CHAPMANVILLE, W.Va. — The 2026 version of the Chapmanville Tigers is tasked with improving on the best season in school history and that is no easy feat. CHS set a school record with 12 wins and their run to the Class AAA semifinals tied the program’s deepest postseason finish. The Tigers knocked off defending champion and previously unbeaten Bridgeport, 33-27 in the second round.
“Last year’s team set a standard. We’re just going to keep pushing it and make sure our boys keep the state on notice for where we want to be,” said Chapmanville head coach Zach Belcher.
“I think it was a real good asset to the program,” said Chapmanville senior lineman Jaxon Topping. “It showed what the standard is meant to be. I think it brought us together a lot too as guys. Practicing through Thanksgiving made it feel like a true family.”
Quickly pivoting to this fall, the Tigers welcome back many of their top linemen and defensive standouts. Senior Jaxon Topping racked up 113 tackles in 2025. He will be joined on the line by junior David Browning and more experienced returners.
“Jaxon and David are very well-known players,” Belcher said. “But I think we’ve got a great group of offensive linemen that are going to really showcase what they can do.”
“We only lost one last year on the O-Line. So coming back this year, I feel pretty safe,” said Chapmanville junior quarterback Dakota Dalton. “I know they are going to do their job, keeping me protected. So I just have to stay behind them and trust them.”
As a sophomore, Dakota Dalton tossed 27 touchdowns against just six interceptions and he also ran for ten scores. He will enter his third season engineering the Tiger offense.
“Seeing him grow last year, watching back on some of those games to see how he was able to perform and lead us the way he did, it is great to see him grow,” said Chapmanville junior tight end/lineman David Browning.
“I am really comfortable with it,” Dalton said. “I know what I’m doing. I just have to go and do my job and let my other guys do their job. Hopefully, they trust me.”
“Dalton is doing a great job of developing himself as a quarterback,” Belcher said. “He has done a great job this offseason going to camps and getting better. A lot of people don’t see but he is down here with the wide receivers and the offensive linemen all the time, even when nobody is around, making sure they are getting better.”
Chapmanville must replace their top two rushers and their top two receivers from a year ago.
“We lost 13 players last year,” Belcher said. “But our JV team last year went undefeated. They ended up scoring 350 points to zero. Nobody scored on them. A lot of those guys are just going to roll up to the varsity level. We’ll try to keep Chapmanville football to the same level as last year.”
Despite coming off a 12-win season, the Tigers believe they have room to improve, with a number attached to it.
“We fell short by 20 percent last year,” Belcher said. “We had to have a 20 percent better offseason than we did last year. We’ve got to have a 20 percent better season than we did last year. We’ve just got to keep improving. There’s always room to grow. I think that we have.”
“The first goal is to definitely win the county championship. The second goal is to go undefeated. Next goal is to make the playoffs and then the goal after that is to go and win it all,” Topping said.