By PAMELA SCOTT JOHNSON

Sports Editor

The Mingo Miners travel to Welch this weekend to battle the River View Raiders at Vic Nystrom Stadium.

One poll has River View a slot above Central in class 2A while another has the Raiders well below the Miners.

Mingo Central had an impressive showing against Wyoming East Aug. 26. However, neither team has really been tested yet.

So, no talking, use a No. 2 pencil and keep your eyes on your own paper…the test begins Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

While this is a home game for River View, the Raiders are actually on the road as construction on a new football field is incomplete. The Raiders play all home games on Mount View’s field.

This is a weekend of Mingo verses McDowell as Mount View will host Tug Valley Friday evening. The Miners/Raiders game will take place Saturday.

River View is 2-0 on the season with a 36-14 win over Mount View and a 55-23 thrashing of Pikeview.

The Raiders proved they can run or pass after a balanced attack in the season opener against Mount View.

One of the key players for the Raiders is QB Jacob Muncy. The senior connected with Leshon Benton five times for 124 yards, a pair of touchdown and two-point conversions.

The View’s rushing attack was led by senior HB John Bailey who added two more TDs on the ground.

In the game against Pikeview, seven different players scored touchdowns for the Raiders.

Besides Muncy and Bailey, notable players to watch are RB Brandon Church, RB Trey Bailey and WR LeShon Benton.

Central must take care of the ball against the Raiders and cut down on penalties. The Miners were flagged 12 times against Wyoming East for a total of 90-yards. MCHS also lost a fumble and threw 2 interceptions.

But there was plenty of good news after the Miners’ first victory.

Central rushed for 221 yards led by Darian Browning (72), Joey Canterbury (50) and Chance Lester (42).

Joe May ran for 38 yards on 13 carries and was Ashton Cline’s main target when the QB went to the air. May caught 7 passes for 108 yards.

Cline completed 14 passes out of 26 attempts for 241 yards. He threw 3 TD passes but also had 2 interceptions.

The defense was led by Drew Kirk, Israel Reynolds, Steven Messer and Corey Daniels, as well as Jacob Staton, Troy Starr and R.J. Collins.

The Miners’ D forced Wyoming East to fumble 7 times losing 4 to Central.

MCHS ran 67 plays for 462 yards of offense, 26 first downs and 7 TDs.

River View finished last year with a 9-2-1 record and ranked 6th overall at the end of the regular season. The Raiders defeated Matewan 36-22 and Gilbert 44-6.

Many of the young men on those two squads are now playing for the Miners after the consolidation of Matewan, Gilbert, Williamson and Burch. These players are traveling to Welch with a gleam in their eyes and a chip on their shoulders

And they are bringing friends.