As everyone should know, I think the high school football season is a very special time of the year. It always seems as if the season starts one week and then the very next week, it ends. I guess the old saying “time flies when you having fun” really applies to the high school football season for me.
As special as each Friday night is, with the games being played and “GameNight” being heard across the state, the first weekend in December, in Wheeling, is the absolute best. This year was no different.
The weekend began with the Class AA matchup between No. 2 Mingo Central and No. 5 Fairmont Senior and both teams played their hearts out. In the end, the Miners posted the perfect 14-0 season with a 32-7 win for the Class AA championship.
It marked the first state football title for Mingo Central and sent veteran coach Yogi Kinder into retirement with a huge smile. Led by Joe Hunt’s running (36 carries for 218 yards and two touchdowns) and the passing of Jeremy Dillon (9-for-16 for 178 yards and two touchdowns), the Miners overcame an early 7-0 deficit.
The young men settled down after that and scored 32 unanswered points to set the final score. For the Polar Bears, Jake Abbott proved why he is a strong candidate for the MetroNews High School Football Player of the Year as the senior quarterback accounted for 183 yards of offense and scored Fairmont Senior’s only touchdown on a 31 yard run in the 1st quarter.
On Saturday afternoon, the skies were grey but the offensive unit of the Martinsburg Bulldogs was shining brightly as the young men from the Eastern Panhandle won their 5th Class AAA state title running past Spring Valley 49-7. Led by the running of Mikey Jackson, Jr. and the passing of Tyson Bagent, the Bulldogs scored in every quarter of the game outscoring the Timber Wolves 21-7 in the 1st half and 28-0 in the 2nd half. Jackson rushed for 134 yards on 14 carries and scored 2 touchdowns, while Tyson Bagent had a near perfect afternoon completing 15 passes on 19 attempts for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns! The highlight of the game came with 1:12 left in the contest when Bulldog lineman Trey Henry (6’1 295 Jr.) scooped up a fumble and lumbered 49 yards for the final score of the day. For Spring Valley, the butterflies and nervous stomachs had to be real as the boys from Huntington were playing in their first every state football title game. One of their real bright spots was the running of Jonah Wellman who really came on in the 2nd quarter and for the game rushed 14 times for 96 yards and the lone score for the Timber Wolves.
On Saturday night, the final football game of the 2016 season kicked off at 7:05 on Wheeling Island and the much-anticipated battle between #1 and #2 in Class A delivered some fireworks of its own. If you’re looking at just the score, this game was the most exciting of the Super Six weekend! The Cougars of East Hardy came into the game as the #1 seed and were 13-0, while the Blue Devils of St. Marys were the #2 seed and also 13-0. When the final horn had sounded, St. Marys left Wheeling Island Stadium with the big trophy and their school’s first ever state football title. Led by Jaiden Smith and Will Billeter, the Blue Devils turned a 7-0 halftime lead into a final score of 23-8. Jaiden Smith ran for 125 yards on just 18 carries and had one score, while Will Billeter was a near perfect 8 of 11 passing for 98 yards and another touchdown. For East Hardy, quarterback Corey McDonald amassed 243 yards of offense while Phillip Mullin scored the lone touchdown for the Cougars on a 6 yard run in the 2rd quarter.
So, the 2016 high school football season has ended, and on behalf of Dave Jecklin, Garrett Cullen and our entire GAMENIGHT crew, I say thanks to everyone who listened on Friday night and just a little reminder our 16th season begins August 25th, 2017! It will be here before we know it!!