— By Bradley Heltzel
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — Similar to so many of his student-athlete peers, Fairmont Senior quarterback Connor Neal cycled through a daily after-school routine of going to practice and churning through his night’s homework before turning on the TV or flipping open his laptop to stream his go-to show. No Netflix password nor HBO GO account was required, however, just a series of discs with clips illustrating an array of blitzes and coverages.
“I watch film every night for at least an hour probably,” said Neal, who led the Polar Bears to the Class AA state title after back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2017. “The hard part was finding teams that do something similar to what we do; there aren’t a lot of teams in high school that line up in empty or spread.”
True, Fairmont Senior’s air-raid offense, which lit it up for 49.7 points and 433.3 yards a game, is a bit of an anomaly, but then again so is a signal caller of Neal’s caliber. The FSHS senior set the state ablaze this season as he threw for a single-season program record 3,620 yards and 46 touchdowns while completing 211-of-282 passes in leading the Polar Bears to an undefeated season at 14-0, one in which they didn’t trail for a single second.
In recognition of Neal’s historic campaign, he’s been named the winner of the 2018 Kennedy Award, given to the state’s top high school player, by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Finishing behind Neal in the voting were Spring Valley’s Graeson Malashevich, Doddridge County’s Hunter America and Capital’s Kerry Martin Jr.
Neal becomes the third-ever Fairmont Senior player to win the Kennedy Award, with Larry Drake winning it in 1958 and Kyle Allard in 2006.
Allard was one of Neal’s predecessors in a long history of heralded Fairmont Senior quarterbacks — an exclusive group Neal always said he was blessed to be mentioned with. Each of those QBs had their own marquee individual talents, and when talking to Neal’s teammates as well as FSHS and opposing coaches, it becomes clear Neal’s is his mind.
“He loves to throw the word ‘savant’ out there to describe the coaching staff,” FSHS coach Nick Bartic said, “but he has his own ‘savant’ tendencies.”
“I definitely haven’t coached anybody as talented or as smart as Connor,” FSHS offensive coordinator Mark Sampson said. “I haven’t seen anybody else in high school on film who can do the things that he does.”
Neal will leave the Fairmont Senior program as the school’s all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 79 and passing yards with 6,449, while tossing 77 touchdowns versus just five interceptions in his two years as the Polar Bears’ starting quarterback, an era that saw FSHS held below 25 points just twice in 28 games.
Those types of career numbers align with the simplicity with which Neal explains his knowledge of the team’s spread offense which was designed by Mike Mainella, the “consigliere” on the Polar Bears’ coaching staff. Neal says matter-of-factly conducting the offense is a “numbers game”. If the box is light, check to a run, if the X receiver has single coverage in trips, look that way.
“Either you can drop everybody or you can rush everybody and play man. Those are the two extremes of it,” said Bartic of a defense’s options. “You’re trying to balance that out maybe with a zone blitz in the passing game, but then he’ll check out to a run to what will be the open spot. That’s the thing, it’s not just the pass you’re worried about with him, he adjusts in our run game also.
“He’s the best of the best when it comes to understanding the offense and directing it. It’s one thing for him to know what’s going on, but it’s another thing for him to know what’s going on and communicate that with other 10 guys on the field so they know what’s going on also. He does that very effectively.”
Neal’s intellect is his trademark trait, but his physical skills are top tier as well, all the way from improved footwork over the offseason he said to a strengthened arm with impeccable precision. Neal can flutter a deep ball right into the bucket against single coverage, thread a seam route between a linebacker and a safety, or fire a bullet past underneath zones. And when plays break down, Neal extends them sandlot-style before launching a dime on the move to an uncovering receiver downfield.
“You can’t just focus in on one player or just try to stop the run or try to stop the pass because we could score in so many different ways,” Neal said. “It’s really hard for a defense to a prepare for that.”
Don’t let the system skew the picture of Neal as an individual player, however, cautions Bartic, especially in regards to his potential play at the next level.
