BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — Bluefield came up one game short of getting back to the Super Six in Wheeling last season as the Beavers fell in the Class AA semifinals to eventual state champion Bridgeport 42-21.
The Beavers in 2013 finished with a 10-3 record, those other two losses coming to Class AAA Princeton (32-29) and Class AA runner-up Wayne (29-27).
“It was nice to get to the semifinals,” said veteran Bluefield coach Fred Simon. “But we still would have loved to get to Wheeling, so it was a lot of good and a little bit of bad. I thought Bridgeport was a heck of a football team – their line was very good and they had a really good running back and quarterback. They were well coached with a tough schedule and when they beat us, I felt like they had a chance.”
As for Simon’s returnees this season, quarterback R.J. Bourne (1,779 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions last year) will be back for his senior campaign, along with senior fullback/linebacker Corey Coppola.
The Beavers also will boast two of the fastest athletes in the state in sophomore running back Carlos Reed and senior running back D.J. Stewart. Reed won the 100 meter dash at this past year’s state track meet with a time of 11.014. Stewart collected the second best time, finishing the 100 meters in 11.015.
“They are nice weapons to have,” Simon said. “We should also have a decent receiving core to go along with them, including senior Marcus Santoro who didn’t get to play last year because of a shoulder injury. We have another kid who played basketball who could develop in Jordan Huckleberry. He’s 6-foot-5 and can run very well – if he develops, we’ll have a nice passing threat as well.”
Skyler Dillow and Matthew Belcher will lead the way along the line in terms of returning experience.
Expectations, as always, will be high again for this year’s Bluefield team. The Beavers’ last football state championship came back in 2009.
“I think we’ll have a chance, I really do – because of the speed we have and the hard work of the players,” Simon said. “We haven’t been to Wheeling in a long time and it sure would be nice to get back there – things are never guaranteed. It takes a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. But it has been a while and we’ll do our best to get back there.”
Bluefield has the annual rivalry game against Graham, Va. to start off the season.
“I think we have a very competitive and tough schedule, but it’s one that I think we can win enough to get in the playoffs,” Simon said. “But whether we can advance that to get back to Wheeling is something that will have to be answered down the road.”
| BLUEFIELD 2014 Football Schedule |
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| 1 | 08/29/14 07:30PM | A | GRAHAM,VA H.S. | – | ||||
| 2 | 09/05/14 07:30PM | H | PRINCETON | – | ||||
| 3 | 09/12/14 07:30PM | H | OPEN | – | ||||
| 4 | 09/19/14 07:30PM | A | GATE CITY ,VA H.S. | – | ||||
| 5 | 09/26/14 07:30PM | H | GREENBRIER EAST | – | ||||
| 6 | 10/03/14 07:30PM | A | RICHLANDS, VA H.S. | – | ||||
| 7 | 10/10/14 07:30PM | A | RIVER VIEW | – | ||||
| 8 | 10/17/14 07:30PM | H | GREENBRIER WEST | – | ||||
| 9 | 10/24/14 07:30PM | H | OAK HILL | – | ||||
| 10 | 10/31/14 07:30PM | A | JAMES MONROE | – | ||||
| 11 | 11/07/14 07:30PM | A | WAYNE | – | ||||
| wins: 0 lost: 0 ties: 0 | ||||||||
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