Younger South Charleston anchored by Joseph on defense

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — South Charleston played some of its best football late in the year during the 2016 campaign, taking a No. 10 playoff seed into the Class AAA quarterfinals.

A 31-28 comeback win over Huntington in the opening round of the playoffs was one of the better postseason games around the state.

But it was eventual state runner-up Spring Valley ending the Black Eagles’ season in the quarterfinals, 55-7.

“We had a couple of good passing games late in the year and grew up a little bit at the quarterback position,” said South Charleston coach Donnie Mays. “The offensive line was our achilles heel and it happened to hurt us really bad when we played Spring Valley last year.”

It was quarterback Trae Murphy who took significant steps for the Black Eagles over the course of the season, finishing with 1,876 passing yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Murphy, now a senior, added 537 yards and five more scores on the ground.

It will be a new mix of guys around Murphy, though, as South Charleston lost its top two leading receivers and top two running backs (besides Murphy’s rushing yardage). The most significant of those losses – both offensively and defensively – was WVU recruit Derrek Pitts.

“Defensively, we’re a little bit better in terms of returning starters, but offensively we have four guys coming back,” Mays said. “We’re young and talented, but young is not an excuse. Nobody cares that you’re young.

“It is a good opportunity for us to grow up together and learn how to play some football,” he continued. “I’ve got some really good assistant coaches working with them – probably the best group of coaches I’ve ever had. The kids are buying in and I’m looking forward to that part of it.”

Senior D.Q. Watkins is the leading receiver back in the mix for the Black Eagles after collecting 19 catches for 300 yards and a touchdown last season. He’s also a key piece of returning defensive players for South Charleston, adding a pair of interceptions and finishing with 33 total tackles at safety in 2016.

Junior linebacker Drew Joseph is the anchor for South Charleston defensively after totaling an astounding 181 tackles last season — an average of more than 15 tackles per game.

Senior Jalen Jones and junior corners Carlito Carter and Tre’Quan Gibson are among other key defensive returners.

“Our back-end of our defense got to play a lot together in 7-on-7s and get better this summer,” Mays said. “We’re looking forward to putting some pads on and being able to hit.

“The positions are open – just because we name someone that’s coming back, that doesn’t mean they’re starting,” he continued. “We’ll have position battles in preseason practices and it’s a good time.”

The Black Eagles open up the 2017 campaign with three straight home games against George Washington, Cabell Midland and Johnson Central (KY).

“It’s a war of attrition in the Mountain State Athletic Conference,” Mays said. “If you can stay healthy, you have a chance. We’ve battled a lot of injuries over the last three or four years. I’m hoping we can stay healthy and see what we can do with this group of kids.”