trip to Richwood in Week 7, a victory over Gilmer on the road Friday would certainly give the Cee-Bees a huge wave of momentum to help carry them into the back half of the 2025 calendar.
“We need to continue focusing on all of the small details so that we can execute more and more plays at a high level,” LaPoe said. “So far, I think we’ve learned that we are a talented, senior led group that can be as good as we are willing to work for.”
