With every team officially at the halfway point (Montcalm just played its fifth game while Bluefield has eight under its belt), it’s time to glance at some midseason superlatives. Remember these are just for fun and in no way solidified. Consider them a North Star of storylines as we roll into the final four weeks of the season.
Most Improved Team
Candidates
Greenbrier East
Midland Trail
PikeView
All three candidates find themselves over .500, having already matched or surpassed their 2024 win totals. PikeView has improved from a 2-8 team to a 5-2 squad while Midland Trail is 4-1, matching its win total from a year ago.
Greenbrier East finished at 3-7 last year but rides into Week 8 at 4-2, in position to host one, possibly two playoff games should it advance that far.
All three teams have made strides, but Greenbrier East’s turnaround has been the most stark not just because of what the Spartans are in position to accomplish but because of how they went from non-competitive to contending for a home playoff game. They went from giving up 81 points to Princeton a year ago to trailing the Tigers by one possession in the third quarter this year. After getting blanked by Beckley at home last year they turned around and won by two scores in Raleigh County this year.
Rookie of the Year
Candidates
A.J. Godfrey, Greenbrier East
K.J. Viars, Independence
Pax Calhoun, Bluefield
Jeremiah Jones, Bluefield
The only player amongst the four candidates that’s a true freshman is Viars but for this exercise we’ll include first-year high school players. For a couple of kids that are playing at this level for the first time, it’s a loaded class.
All four players lead their respective teams in one category or another. Godfrey leads his team, No. 5 in Class AAA, in rushing and rushing touchdowns while Viars leads Class AA title favorite Independence in receiving yards with 477, on pace to be a 1,000 yard receiver if the Patriots reach the title game. To the best of my knowledge he’d be the first 1,000 yard receiver in school history if he pulled off the feat.
Jones is playing linebacker at an all-state level for the Beavers while doubling as the team’s leading rusher with 490 yards now that he’s taken over as the No. 1 back. Last but not least Calhoun is second in the area through his Week 8 game with 736 yards receiving and eight receiving touchdowns.
My Rookie of the Year pick is Calhoun with Godfrey a close second. Calhoun’s already one of the best receivers in the state regardless of class and has elevated the entire Bluefield offense. He’s been the perfect weapon for an ascending quarterback.
Breakout Player of the Year
Candidates
Alex Cox, Princeton
Wyatt Cline, Princeton
Max Simpson, Bluefield
Ryan Mann, James Monroe
Landon Phalin, Independence
Gage Burdette, Beckley
Jayden Roop, Midland Trail
Kadyn Hines, James Monroe
For this exercise we’ll avoid overlap with the rookies since we already covered them. There are a lot of good area players powering playoff charges. Cline is over 400 yards receiving through six game and Cox has three interceptions with six pass break ups and nearly 400 yards from scrimmage for the Tigers.
Mann is over 1,000 yards passing as a dual threat QB while Burdette is nearing 1,000 yards after rushing for under 100 a year ago.
Roop has the most rushing yards of any Trail player since Jeremy Moore took over in 2022 and has four games minimum to add to that total. Hines is just outside the top five in receiving yards through Week 7.
All in the midst of good, if not great, seasons, Simpson is the clear winner. He’s played the most games of any QB in the area at eight (Bluefield’s bye is the week before the playoffs) but he’s already over 2,000 yards passing and 20 passing touchdowns.
Lineman of the Year
The two candidates that jump off the page are Alex Blankenship (Independence) and Landyn Moore (Princeton). Moore is humongous, has garnered Division I interest and is the best lineman on a team that’s rushed for over 1,000 yards on the ground and picked up over 1,400 through the air.
Blankenship is the best player on a line that’s done the exact same for the Patriots, paving the way for another 1,000-yard season for running back Sylas Nelson. The best way to describe his usage is Independence finds a way to weaponize him, whether that be as a puller, trapper or split zone blocker.
By a hair I’ll take Moore. When the Tigers run they like to do it behind Moore and when designed runs are called for QB Chance Barker, they ask Moore to pull and serve as an escort. It signals just how much value he brings to the team.
Defensive Player of the Year
Independence edge rusher Isaiah Conley is running away with this one through six games. Princeton’s Kalum Kiser was right in the heat of this race but an injury has sidelined him for the past month.
Conley has accumulated 9.5 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss and the complete attention of every offensive line he’s faced.
Kiser will be back this week and has chance to make a late push with a deep playoff run likely on the horizon but Conley, who will likely make the same deep postseason run for the Class AA title favorite, has taken a massive lead and shown up against the best teams on Independence’s schedule.
Offensive Player of the Year
There are a lot of really good offensive players including the three quarterbacks (Chance Barker, Brock Green and Max Simpson) who are leading the charge for title contenders.
Meadow Bridge running back Kaiden Sims is flirting with another 2,000 yard season.
But running back Sylas Nelson (Independence) and wide receiver Brad Mossor (Princeton) are at the core of everything their respective teams want to do.
Mossor’s been so dominant he’s changed the structure of defenses and made life easier for his teammates. It’s gotten so comical that the Tigers have had to utilize him as a running back just to get him touches and he’s been excelled at it, scoring 11 of his 16 offensive touchdowns on the ground. In total he’s tallied 904 yards from scrimmage.
Nelson has continuously built upon his first team all-state season a year ago, joining Mossor in early, meaningless Kennedy Award chatter. He’s rushed for 1,071 yards and 14 touchdowns. In their most important game of the season to this point, they rode him for 207 yards and three touchdowns against Bluefield. They made it known what their identity is on offense.
My lean here is Mossor because of his gravity. Opposing teams will do anything to keep the ball out of his hands. They’ll sacrifice 20 yards of field position just to avoid kicking or punting to him. They’ll risk being out-numbered or out-leveraged on defense to discourage the ball coming his way. He simply makes everyone else’s job easier.
It should be fun when the two meet next Friday.
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