BAKER, W.Va. — East Hardy played for its first football state championship in 2015, taking a 12-1 record into the title game against undefeated Magnolia.
The end result, however, was a crushing 62-0 loss as multiple Class A Super Six records were broken.
“The season was a really special time for us and we really enjoyed it, but we hated to see the way it ended,” said East Hardy coach Chad Williams. “Magnolia had a heck of a football team and it was one of those nights where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
“I’ve used the game to motivate the team in the offseason in the weight room. But now I think it’s time to forget about that game. It was good motivation for a little while, but now it’s time to focus on 2016.”
The Cougars lost just four starters, giving Williams hope they can make another playoff push.
“We have our starting quarterback back for his third year, three linemen who will be third-year starters up front and a real solid core of receivers returning,” he said. “Those guys are all two-way guys, so it’s pretty much the same thing defensively.”
That quarterback is all-state senior Corey McDonald who threw for 2,981 yards and 36 touchdowns as a junior. He also ran for 1,160 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“Corey (McDonald) is a really competitive kid,” Williams said. “He’s really worked hard at developing his ability as a pure passer. He understands the offense as well as anyone could—he’s right on the same page as me right now. If I call a play, I know he’s going to make the read and he’s probably going to see the same thing I’m seeing.”
Brett Tharp, who led the Cougars with 1,199 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on 64 receptions, returns for his junior season. Junior Clay Skovron and sophomore Aden Funkhouser also return after combining for 585 receiving yards in 2015.
Junior running back Phillip Mullin returns following a sophomore campaign where he rushed for 599 yards and scored eight touchdowns.
The Cougars open the season at Page County (Va.) and then return home for a matchup against Class AA Frankfort.
“We have five AA schools on the schedule and we feel like if we can go undefeated, we can secure ourselves home field to the Island,” Williams said. “That’s the goal, not to have to go on the road in the playoffs. The Potomac Valley Conference is going to be tough again. Last year we had four teams in the top 10.
“I would expect Pocahontas County, Pendleton County and Moorefield all to be right up there with us and Tucker County, they’re always pretty good too. It’s a tough conference schedule.”