Bridgeport Keeps No. 1 Spot in MetroNews Power Rankings, But Gap Tightens
By Michael Minnich on September 01, 2026
It will be No. 1 in Class AAA vs. No. 2 in Class AAAA on Friday.
Both the Bridgeport Indians and Martinsburg Bulldogs kept their preseason slots in the Week 2 edition of the MetroNews Power Rankings.
Bridgeport easily handled Buckhannon-Upshur, 68-0, in their opener on Friday, while Martinsburg, in a game pushed from Thursday to Friday by torrential downpours in the Eastern Panhandle, brushed aside Hedgesvile, 74-0.
Bridgeport did lose a bit of its lead, going from 12 first-place votes and 188 points last week to 10 first-place votes and 186 points this week.
Princeton (1-0, 8 first-place votes, 181 points), gained 10 points and cut the BHS lead from 17 to 5 after blanking Capital, 63-0.
Herbert Hoover (1-0, 2 first-place votes, 172 points) is third after trouncing Fairmont Senior, 49-3.
Chapmanville (1-0, 124) moved from No. 5 to No. 4, while South Charleston (1-0, 114) is up from No. 8 to No. 5
North Marion (1-0), 94) remained at No. 6, while Winfield (0-0, 46) moved up three spots despite not playing.
Elkins (1-0, 41) is in after beating Lincoln last week, while Spring Valley (0-1, 38) dropped from No. 7 to No. 9.
Robert C. Byrd (1-0, 34) is 10th, just ahead of a receiving-votes group of Fairmont Senior (32), Keyser (18), Shady Spring (10), John Marshall (6), Nicholas County (3) and Nitro (1).
Morgantown (1-0, 12 first-place votes, 191), is the only team ahead of Martinsburg (1-0, 8 first-place votes, 187) in AAAA.
George Washington (1-0, 145), University (1-0, 138) and Huntington (0-1, 126) complete the AAAA top 5.
Then, it's Spring Mills (1-0, 108), Wheeling Park (1-0, 69), Woodrow Wilson (1-0, 55), Cabell Midland (1-0, 27) and Jefferson (0-1, 26), with Parkersburg (12), Parkersburg South (9), Musselman (4) and Hurricane (3) receiving votes.
Frankfort was one vote away from being a unanimous No. 1 in Class AA, getting 19 first-place votes and 199 points after a 1-0 start to lead Independence (1-0, 173), Bluefield (0-1, 1 first-place vote, 157), Roane County (1-0, 108), Mingo Central (1-0, 104), Williamstown (1-0, 91), Philip Barbour (1-0, 89), James Monroe (1-0, 70), Logan (1-0, 37) and Clay County (1-0, 16), with Doddridge County (23), Sissonville (11), South Harrison (8) and Petersburg (2) getting votes.
In Class A, Wheeling Central (1-0, 20 first-place votes, 200 points) is the only unaminous No. 1.
Pendleton County (1-0, 168), Cameron (1-0, 159), Wahama (1-0, 140) and East Hardy (1-0, 120) is the top 5 in Class A, with Sherman (1-0, 71), Greenbrier West (1-0, 64), St. Marys (0-0, 63), Pocahontas County (1-0, 31) and Tolsia (1-0, 27) in the back half.
Clay-Battelle (24), Tug Valley (9), Tucker County (7), Webster County (6), Man (4), Meadow Bridge (3), Calhoun County (2) and Wirt County (2) received votes in Class A.
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