Welcome back to The Deep Post, a weekly column/notebook.
This week’s offering dives into the matchup between Independence and Princeton, the fallout/aftermath of the results and the mess that is Class AAAA.
All or Nothing
In many ways, the result of Friday’s Independence-Princeton matchup was a microcosm of how the night went for both teams.
Independence fell 42-30 (it was 42-17 when the two teams pulled their starters) but the statewide results were damaging to Independence’s late-round playoff goals. Should everything go chalk, the Patriots will likely finish as the No. 4 seed in Class AA despite a likely 9-1 finish.
Frankfort proved most of the state, myself included, grossly underestimated how good the defending Class AA champs are with a 37-25 win over Class AAA contender Herbert Hoover. I anticipated Hoover would win that game and muddy the Class AA field to Indy’s advantage. Instead the Falcons, provided they avoid an upset against Keyser, will lock up the No. 1 seed and Bluefield will likely sit at No. 2. That leaves the No. 3 and 4 seed between Independence and Philip Barbour. That would still net Independence at least two home playoff games but the Patriots will still likely have to go on the road once to get to Charleston.
It wouldn’t be new – the Patriots are 2-2 in road playoff games over the last two years – but both of their losses have come in the semis, the game they’ll play on the road provided there isn’t an upset along the way.
For Princeton, the Tigers essentially locked up at worst, the No. 2 seed by beating the best team on their schedule. Their last two games at Hurricane and South Charleston won’t be competitive and they’ll finish the regular season undefeated for the second time in as many years. They won’t play a competitive game again until the quarterfinal round where projections have them in position to avenge their lone loss from a year ago.
Again, projections are just that, especially when dealing with 14-19 year-old kids.
The other way in which the cards fell in Princeton? The Kennedy race.
If the Kennedy Award discussion is at a 10/10 heading into the semifinal round, it’s probably at a 2/10 right now. It’s all noise until the playoffs begin but this feels like one the least intriguing race since Blake Hartman won in 2020.
That said the south’s horse, Brad Mossor, is pulling ahead of the pack. Statewide the only other realistic competitors are Wheeling Park running back Brennan Wack, Morgantown QB Maddox Twig and although he’s not getting quite the same love because of the system, Bridgeport’s Gavin Williams. Wack and Mossor are largely considered the front runners but Wack has missed two games and his team now sits at 5-4.
Missing a couple games isn’t usually a problem. Atticus Goodson missed two games in 2021 and still won but here’s the kicker – you have to be able to make up ground and Goodson did that in the playoffs with 200-plus yards in a landmark semifinal win against Bluefield that shattered the norm at the time (Bluefield had played in the previous four Class AA state title games).
Wack’s Wheeling Park squad is on pace to finish 6-4 and crash into Martinsburg in the quarterfinals.
Here’s where I tap my sign that reads “Only two Kennedy winners in the last 20 years have won the award without making it to the semifinals.”
I’ll circle back to this when I pen my annual Kennedy column the Week of Nov. 24. A lot can change in a month but the results of Friday night extended past the confines of Hunnciutt Stadium for both teams.
Shining in the Big Stage
I was pleasantly surprised with how competitive Princeton-Independence was.
When I stopped by Indy on Wednesday, quarterback Brock Green was in a walking boot and running back Sylas Nelson had been ruled out for the rest of the regular season. That hurt two-fold as it also meant the Patriots would be without their two starting safeties in Nelson and Cole Laxton, not a spot you want to be in against Princeton. I was told if Green played, it would be surprise if he was allowed to go for longer than a quarter.
Still, Indy came out and hit Princeton with a stunner.
The Independence offensive line had an impressive showing, holding up long enough for Green to successfully launch deep balls to Christian Linksweiler and take a 10-7 lead. At one point Princeton called a timeout that felt like a turning point. The entire bench was prompted to join the huddle, signaling a sense of urgency.
This Princeton team is used to getting punched in the mouth, though. The Graham game was tight. Winfield had them tied deep into the second quarter and Beckley put 28 points on them in the first half. They’ve been in these situations enough this year, and even over the last two years (Parkersburg in 2023, Beckley, Parkersburg South and North Marion in 2024) to take it in stride.
They took a 21-10 lead into the break but Independence battled back and had a chance to cut it to a one-score game with 13 minutes to play. That attempt failed and Mossor flipped the game entirely with a 94-yard touchdown run.
From the neutral observer, this was a fun game where the stars shined. Linksweiler took over the game for much of the first half with three catches for 80-plus yards and an interception. He was so dominant he forced Princeton to cycle through three different cornerbacks.
Green did a good job of moving the offense despite the injury and lack of a complementary running game against a defense that’s forged an identity of pinning its ears back and bringing pressure. And kudos to Green’s line which didn’t allow a single sack according to the statistical charting of Princeton head coach Nate Tanner.
Independence edge Isaiah Conley had a nice game with several pressures that forced Princeton QB Chance Barker to scramble.
Princeton’s stars were no different.
None of those pressures Conley applied turned into sacks and part of that was because of Barker’s ability to scramble and extend plays, a skill that’s become one of his best this season. There have been glimpses in years past but not only is he extending plays in the backfield this year, he’s getting upfield and registering big plays in the run game. His 81 yards rushing Friday is a career high and to add further context, he rushed for 117 yards in 14 games total in 2023 and 86 in 13 games last year. Those totals also account for sacks, which count against rushing totals in high school. It shows the evolution of his game.
I don’t know that Independence will see a quarterback that can both scramble and throw the ball well but the two they have seen – Peyton Grigsby (Herbert Hoover) and Barker have found success with that style of play.
Elsewhere on Princeton’s side Kalum Kiser had a really nice rep in coverage after missing several games with an injury and Mossor had a pair of pivotal touchdowns too.
I was told Tony Gibson (Marshall), Cincinnati and a handful of Division II coaches were on hand Friday night to watch the game. Even Wayne Ryan, the Executive Director of the WVSSAC, made the trip down to take in the contest. There was plenty to like.
Class AAAA is a mess
As it stands a one-win team is the No. 15 seed in Class AAAA and two two-win teams are in the picture.
Yes it’s not ideal but it goes back to what I’ve been saying for over a year.
Football is meant to be treated differently than other sports and Class AAAA is a different animal than any other. Before all of the classification controversy erupted in December of 2023, there was a proposal to cut the Class AAAA playoffs to either 8 or 12 teams. A bye week would be built in but because the classification is smaller there would be more resistance to earning a playoff berth.
That idea was rejected.
And I’ve heard that wild accusation that it’s all about money.
The WVSSAC operates at a loss in Class AAAA. Last year the Class AAAA playoffs lost $6,754.41, before factoring in the state championship game which brought two eastern panhandle teams, who drew a crowd of around 8,000 in their regular season matchup, to Charleston along with a crowd of what amounted to less than 1,000 people.
I’d be remiss to ignore that even in the old three-class system we still had teams with a .500 record or worse make the postseason every year from 2015-2023. But they all at least had four wins. A low bar, but still higher than two wins.
A 16-team field in Class AAAA benefits nobody expect the local t-shirt shop that gets a bump in sales when playoff shirt orders come in. Maybe after a couple years of this the Board of Control and the principals will move to correct it.
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