CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Bluefield wasn’t short on excitement or momentum.
But Frankfort hadn’t won 27 straight games by mistake ahead of Saturday’s Class AA state championship between the top seed Falcons and No. 2 Beavers.
Only 14 seconds after Bluefield got even at 42 courtesy of a touchdown pass and the subsequent 2-point conversion, the Falcons pulled off what will go down as the most important play in program history.
Running back Braydn Tyler took a shotgun snap with quarterback Blake Jacobs beside him, and after moving to his right and closer to his team’s sideline, Tyler found Keiton Nester behind the Beavers’ secondary for what served as the winning 43-yard touchdown pass with 3 seconds remaining. On a play designed to show run, Nester acted as though he would serve as a blocker for the first 5 yards during a route that helped produce perhaps the most notable play across the state for the 2025 season.
“I can’t describe it. It’s an awesome feeling,” Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman said. “The kids kept battling and fought through all the adversity. We always talk about battling through adversity and that’s what they did. It was a great game between two great teams and luckily, Frankfort came out on the winning end.”
The Frankfort Falcons win the West Virginia class “AA” State Championship on this play! Running Back Braydn Tyler connects with Wide Receiver Keiton Nester on a trick play to win the state championship! @sctop10 #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/7fptN4qr2M
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 6, 2025
Tyler felt the Falcons picked the perfect time to dial up a play they’d worked on leading up to the matchup at UC Stadium at Laidley Field.
“We drew it up early in the week and we ran the wildcat formation a little bit early in the game,” Tyler said. “We knew if that corner bent, that was it. I saw him jump up and saw Keiton behind him and that was it.”
Tyler was overcome by emotions as Nester was nearing the goal line.
“As soon as I let the ball go, I squatted down. Then the tears started flowing,” Tyler said. “I didn’t know what emotion to feel.”
Frankfort’s heroics in the final seconds helped the Falcons erase the memory of what Bluefield (11-3) had done moments earlier to pull even. Trailing 42-34, the Beavers were faced with their final opportunity and stayed alive by converting fourth-and-6 on Max Simpson’s 13-yard pass to Pax Calhoun. Five plays later, Simpson connected with Tylee Simon for a 40-yard touchdown pass that cut the Frankfort (14-0) lead to two. Simpson then threw a fade to Calhoun on the 2-point pass, and the wideout successfully hauled it in after leaving his feet to knot the matchup at 42.
A 24-yard return from Carder Shanholtz on a short kickoff enabled the Falcons to start beyond midfield before scoring in the final seconds.
“We were manning up a little bit and had a hard time,” Bluefield coach Fred Simon said regarding the final touchdown. “If we’d been in zone, we might’ve had a corner that could’ve come up. My hats off to them and what they did. It would’ve been nice to make that play somehow, some way.”
Broadcast Highlights: Frankfort defeats Bluefield 49-42 in an instant classic for the AA State Championship pic.twitter.com/qOVtCvsZzB
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 6, 2025
It was perhaps a fitting ending to a game with 911 total yards and 42 fourth-quarter points.
The Beavers took their first lead at 28-21 on Simpson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Calhoun with 1:05 left in the third quarter, though Frankfort was even 51 seconds into the fourth on a 1-yard touchdown run from Cole Shanholtz.
Simpson, who shined throughout the afternoon, found Calhoun on a 26-yard pass for a go-ahead touchdown with 8:48 remaining, though the point-after try was blocked, leaving BHS with a 34-28 lead.
The Falcons displayed their championship mettle on the ensuing series with Tyler breaking off a 52-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-6 out of a timeout. Rhett Sensabaugh’s point-after kick left FHS with a one-point advantage.
Frankfort got the ball back at the Beavers’ 22 with 3:47 left after forcing a turnover on downs, and Cole Shanholtz powered his way into the end zone for his third rushing score on a 4-yard run, leaving the Falcons with an eight-point lead with 3:02 to play.
“We talk about team all the time and we have multiple weapons on offense,” Whiteman said.
Neither team led by more than eight throughout the matchup, which saw Frankfort jump out to a 7-0 advantage on the strength of a 14-yard touchdown run from Carder Shanholtz.
Simpson’s 2-yard run in response provided the Beavers with their first points, though the point-after kick was unsuccessful, leaving Frankfort with a one-point lead.
The 7-6 score stood until Jacobs crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run to put the Falcons on top by eight.
The first of Simpson’s five touchdown passes came late in the first half when he found an uncovered Jamarius Smith for an 89-yard scoring strike. Calhoun hauled in the 2-point pass to tie the game at 14.
A 1-yard TD run from Cole Shanholtz 24 seconds before halftime allowed Frankfort to take a 21-14 lead into the intermission.
But Bluefield got the better of the Falcons throughout the third quarter starting with Simpson’s 4-yard TD pass to Calhoun that tied it at 21, and that duo connected on another pass play for a score later in the third, though it wasn’t enough to provide Simon’s team with its first state championship since 2017. Instead, the Beavers fell to 11-8 all-time in title games.
“They have a great history. They’re very well-coached. They have a ton of speed,” Whiteman said of the Beavers. “They do a phenomenal job. You hear Bluefield, you respect that name and you know they’re going to be a good football team.”
Simpson completed 20-of-33 passes for 321 yards. Calhoun was his top target and caught eight passes for 109 yards with three scores.
Jeremiah Jones rushed 15 times for 137 yards in defeat.
“I’m so happy for our players and what they accomplished,” Simon said. “To get back here is a tribute to how hard the kids worked in the offseason.”
Tyler was the game’s leading rusher with 180 yards on 18 carries. Cole Shanholtz added 75 yards and three scores on the ground, while Carder Shanholtz rushed for 68 yards. The aforementioned trio was responsible for all 323 Frankfort rushing yards.
Between Jacobs and Tyler, the Falcons completed 4-of-6 passes for 107 yards.
“Coming into it, I didn’t know this could happen. We had four starters back and or whole line was gone, so you had to be skeptical,” Whiteman said. “The kids embraced it and played like Frankfort Falcons the whole year. It’s totally great.”
Postgame Round of Sound from Frankfort’s 49-42 win over Bluefield in the Class AA Championship game: pic.twitter.com/YCQxMpEN3v
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 6, 2025