CHARLESTON, W.Va. — In a postseason full of unpredictability and memorable finishes, the last game of the high school football season in West Virginia was indeed a grand finale.
On the strength of 23 fourth-quarter points and a stop on a late Nitro 2-point conversion attempt, Princeton edged the Wildcats 36-35 to win Class AAA and its first state championship at UC Stadium at Laidley Field.
“This group of kids we have are gritty, a bunch of fighters and competitors,” first-year Princeton head coach Nathan Tanner said. “It’s been their MO all year long. We’ve faced adversity a handful of times whether it be injury or down in a game. We got down nine with 8 minutes left and I told myself, there’s so much time and we can figure it out. Super proud of these kids.”
Brad Mossor’s 3-yard touchdown run with 3:08 remaining allowed the No. 2 Tigers (14-0) to go in front, 34-29. Tanner initially brought his point-after team on, but an offside penalty on the Wildcats moved the ball closer to the goal line and led to Mossor running in the 2-point conversion to give his team a seven-point lead.
“If we don’t go for two and get it, we might still be playing,” Tanner said.
The No. 5 Wildcats (12-2) needed a scoring drive to maintain hope and got exactly that as quarterback Eian Duffy completed a 54-yard pass to Chris Radcliffe, and on the next play, tailback Takye Porter reached the end zone on a 3-yard run with 1:17 remaining.
NHS was initially set on playing for the tie, but called timeout and elected to keep its offense on the field.
On the 2-point play, Duffy fielded the snap, rolled left and threw into the end zone toward Ja Lei Burnette, but the ball was knocked away and fell to the turf for an incompletion.
“We thought with the guys we had injured on defense it would be best to try to win it outright,” Nitro head coach James “Boom” McKinney said. ”In hindsight, maybe we’d have done something different, but we all agreed that’s what we should do. It comes down to me and I thought that was our best chance to win the game.”
Princeton came up with this stop on a late Nitro 2-point conversion attempt to seal a 36-35 victory in the Class AAA title game. #wvprepfb pic.twitter.com/0wvonHYURY
— Greg Carey (@gcarey938) December 7, 2025
Tanner felt his team defended the play well and executed the plan in place.
“We hang our hat on tempo and pressure and we were going to bring the heat and lock it down,” Tanner said. “That’s what our kids did.”
The Tigers then recovered the ensuing onside kick and went into the victory formation to secure the win.
A game with no shortage of notable playmakers on both sides went to halftime tied at 7. Both teams were plagued by missed opportunities through the first two quarters, with Mossor’s 1-yard rushing touchdown giving PHS a 7-0 first-quarter lead, before Duffy connected with Burnette on an 8-yard TD pass 2:21 into the second quarter to pull the Wildcats even.
The Tigers entered the red zone but missed a field goal on the first second-half series, and Nitro went 80 yards when it got the ball for the first time in the second half, taking its first lead on Duffy’s 39-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Thompson, a WVU signee.
“That’s a dude right there,” Mossor said of Thompson.
The Wildcats’ seven-point advantage was short-lived, however, as Mossor broke off a 26-yard touchdown run to bring his team to within one, though a miss on the point-after attempt allowed Nitro to stay on top for the time being.
Landon Crane’s interception of a Duffy pass with 1:33 left in the third allowed Princeton to start at the Nitro 34, and on the second play of the fourth, Mossor scored on a 4-yard run to put the Tigers on top, 20-14.
The Wildcats countered quickly and took a 21-20 lead on Duffy’s 23-yard TD pass to Thompson. Nitro looked primed for a victory when Malik Brown returned his interception of a Chance Barker pass 43 yards to the Tigers’ 18, and Radcliffe covered that distance on the next play for a touchdown.
McKinney elected to go for two in an effort to lead by two possessions, and the decision paid off when Duffy found Burnette for a successful conversion and 29-20 advantage with 8:05 remaining.
The Tigers offered an ideal response and got a 37-yard touchdown pass from Barker to Mossor, who then ran in a 2-point try to trim Princeton’s deficit to one point at the 6:25 mark.
“It turned into a chess match towards the end, because we were able to get the run game going and then they came out and got in a five-man front,” Tanner said. “Then we started giving them some empty looks and they were playing man across the board and we were able to make some big plays.”
A second interception from Crane, this one on a diving catch, allowed the Tigers to take over at the Nitro 33 with 4:51 remaining, setting the stage for Mossor’s fifth touchdown and the all-important 2-point conversion that followed.
“We knew we had to take care of the ball and we probably had one too many turnovers,” McKinney said.
Postgame Round of Sound from Princeton’s 36-35 win over Nitro in the Class AAA Championship game:
Game Recap: https://t.co/npmOmdM4g8 pic.twitter.com/zm5indDPaK
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 7, 2025
Mossor continued his stellar senior season on the biggest stage, rushing 24 times for 115 yards and four touchdowns and catching five passes for 132 yards with a TD.
“They called my number and put me in great positions to go get the ball,” Mossor said, “and I got the job done with my guys up front and my quarterback throwing me the ball.”
Barker completed 17-of-26 passes for 237 yards, while Wyatt Cline contributed six receptions for 52 yards in the win.
Duffy was 19-for-34 with 275 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Thompson had six receptions for 114 yards in his final high school game.
Nitro standout left tackle Da’Ron Parks left for good with what appeared to be at least a somewhat significant injury with 4 minutes remaining in the third quarter and his team leading 14-7. Parks, who signed with North Carolina earlier this week, was on crutches on the sideline as the contest concluded.
“It’s a great season. We put a lot of hard work in,” McKinney said. “This is not the way we wanted to end it obviously, but regardless, I love these kids and the community. I appreciate the position I’m in and I feel bad for these kids.”
Broadcast Highlights: Princeton defeats Nitro 36-35 in the AAA State Championship pic.twitter.com/CaJi4SNrSm
— MetroNews Sports (@MetroNewsSports) December 7, 2025