Miner Mountain to the Island: Mingo Central stays perfect for AA title

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WHEELING, W.Va. — Mingo Central, in just its sixth year as a school, won its first football championship on Friday night, completing a 14-0 perfect season with a 32-7 win over No. 5 Fairmont Senior from Wheeling Island Stadium.

“That’s what it’s all about,” said Mingo Central coach Yogi Kinder. “That’s what these consolidations do – they get you separated and you have to work to get it all back together again.

“This will bring our communities together,” he continued. “Kids from every one of these schools – Matewan, Gilbert, Burch, Williamson – contributed tonight in this football game.”

Joe Hunt rushed for 215 yards and two touchdowns for the Miners as he took MVP honors for the Miners.

“It feels amazing – we’ve worked all summer for this and our offense line tonight were savages, they went hard,” Hunt said. “They’re the reason that I had 215 yards tonight. And our fans are awesome, you couldn’t ask for a better fanbase. I’m so happy that we got to do it for them.”

Miners’ quarterback Jeremy Dillon threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns, adding 64 rushing yards and another score on the ground in the win.

“It’s been dream season and I want to give credit to God, I couldn’t do anything without him,” Dillon said. “Our offensive line was outstanding (again), they have been throughout the entire playoffs.”

Mingo Central vs. Fairmont Senior in the Class AA high school football state championship game.
Mingo Central quarterback Jeremy Dillon accounted for three touchdowns in the Miners’ win over Fairmont Senior.

Fairmont Senior (10-3) took the game’s opening momentum by scoring on its first possession, going 62 yards in 10 plays. Polar Bears’ quarterback Jake Abbott broke free for a 31-yard touchdown run on 4th-and-inches as he was initially stopped behind the line, but a second effort pushed him into the open field.

The Miners, though, quickly answered with an eight play, 80-yard drive as Dillon connected with D.J. Sheppard for a 16-yard touchdown on 4th-and-8.

“I dropped back and their big defensive end, Stills, rushed the inside and so I had to step out a little bit,” Dillon said. “I just threw it up to (Sheppard) and let him make a play. It was definitely a momentum changing point of the gain. They could have gone down and scored again if they would have gotten it.

“We talked all week in practice that this game was going to have a lot of ups and downs,” he continued. “So we knew that we were going to bounce back (after that first Fairmont score).”

After a Thomas Harmon interception defensively for the Miners, Dillon and Sheppard again connected for a 43-yard touchdown score, taking a 13-7 lead as the first quarter clock expired.

Mingo Central later converted on another Fairmont Senior turnover – this time a fumble – by putting together a nine play, 67 yard drive as Hunt punched it in for a two yard score to put the Miners up 19-7.

The two teams went to the half with Mingo Central leading 19-7 as neither team scored in the third.

The Miners seized complete control in the fourth as senior Caleb Lester recovered another Fairmont Senior fumble at the Polar Bears’ three-yard line. Hunt then scored from three yards out to give Mingo Central a 25-7 lead just 6:48 to go in the game.

Dillon added his final touchdown from nine yards out with 3:56 remaining.

The win puts a final cap on Kinder’s head coaching career with the Miners as he announced going into the season that it would be his final year. The successes on the field have been combined with a difficult year away from the field for Kinder.

“I wasn’t even going to coach this year,” Kinder said. “You guys know about my daughter dying, but she’s been up there watching us.

“Life is tough – you have some ups and downs, just like in a football game,” he added. “And I’ve had my share here in the last year. I needed football more than football needed me, because we’ve got some good coaches on this team.”

As for Dillon, the game served as the final piece to his impressive junior season, positioning himself as one of the front-runners for individual postseason awards, including the Kennedy Award and MetroNews Player of the Year.

“I’ve had to think about it a little bit,” Dillon said of those potential accolades. “But winning (the state championship) was the main goal of this season.”

For Kinder, that debate isn’t much of one.

“It’s just a blessing, he’s a good football player,” Kinder said of his quarterback. “He’s as good of a defensive player as he is a (quarterback), but we’ve kind of kept him away from that spot. He’s an athlete – he’s tough. It’s hard to get those quarterbacks like that.

“A lot of guys throw the ball, but he can run it, play defense, punt and kick,” Kinder said. “If there’s a better football player in West Virginia, I haven’t seen him yet. I’m waiting on those games (Saturday) and (Saturday night).”

Dillon finished the year with 2,858 passing yards and 37 touchdowns. He also added 1,199 rushing yards and 24 more scores, while throwing just three interceptions.

Drew Hatfield led Mingo Central overall in receiving, finishing with 103 yards on five catches. Sheppard finished with three catches for 70 yards and those two touchdowns.

Fairmont Senior was led by quarterback Jake Abbott who threw for 84 yards and rushed for 99 yards in the loss. The Polar Bears were in their first football state championship game since 1981.

Overall, Mingo Central outgained Fairmont Senior 457-221, winning the turnover battle 3-1.





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