SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Entering the second season in Donnie Mays’ second tenure leading the Black Eagles of South Charleston High School, the veteran head coach hopes that last year’s 2-8 campaign can be a building block for a program that won just one game in the previous three seasons. Mays led South Charleston to eight playoff appearances in nine seasons from 2013-2021 in his first stint with the team.
“Last year, it was kind of thrown together because I didn’t get to start until mid-March, almost close to April. I felt like we were behind a little bit. But we got to start in January (this year). So it is a great thing,” Mays said.
“We wanted to make South Charleston a place that was cool again to be. So that’s what we did. We worked on that stuff right there and just making it better. We did a lot of different things fundraising-wise to make things good for the kids. At the end of the day, it is a two-way street. They’ve got to go out to work for us and perform. And they know that.”
Two of South Charleston’s most experienced returners can be found on the line. Seniors Elijah Bausley and Morgan Watts are gaining significant interest from Division I schools.
“I can come up here on any given Sunday and I will pull up to my office to do some type of work, and all of a sudden I hear, ‘Boom, boom, boom’. I come out here and Morgan is running the steps or Bausley is over here punching the sled or something on their own. You don’t have to coach up guys like that as much. They are driven.”
The state’s top recruit in the Class of 2029, Tramel Musgrove, is in his first season with the Black Eagles. The linebacker and defensive lineman has over a dozen Division I offers with many coming from power conference schools, including WVU.
“He passes all the eye tests when he walks into a room. Just that and understanding the fundamentals of the game, that’s what we’ve got to do. Just get him to learn football from our standpoint. I think a kid like him can fit in at multiple positions on offense or defense.”
Musgrove could be in the mix to see snaps at quarterback, with Ceno Riley in the group of signal callers as well.
“Ceno is kind of the frontrunner and he knows the system really well. Tramel is going to battle for it and Landon Workman is there too. He played a little bit. We played every quarterback we had last year. And we even had to play Malcolm Brown at times because we had some injuries. It is a difference for us making sure our quarterbacks know what we are doing. I think Ceno had done a really good job in the offseason to understand it.”
Despite the loss to injury of promising sophomore wideout Devin Lazo, Mays has several backs and receivers that are ready to take on increased roles.
“We return pretty much the whole receiving corps. The running back room is really deep. We have Malachi Hope. We have James Lowe. We have Tre Tyson. We have Damian Chaney. So we have five guys that can carry the ball, plus Ceno can run the ball too.”
After leading Hurricane to a pair of semifinal appearances in his three years guiding the Redskins, Mays says he is happy to return to One Eagle Way and a place he considers home.
“It always has that itch down in your belly to come back home. When I had the opportunity and Mr. [Ryan] Carter reached out to me, I jumped right on it. Great administration, great mayor, this is a great place. South Charleston is a good place and I am glad to be here.”