PARKERSBURG — Quarterback Brandon Penn and the Parkersburg South offense started their inaugural 2019 seven-on-seven with just four plays to choose from on the field. New head coach Nate Tanner and his staff were still discovering what they had on both sides of the ball. More and more information and variety being introduced as the players showed their grid-iron capabilities. “We are still adding to this day and breaking certain tendencies to give us an edge on our opponent,” said Penn. Through seven weeks, the results have produced good things. The Patriots are undefeated and at No. 2 in the latest West Virginia Secondary School Activities’s Commission football playoff ratings. South’s latest victory, a 30-21 win over Huntington last Friday, capped an opening six games full of success. “We could have done some more things on the offensive side of the ball to make the win more dominant for us but a win is a win,” said Penn of the Huntington victory. The Patriots’ numbers though are still hard to argue with heading into the bye week. Penn and company have averaged 46.7 points and more than 500 yards per game, while the defense has yielded 17.5 points per contest. While the momentum alone is enough for coach Tanner and company to want to skip the bye, he and his group are thankful for the long weekend to rest and recharge. Tanner and his family are planning a trip to Roane County. “The wife and my little one are going to be happy to see me. My wife lives in Spencer and we are going to go to the Black Walnut Festival and will probably stay with her family,” said Tanner. Everyone though had to first earn it. The Patriots’ staff and the players viewed the last four days as extra preparation for a trip to Morgantown Friday night. They face a Mohigans team that while 1-6 has closely played annual playoff contenders in Wheeling Park, Parkersburg, Musselman and Class AA Bridgeport. “Every week we go in with the same philosophy and though we aren’t playing anybody this week you still have to beat the bye,” said Tanner. “It is easy to get comfortable and complacent on a bye week. Everyone goes into the mentality we need to heal up. A lot of people assume a bye week is easy.” Preston Fox and a triple-headed running attack nearly handed an offensively explosive Park team a second loss on the year Thursday evening. Matt Lacy’s offense, leading 28-13, though went dormant in the final 8:57 against the northern Patriots. Park quarterback Alex Dunleavy’s 2-yard touchdown connection with Stephen Mitchell with 33 seconds left in the game then put the exclamation point on a 15-point comeback. Thus, sending the Mohigans to their third one-possession loss of 2019. “Morgantown is a good team and we have to focus on the little things and take it one day at a time,” said South running back Devin Gaines, who is dealing with a pulled hip flexor. Landon Francisco (who suffered a injury in the first quarter of the Huntington game) and Zach Welch (one of several starters at linebacker) joined Gaines on the sideline. Not only is the Morgantown team left on the Patriots schedule, but a trip to Wheeling Park comes in two weeks after a visit from Greenbrier East. All regular game week activities were moved up one day. Sprints and lifting took place Monday, while the team in the words of Tanner ‘got after it’ in practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tanner has liked what his group has given him the last four days. “I think we are in a good spot,” said Tanner. “The staff does a good job of keeping our kids with an edge and not letting them get comfortable. Whenever you have a large group of high school boys and they are having fun it makes it easier to come and do the work part. They only get ten opportunities to play and the kids have done a great job of stepping up and doing what is asked of them. “It is huge that we had a successful bye week because Morgantown is not going to be scared of Parkersburg South. We have to compete our tails off to come out with a win.”