Full season preview archive can been seen on the MetroNews TV App.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — In each of the last four seasons, West Virginia’s top large-school programs in Huntington and Martinsburg have shared the field in the latter stages of the playoffs. The Highlanders were one play away from possibly defeating the Bulldogs in the semifinal round last December before falling by a single point. Their season ended with an 11-2 mark with both losses coming at MHS.
“We played really good football that day,” said Huntington head coach Billy Seals. “That one hurts. But it is the ’25 season. Everything is new now and there is a new group of kids. There’s no Zah Jackson out there. There’s no Keegan Sack. There’s no Avonte Crawford, all those guys. We’ve got some pieces of the puzzle that we kind of have to put together.”
“It is definitely motivation,” said Huntington senior QB/DB Tayveon Wilson. “We play [Martinsburg] again in Week 2. We’ve watched the film. We’re learning from the mistakes that we made at the end of the game. And we are ready to play them in Week 2.”
As the Highlanders build up towards the 2025 season, Seals welcomes back several quality linemen on both sides of the ball. The group is led in part by seniors Aryn McPherson and Marshall commit Mason Ramsey.
“You look at Aryn and he is a three-year starter for us,” Seals said. “Mason came to our program last year and he had never played in kind of a spread attack. It was a little bit of a learning process for him. But you saw him continue to get better.”
New skill players will be counted on at several positions after the Highlanders lost their leading passer, rusher and receiver to graduation. Clemson commit and one of the state’s best all-around athletes, Tayveon Wilson will make the move from receiver to quarterback.
“I learned a long time ago, you put the ball in the hands of your best player when you don’t have a true quarterback,” Seals said. “He does throw the ball very well. He reminds me a lot of Gavin Lochow in what he can do with the football in his hands. We would obviously like to get him out at receiver some as well. But we’ve got to bring along a few quarterbacks behind him in order to do that.”
“I take it as a great way to see the game from a different position,” Wilson said. “I am going to play a different position in college. Seeing the game from quarterback, they see everything. I feel like that will help me in the long run.”
Keegan Sack racked up over half of Huntington’s carries last season, but several running backs should be counted on this fall.
“We are not going to have a guy like Keegan who carried it 25 times last year,” Seals said. “MayShaun Okonkwo, who is a sophomore, is going to be dynamic. He reminds me a lot of Jadon Hayes, who put up crazy numbers here back in 2017. CJ Quinn, Bryce Winkfield, Caleb Kitchen, all of those kids will have an opportunity to compete for that spot.”
Two of Huntington’s top four tacklers, Ilias King and Bryce Winkfield return to a defense that is loaded with returning starters close to the line of scrimmage.
“Those guys have got to be our leaders,” Seals said. “If you look at our defense from last year, all seven of our starters in the box are back. There’s a lot of experience.”
Three defending state champions are featured on Huntington’s schedule. The Highlanders will host Martinsburg in the season’s second week. Huntington will also face Tennessee state title holders Oakland and Sevier County away from home.
“Oakland is a tremendous program,” Seals said. “I know a lot about them from my time in Tennessee. They’ve won five out of the last seven state championships in 6A football in Tennessee and four out of the last five. They’ve got two SEC commits. Obviously, it is a big test for our program. But it is an opportunity for us to put the state of West Virginia on the map, to play outside competition. We’re going to continue to do that.”