INSTITUTE, W.Va. — The North roster features five players listed as quarterbacks for Saturday’s North-South Football Classic at South Charleston High School.
The signal-calling duo likely to garner the most attention from the South is Fairmont Senior’s Connor Neal and Musselman’s Tre Beard.
Neal is the 2018 Kennedy Award winner and MetroNews Player of the Year, while Beard earned Class AAA first-team all-state honors as an offensive utility player.
Neal (6-foot, 200) led the Polar Bears to a 14-0 season that culminated with a Class AA championship. Along the way, he threw for 3,620 yards and 46 touchdowns while completing 211-of-282 passes and being picked off three times.
“We click well together and having that 1-2 punch kind of brings a different dimension and aspect to our offense,” Neal said. “If we want to air it out or run it, it doesn’t matter because we can do either one.”
Beard (6-0, 185) guided the Applemen to an 11-2 season and a run to the Class AAA semifinals. Both Musselman losses came against state champion Martinsburg. The dual-threat finished with 1,988 passing yards and 25 touchdowns to go with 745 rushing yards and 14 more scores. His most memorable performance came in a win over Wheeling Park, when Beard passed for 440 yards and four TDs.
“I’m excited to see what we can do together and see what I can do to get other people involved,” Beard said.
Neal could have an advantage in Saturday’s game with Fairmont Senior assistant coach Mark Sampson guiding the offense and fellow Polar Bears Rhett Heston and Exavier Posey playing.
“It’s good because we know the offense together and know how to work well together,” Neal said. “He’s a savant in my opinion, so having him around to help and teach everybody how to run the routes correctly and get into the sets, it’s just a big help.”
Beard is eager to play with Applemen teammates Ethan Wilson and Chris Rhinehart on the North.
“My brother played in it back in 2009, and I came to the game and saw that,” Beard said. “Ever since I saw him play in it, it was a goal of mine to play in the game. Now that I’m here with two guys from my team, meeting new guys and playing with other top talents in West Virginia, it’s really exciting.”
Both Neal and Beard will have an opportunity to showcase their skills behind center at the next level. Back in February, Neal signed with Fairmont State and Beard inked with Lackawanna Junior College.
Before then, each hopes to make his mark in Saturday’s game and help lead the North to a fourth straight win in the series.
“Just excited to see if I can make some plays, get Ethan the ball and have fun,” Beard said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to.”