MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Herbert Hoover’s meteoric rise in the Class AA ranks began in 2020. The Huskies advanced to the state quarterfinals in their first season under Joey Fields. Last year, Hoover went 10-0 in the regular season. This fall, the Huskies dropped their first two games to Winfield and Scott. They haven’t lost since.
“We told our guys, ‘Last year, they told you that you were the best team. You found out you aren’t. This year, they told you that you aren’t very good. Well, they are wrong again’,” said Fields.
Sophomore quarterback Dane Hatfield will step onto the state’s biggest stage Friday night. A starter in every game of his career, Hatfield has combined to run and throw for 2,951 yards and 45 touchdowns this season.
“He is 20-3 in his two years of starts. With his leadership, they believe in him. He’ll go make plays but he is the first one to go congratulate his teammates. He is a special kid on the field but he is even better off the field.”
With Hoover’s second-leading rusher Rocco Frye sidelined by injury, Randy Hughart has taken added responsibilities in the postseason.
“He’s a great running back and a great teammate. His teammates love him. Now he has had to step up for us, big time. He’ll do whatever it takes to win.”
Like their opponents, Independence also is two years removed from a quarterfinal season. After a 21-12 loss to Fairmont Senior last year’s title game, the Patriots’ goal of a return trip to Wheeling has been realized.
“To make a goal and achieve a goal is so hard,” said Independence head coach John Lilly. “But they did it and I am so proud of them. Not just doing it, but how they did it and the bracket we had to go through.”
Several Patriots are in the mix for statewide honors, most notably the state’s single-season scoring leader Judah Price. Lilly believes stats and individual attention mean little to those inside the locker room.
“Even some of the guys that get a little bit of publicity, they don’t have very big egos,” Lilly said. “We’ve got a thing in our locker room — There’s no amount of good a man can do if he doesn’t care who gets the credit. They have lived that mantra.”
Trey Bowers made the move from receiver to quarterback this season and he has engineered an offense that is averaging over 53 points per game.
“About the seventh game of the year, we started running him a little bit more,” Lilly said. “Going into the playoffs, we tried to make it 50-50 with him and Judah in the backfield. Track and field, he is probably the first or second fastest south of Charleston. And he weighs 190. So he is an athlete.”