MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — In all likelihood, the Frankfort High School football team will compete in the postseason for the 11th time in 15 seasons when the month of November rolls around. The Falcons are 4-0 following a win over Northern Garrett, Md. on Friday. FHS entered the week ranked second in the MetroNews poll and the WVSSAC playoff ratings.
Outside of a two-year break in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Kevin Whiteman has led the Falcons since 2008.
“When I took the job over 15 years ago, I took over a successful program. Our school opened in ’76 and we have been fortunate to have a successful program since then. When I took over, my goal was to just keep it rolling and try to do even a little bit better than they had before,” Whiteman said.
“I have just been blessed. We have good community support. We have good feeder programs and the kids look forward to playing at Frankfort. I feel like I have a good rapport with the kids. I have good coaches and all of that just factors in. Luckily, we have had a successful program and I am very proud of it. It is tough being the head coach and being in charge of all of it. There’s a lot of time commitments, a lot of stress and a lot of pressure.”
Whiteman has posted a 113-49 record. In 2014, the Falcons finished 13-1 before falling to Bridgeport in the Class AA Championship game. The Falcons also advanced to the semifinals in 2009 and 2022. Whiteman says his two losing seasons in 2011 and 2015 still proved to be valuable.
“Those two losing seasons were very difficult. Both of those seasons we were 3-7. We bounced back from them. But even in those 3-7 years, they were very rewarding. We went to the state championship in 2014 but I was just as proud of those two teams. One year we were 0-6 at one point and we never gave up. Coaches never gave up and we kept a good positive attitude. We kept working hard and we won three of our last four.
“It was a great year and kids learned a lot of life lessons. Even in those seasons where you don’t do as well, there’s still a lot there that is very beneficial.”
In their 4-0 start this fall, Frankfort has posted victories over Moorefield, Hampshire, Weir and Northern Garrett. New starting quarterback Uriah Cutter and running back Blake Jacobs have been fixtures in the FHS backfield.
“Coming into this year, we were thin at running back. I said something to Blake Jacobs about being a running back and he embraced that. Uriah throws the ball really well and he is running the ball well too. That just gives us multiple weapons. That’s going to help us from teams packing the box.
“Our offensive and defensive lines are very good. Most of them have been starting since they were sophomores. They do an excellent job. Our skill kids couldn’t do anything without our guys up front.”
Whiteman says consistency in their offensive system, which is utilized at the younger levels, helps his program.
“We don’t change a whole lot. We do some different things here and there and once in a while, we will put some wrinkles in.
“We have added a lot to our spread Wing-T since I have started as head coach. I think that helps us in that we have continuity with our coaches. We have the same coaches coming back that know the system. Our middle school team does the same system. They all get excited when our middle school team has success. It all just helps when they get to Frankfort.”