Since the moment he arrived at Huntington over the summer of 2022, junior Duane Harris envisioned himself a key part of a Highlanders’ football program he believed would compete for a Class AAA state championship on the final day of the season at Wheeling Island Stadium.
A one-point season-opening loss to rival Spring Valley did little to dispel those beliefs. They ultimately proved true as Huntington went on to win its last nine regular-season games and first three postseason contests, including a 28-21 semifinal win over West Virginia’s premier high school football program in Martinsburg, which setup last Saturday’s title game against Parkersburg South.
Harris was locked in on the thought of helping the Highlanders bring home their first football championship and figuring out how he could, as he usually does, make a major impact on both sides of the ball from his wide receiver and cornerback positions.
Yet less than 24 hours prior to the showdown between the top seed Patriots and No. 2 Highlanders, Harris learned of something far more important than the outcome of any football game he’ll ever play in.
Dekotis Thomas, 21, was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole for the April 2021 shooting death of Capital High School senior KJ Taylor, then 18, and Harris’ cousin.
“I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to anybody, but the people that I knew I needed to talk to, I talked to them,” Harris said.
Harris, a South Charleston transfer, had no shortage of admiration for his older cousin. Like Harris, Taylor was a two-sport standout in football and basketball with the Cougars. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Harris even had a similar stature to Taylor and the two played wide receiver and defensive back in football and point guard on the hardwood.
Taylor had been set to graduate from CHS one month before he was killed in what authorities described as a shooting intended for Keyshawnta St. John that instead killed Taylor, who was at the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Central Avenue when he was shot.
“KJ might not have been the target, because KJ didn’t run the streets,” said Tara Richmond, Taylor’s mother, the day of the sentencing. “I knew there was no reason for anyone ever to want to kill KJ, but I will never in my life get to see KJ again.
“KJ will never ever be able to give me a grandchild. Me and my husband are left on this earth alone. You took everything from us — everything. I have nothing.”
As is usually the case before Harris plays in a game, Taylor was on his mind heavily. His Huntington teammates offered their support.
“All my teammates kept me up and told me that we were going to win,” Harris said.
The Highlanders did just that.
Behind a dominant defensive showing, Huntington worked its way past Parkersburg South, 28-3. Harris was the game’s top tackler with 12, intercepted a first-quarter pass and had three receptions for 25 yards. He originally was ruled to have scored a defensive touchdown on a 36-yard fumble recovery before replay overturned the fumble and allowed the Patriots to maintain possession.
In other words, it was another standout showing from Harris in a season full of them.
“I was very emotional Friday night,” Harris said. “I woke up Saturday and something told me, ‘Forget all that and it’s time to play.’ That was KJ talking to me. He watched over me and we were able to get a win.”
In the moments after the victory, Harris thought back to his first meaningful game at Huntington, when the Highlanders were upended by the Timberwolves, 29-28.
Eight consecutive victories followed that put the Highlanders in position to play for a Mountain State Athletic Conference championship in the regular season finale at Hurricane. Huntington prevailed 24-21 over the Redskins to earn the No. 2 seed, then opened the playoffs with resounding victories over Woodrow Wilson and Jefferson to setup the semifinal meeting with the Bulldogs.
Harris caught a touchdown and added a key fumble recovery to help lift Huntington over Martinsburg less than a year after the Bulldogs had their way with the Highlanders during a 62-21 victory in the 2021 title game. The 2022 semifinal was the Bulldogs’ first playoff loss since 2015.
“As soon as I came here, we took that first ‘L’ and didn’t lose since,” Harris said. “Being one of the main factors on this team, it feels good and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
Harris admitted winning the championship wouldn’t fully kick in until he got back to Huntington and “saw everybody cheering.”
By now, that’s happened, and though Harris won’t soon forget the 13-1 season that ended in the fashion Huntington hoped for, he doesn’t have long to savor the title.
The Highlanders’ boys basketball team begins regular season play December 13 against Parkersburg and Harris’ attention is now on leading the backcourt and acclimating himself with new teammates.
Last season, he was a Class AAAA first-team all-state pick after averaging better than 18 points and leading the Black Eagles to a state semifinalist finish.
“First practice of the year is Monday. We have 10 days between it and the first game,” Harris said, “but we’ll be ready.”
Harris showed Saturday he always is, even in the toughest of circumstances.