INWOOD, W.Va. — The only team to defeat Musselman last season is also the team that hasn’t lost a game since 2015. The Applemen went 11-2 in 2018 with regular season and semifinal round losses to the Martinsburg Bulldogs. Head coach Brian Thomas believes his program is emerging as one of the best in Class AAA. The Applemen have qualified for the playoffs in four consecutive seasons.
“We’ve had three straight seasons where we finished the regular season in the top five,” said Musselman head coach Brian Thomas. “The expectations have really changed around here.”
“We’re trying to get to that next level,” said Musselman senior quarterback Caleb Horner. “We’re a program where we are getting better every year. We have new standards every year. One of our coaches here says, ‘Best is the standard’.”
MHS must replace starting quarterback Tre Beard, who earned first team all-state honors in his senior season. Stepping in under center as the new starter is senior Caleb Horner.
“Caleb is a different kid,” Thomas said. “Caleb does different things. Caleb can really spin the ball. We have a lot of confidence for him to make any throw that we ask him to make.”
Only one sophomore made the Class AAA all-state first team last fall. He will be a key ingredient for the Applemen on both sides of the ball. In two seasons of varsity football, junior Blake Hartman has already posted a pair of thousand yard rushing seasons.
“Honestly it is just experience,” Hartman said. “It is confidence going into a new season. If you get a bunch of carries the previous year, your freshman and sophomore year, it obviously helps you improve.”
“He was a first team all-state running back last year but he might be a better receiver really than he is a running back,” Thomas said. “We can probably play him at quarterback and line him up there some. Defensively, he has played corner for us. He has played safety. He played some inside linebacker last year.”
Paving the way for Hartman is an offensive line led by Ethan Northcraft and Nate Cole that returns mostly intact.
“Last year we played six guys and we have four out of those six back,” Thomas said. “We are really experienced up front. And the couple of guys that are stepping in have really done a good job filling those roles and some of the voids we had last year.”