Much like it has been since the start of the 2025 season, efficiency was the name of the game last Friday for Bluefield quarterback Max Simpson.
The junior signal-caller found his rhythm early and maintained it throughout the Beavers’ 40-7 win against Fairmont Senior at East-West Stadium. Simpson completed 16-of-23 passes and threw for 243 yards with three touchdown passes to as many different receivers, while leading Bluefield to a sixth straight win since an 0-2 start.
“We want to be level-headed the whole year and just keep getting better and pushing ourselves,” Simpson said.
Simpson came into the season a household name among statewide standouts after a sensational sophomore campaign in which he threw for 3,475 yards with 41 touchdowns and led the Beavers to a Class AA runner-up finish as they fell short to Frankfort in the final, 49-42.
In the title game, Simpson threw for 321 yards with five TD passes.
Yet when Bluefield came up short in its quest for a state championship and then began the 2026 season with competitive losses to rivals Graham (Va.) and defending Class AAA state champion Princeton, it was gut check time early on for the Beavers.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and for Simpson and many of his teammates, it wasn’t all that different of a situation than the midway point of the 2025 season when Bluefield was 3-2 following a three-touchdown loss to Independence. The Beavers went on to win eight straight and concluded their campaign in Charleston.
The Beavers have scored at least 22 points in every game, no fewer than 30 in seven and at least 34 in all but one win as Simpson guides a high-powered and balanced attack that’s produced 47 offensive touchdowns and north of 2,000 passing yards and 1,700 rushing yards for the season.
“If you try to take out the run, we can pass. I feel like we’re very even and balanced everywhere, so if you take away one thing, we can hurt you with the other,” Simpson said. “Being balanced and playing as a team will get us there.”
Bluefield will be heavy favorites over its last two regular season contests, and at No. 5 in the Class AA playoff ratings entering Week 9, the potential for multiple home playoff games is well within reach.
Regardless of where the Beavers are seeded in the postseason, they’ll be a tough out in large part because of Simpson and the plethora of playmakers he benefits from offensively. Tailback Jeremiah Jones rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns against the Polar Bears, while wideouts Jamarius Smith, Tylee Simon and Chadney Stanback each caught a touchdown and fellow receiver Pax Calhoun, widely considered Simpson’s top target, had 67 receiving yards on six receptions.
“He just works,” veteran BHS head coach Fred Simon said of Simpson. “He’s gotten better at instead of just running out of the pocket all the time, trying to find people open. He’s done a better job and we just have so many weapons. We have guys that can catch it and he gets it to them, and we have a pretty good run game. He complements us very well.”
Simpson’s ability to get the ball to playmakers with no shortage of speed and skill is made much easier by a rapidly improving offensive line.
“My line has been playing great with minimum sacks all year, and if I do take a sack, most of the time it’s on me because I’m trying to do too much,” Simpson said. “The line has improved so much throughout the season and I love those guys.”
Against Fairmont Senior, Simpson staked the Beavers to touchdowns on all four possessions in the first half as the visitors built a 27-0 lead at the intermission while their quarterback completed 10-of-13 attempts for 164 yards with two TD passes through two quarters.
After the Polar Bears stopped Bluefield on consecutive series to start the second and half and pulled to within 20, Simpson put the game away with an accurate 38-yard touchdown pass to Simon less than 4 minutes into the fourth quarter. Throughout the night, he completed short, intermediate and deep balls while sometimes throwing from different arm slots.
“Nothing really goes into it. It’s just muscle memory and whatever I think in my brain is going to be able to get the ball there quicker and the best way possible,” Simpson said. “Sometimes it gets batted down and I try to go side arm to get around them instead of throwing in front of them.”
In the event Simpson has a rare off night or the Beavers’ offense isn’t executing at the level the unit capable of, the quarterback’s top priority is to keep his team in the game as the Bluefield defense has been equally dominant throughout the win streak. BHS has allowed no more than 14 points in any of its six victories and a total of 49 points over that time.
“If we don’t score, I can count on the defense to get a stop and get us the ball back,” Simpson said. “We had two great picks [against Fairmont Senior] by two great safeties [Bralyx Isabelle and Jaleel Jones]. We have a great defense and they keep getting better, so that should help us cause more turnovers. Jeremiah and Chadney are two of the best linebackers in the state and the job they do is so crucial to this team to keep run games in check. The defensive line has been playing well. That whole unit helps us keep flowing as an offense because we can rely on them at all times.”