Welcome back to The Deep Post!
Week 8 was the most eventful of the season across the board. Three different area passers broke the 300-yard mark with two setting programs records. Several other are athletes set new marks for their respective programs as well.
Le’s get to it!
Week of the Quarterback
Week 8 was one for the quarterbacks. Chance Barker (Princeton) threw for 405 yards, Brock Green (Independence) for 400 and Max Simpson (Bluefield) 397. But I want to lead off with a quarterback who fell just under the 100 yard mark by my count, yet still played winning football at a high level.
Midland Trail quarterback Rayce Dickerson threw three touchdown passes and ran for the game-winning 57-yard touchdown pass on busted play in a key 28-25 win at No. 10 James Monroe.
It wasn’t just that he made those plays, but that he made them in high-leverage moments.
His second touchdown pass, a 40-yard strike, came on fourth-and-17!!!
Trail was down 17-7 and desperately needed to spark its offense or risk going down three scores. And Dickerson delivered a perfect pass to Gage Johnson who slipped behind the Maverick defense. That brought the Patriots back to within a score. His touchdown run with just under five minutes to play put them up 28-17 and was a result of him rectifying a mistake. He turned the wrong way on the handoff, missing the attempt but adhered to the teaching point his coaches have practiced with him – if you miss the handoff, follow the blocking.
The play turned into the biggest of the night for Trail and arguably the biggest on offense this season.
Moving on to the gaudy passing numbers, Bluefield’s Max Simpson lit the match on Wednesday with a 397-yard performance against PikeView, connecting with Jamirion Owens for a program-record 99-yard touchdown pass.
Simpson flirted with 2008 Kennedy Award winner Will Cole’s single-game program record of 386 yards last year in a win over Greenbrier East, but fell just a few yards short. In toppling that mark he became the first area QB to reach 20 passing touchdowns and 2,000 passing yards with a game lead on every one else. It’s difficult to set a new program record in on as storied as Bluefield so to see two fall at once was pretty special.
Two nights later in Ohio the other sophomore superstar QB in the area fully ascended in a game that locks up homefield advantage through the playoffs should the Patriots finish at worst 2-1. Green was masterful, raising Simpson three yards for a program record 400 yards. He tossed touchdowns to Christian Linksweiler, K.J. Viars and Kaden Bradbury, all of whom made great plays. The end result was only the second regular season loss Barnesville has suffered since 2021.
The coaching staff put more on Green’s plate with their RPO calls and he aced the test, continuously taking the easy throws while also nailing the difficult ones when needed.
Last but not least is Barker who erased his predecessor Grant Cochran from most of the program record book. He causally compiled the second 400-yard passing performance of his career and broke 300 yards for the sixth time in his career. To top it off he threw his 100th career touchdown pass which would seemingly be a career record for the area.
The only other player that would come into contention would be Will Cole (Bluefield) or Justin Cogar (Westside) and Cogar missed most of his junior season and threw little as a freshman. Cole was only a two-year starter at Bluefield.
In a change of pace, the area has the richest crop of quarterbacks in the state, a joy for passing enthusiasts.
Record Mania
The quarterbacks weren’t the only ones getting in on the record-breaking action Friday. Greenbrier East running back A.J. Godfrey tied the single-game rushing touchdown mark with five while Princeton receiver Brad Mossor tied the program record with six touchdowns in a single game, though he became the first player to score at last one of his touchdowns on defense or special teams.
It was one of those weeks where I wish I could’ve given every Player of the Week candidate the award because there were so many special performances.
Process vs Results
I saw Beckley head coach Street Sarrett taking flack for his decision to throw the ball with one second left in the half and his team leading Princeton 28-27 Friday.
I love the aggressive mindset and I don’t think the end result of that play, a lengthy Brad Mossor interception return touchdown, should discourage that decision. Earlier in the season when Beckley played Bluefield, the Flying Eagles had a chance to extend a drive in the waning minutes of tied ball game but punted on fourth-and-2. Bluefield answered with the winning touchdown on the following drive. I didn’t love that decision, but I understood it as a punt pinned the ball at the Bluefield 10. I agreed completely with what Sarrett was trying to do Friday.
His team had put up 28 points, was a home underdog and was going to kick the ball to Princeton to open the second half. Why not try to take some momentum into the locker room? The snap on the play was errant which was the first domino in what turned into an avalanche.
Go back just a week a Princeton had pulled off the same feat, putting together a 61-yard scoring drive in just under 40 seconds. It’s unfortunate for the Flying Eagles that the play ended the way it did but good process shouldn’t be met with ire simply because of a bad result.
Game Balls
- Christian Linksweiler, Independence – It’s hard to confirm, but Linksweiler’s 12 catches were likely a single-game record. He finished with 202 yards receiving, just under the mark of 208 that Sylas Nelson had in the 2023 opener against Liberty. Add in an interception on defense and Linksweiler has as good of a Friday night as anybody.
- Jeremiah Jones, Bluefield – I went back and looked at his film from Wednesday and counted 20.5 tackles from the standout linebacker that’s doubling as the team’s leading rusher.
- Jamison Swafford, Midland Trail – Swafford was confident in the lead up to Friday’s matchup with Midland Trail, put up a ton of bulletin board material and backed up his words with an interception, a big pass break up near the pylon and a receiving touchdown.
- The Midland Trail Golf Team – The first team championship in school history, Trail beat a great field to secure the title and low medalist honors. A bonus ball to Curtis Miller who made the long, dreaded drive to Wheeling to watch.
Tom Bone
For the second time this year I’m unfortunately including a memorial of a sports writer who had a lasting impact in the state of West Virginia. This time it’s the great Tom Bone who wrote for the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in some capacity from 1999 until his passing on Monday.
Tom was genuinely one of the best people you’ll ever meet. He cared about others regardless of circumstance and was incredibly thorough in his work. I had the pleasure of sharing a sideline or press box with him countless times and it was a marvel to see him keep track of almost everything on his yellow legal pad, a task I streamline with an iPad. I was in awe of how he did it, even if I didn’t entirely fathom how he did.
When I was a student at Concord from 2012-2016, I often shared interview sessions with Tom and had a firsthand look at how a professional approached the job from manner to the questions and angles he approached them from.
He was always inclusive of area athletes too. As long as his deadlines allowed it, he did his best to gather the perspective from an athlete and I have no doubt his stories have populated scrapbooks for over 26 years.
He would do public address announcing for games he was covering as well, whether it was a high school baseball game or a Concord football game but it never felt like there was a bias in his words, written or spoken.
In March, he sat down beside me at the state tournament ahead of his PA debut for the event. I could tell how excited he was as he had shared the news of the honor earlier on social media. He was agreeable to a short story, and was incredibly thorough in explaining how he got the gig and just how much of a bucket list item it was for him. Kid and coaches alike always remember the experience of being introduced by the PA announcer right before the tip. For Philip Barbour and Wheeling Central the voice they’ll remember is Tom Bone’s.
I’m happy he had that opportunity, and I the opportunity to know him.
Tom was the consummate professional and the outpouring of support shows not just the legacy he leaves but the person he was.
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