“He is a humble kid and this is a very good team, but hopefully that’s not taken for granted,” Bartic said. “Whoever gets him in this recruiting process, they’re going to get a steal with him. If you put him in a program and give him a year or two, he will orchestrate whatever system you want and he will be good at it.”
Along the way, Neal’s demeanor and overall character will check every box within a program, Bartic said, be it his work ethic, his relationships with the coaching staff, his humility toward teammates, even his interactions with the media.
“We always say, ‘If we’re a band, he’s the front man,’” Bartic said, “but he never loses sight of the bigger picture even with all that attention. He always keeps everything in perspective that he’s representing something bigger than himself. I think that’s what’s special about him as a person and as a leader.”
Neal will be awarded the Kennedy at the Victory Awards Dinner on May 5 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.
Past Kennedy Award Winners
2017 — Latrell “Mookie” Collier, Bluefield
2016 — Jeremy Dillon, Mingo Central
2015 — TyRhee Pratt, Capital
2014 — Kashuan Haley, Capital
2013 — Chazzy Thomas, Morgantown
2012 — Ryan Switzer, George Washington
2011 — Ryan Switzer, George Washington
2010 — Justin Fox, Magnolia
2009 — Tyler Harris, South Charleston
2008 — Will Cole, Bluefield
2007 — Jordan Roberts, Scott
2006 — Kyle Allard, Fairmont Senior
2005 — Josh Culbertson, Nitro
2004 — Nate Sowers, Martinsburg
2003 — Brandon Barrett, Martinsburg
2002 — Brandon Barrett, Martinsburg
2001 — Marc Kimes, Parkersburg
2000 — Mark Wigal, Morgantown
1999 — Todd Mosby, Musselman
1998 — tie, J.R. House, Nitro; Quincy Wilson, Weir
1997 — Chris Yura, Morgantown
1996 — J.R. House, Nitro
1995 — Frank Aliveto, Hedgesville
1994 — Randy Moss, DuPont
1993 — Mark Cisar, Magnolia
1992 — Mark Cisar, Magnolia
1991 — Daryl “Boogie” Johnson, Wheeling Park
1990 — Eric McGhee, Wheeling Central
1989 — David Mayfield, Morgantown
1988 — Keith Jeter, Weir
1987 — Jed Drenning, Tucker County
1986 — Jeff Swisher, Sistersville
1985 — Ted Kester, Winfield
1984 — Joel Wilson, Sistersville
1983 — Tony Johnson, Morgantown
1982 — Brad King, North Marion
1981 — John Koontz, Petersburg
1980 — David Bayer, George Washington
1979 — Tim Stephens, Parkersburg South
1978 — Curt Warner, Pineville
1977 — Mike Estes, George Washington
1976 — Robert Alexander, South Charleston
1975 — Robert Alexander, South Charleston
1974 — Robin Lyons, Herbert Hoover
1973 — Danny Williams, DuPont
1972 — Danny Williams, DuPont
1971 — Rick Petty, Williamstown
1970 — Rick Hurt, Charleston
1969 — Kerry Marbury, Monongah
1968 — David Morris, Wayne
**1966-67—no award**
1965 — Melvin Walker, Dunbar
1964 — Frank Criniti, Charleston Catholic
1963 — Jim Smithberger, Welch
1962 — Joe White, Charleston Catholic
1961 — Paul Allen, Huntington
1960 — Bob Kelley, Weir
1959 — Fred Colvard, Logan
1958 — Larry Drake, Fairmont Senior
1957 — Jim Bargeloh, Parkersburg
1956 — Johnny Frye, Huntington East
1955 — Tags Meredith, St. Albans
1954 — Noel Whipkey, Charleston
1953 — Bob Barrett, Barboursville
1952 — Don Griffith, Stonewall Jackson
1951 — Dale Boyd, Vinson
1950 — Jim Early, Parkersburg
1949 — Hoppy Shores, Stonewall Jackson
1948 — Randy Broyles, Woodrow Wilson
1947 — Darrell Patrick Shires, Hinton