INWOOD, W.Va. — Musselman grabbed the No. 15 seed in the 2015 football playoffs as the Applemen made the 325 mile trek to Point Pleasant in the opening round, an eventual 54-14 loss.
It was a difficult ending to a season that was filled with plenty of positives for the young Applemen.
“Point Pleasant was a good squad and they were a tough matchup,” said head coach Brian Thomas. “We had a lot of youth last year. I think we accomplished a lot, being so young. We were able to learn from it, not only just trying to make it back, but trying to also take that next step.”
“After we lost that playoff game, we set the tone with our kids. If we want to take that next step and not be good, but be great, then we had to put the work in,” Thomas continued. “We had a good turnout of kids in the weight room and we had the kids take leadership classes.”
Musselman lost only four seniors who played in 2015 and returns a core group of skill players, including junior running back Jacob Northcraft and senior quarterback Latrell Warr – both rushed for over 1,000 yards last season.
“There aren’t too many teams in the state with two 1,000 yard rushers returning – so we kind of lean on those two a little bit,” Thomas said. “We have some really good senior leaders. I preach to the kids that everyone has a role and everyone has a job. If we do it, I think we can be a pretty good team.”
Senior receivers Nate Tate and Cam Stephens are two other threats offensively returning for the Applemen.
“We want to hand the ball off, but at the same time, we play these teams that are good ball clubs and they load the box. We have to be able to throw the ball if we want to win games and take that next step,” he continued. “We want to run the ball first, but if teams load the box, we also have to be able to throw it and make some plays out on the edge.”
Musselman opens up the season at home against Spring Mills, which made the playoffs last year for the first time in the school’s brief history.
“I like our schedule – our conference is tough. Four of our six teams made the playoffs last year,” Thomas said. “We also have Morgantown on the schedule and they return as much as anyone this year, so they’ll be good.
“We picked up a couple of other different teams and we still have Greenbrier East on the schedule – they’re a team that made the playoffs,” he continued. “We can’t take anyone lightly. If we want to be a really good football team and take that next step, then every single week has to be a big game for us.”