NITRO, W.Va. — Despite a 36-35 loss to Princeton in the Class AAA Championship game, Nitro’s 2025 season was the best for the program in two decades. The Wildcats went 12-2, winning at least a dozen games for the third time in school history. Collin Beckner was the offensive coordinator for a team that averaged just over 40 points per game.
“We went well over a decade without making the playoffs,” Beckner said. “We were able to take a team that went 3-7 [in 2022] and then transition that to 7-3 [in 2023],” Beckner said. “It was just good to get back there because when I was playing here, we weren’t very good.”
Following the resignation of Boom McKinney, Beckner was approved as the new head coach of the Wildcats in March.
“It was a longtime dream of mine. I graduated from here and I played here. I coached here. It is a full circle moment for me. We are just excited to get started for year one.”
Graduation losses hit the Wildcats hard after losing over two dozen seniors, including WVU wideout Malachi Thompson and Marshall lineman Da’Ron Parks. Beckner is pleased with the younger group of Wildcats that is fighting for snaps with an eye towards consistent improvement throughout the season.
“There’s a lot of kids that are fighting for positions right now. The good thing about having youth is that you have the kids coming back again. We’ve got a lot of kids hungry, fighting and ready to play. Graduating a lot of seniors is a blessing and a curse. Also, having youth is also a blessing and a curse. We’re excited to get started and get these kids back again, get experience this year and get them back again next year.”
With over 40 players in camp, starting spots are up for grabs at nearly every position on the field.
“One of our only returning starters is CJ Lovejoy. He was a fullback for us last year. He has been one of our key components this year. We’ve got a kid coming out that was a basketball player last year, Nysiaha Walker. He is going to be taking a lot of the carries at running back. We’ve got a couple of quarterbacks fighting for the quarterback spot, a freshman and a sophomore, Coen Reed and Timmy Boyd.
“Our running backs, linebackers, tight ends, we’ve got a senior tight end in Justin Raines. I would say that group is probably the strength of our football team right now.”
While it will be a significant challenge for Nitro to duplicate the success of recent years, Beckner is hopeful he will see continued development on a week-to-week basis.
“We want this team to be better the last football game than they were in the first week of practice. As long as we keep getting better, we stay healthy, and we get that needed experience, that’s what we want to do.”