The Deep Post is a weekly column praising through the happenings of the week past and ahead. This week’s helping dives into the semifinal victories by Princeton and Bluefield.
What began in August comes to a close this weekend in the cold confines of Laidley Field!
For the first time in Mercer County history two teams will play for a state championship and while not unique (Spring Mills and Martinsburg played for the Class AAAA title last year while North Marion and Fairmont Senior met in 2023), it’s great to see multiple local communities rally behind the achievement.
Locally we had two teams in title games in 2022 (Independence and James Monroe) and 2023 (Greenbrier West and Princeton) but the Mercer County factor makes this different. An interesting aside, this is the second time Princeton head coach Nate Tanner has been in this scenario as he led Parkersburg South to the Class AAA title game in 2022 while fellow Wood County school Williamstown beat the aforementioned James Monroe team that year.
It’s a nice change of pace after the area was shut out of championship weekend last year for the first time since 2016.
I’ll do a separate edition of Deep Post later this week diving into the title tilts but for today we’ll stick to the path that led here.
Baby Beavers Grow Up
I don’t believe Bluefield was on anyone’s radar as a legit title contender coming into the season. The Beavers had graduated almost all of their production at the skill positions as well as most of their offensive line. Add in the loss of linebackers Ty Patton (graduation) and Landon Crane (transferred to Princeton) and it was fair to question what it would look like.
Little did we know that their newest batch of stars missed last season due to eligibility issues.
Sophomores Jeremiah Jones and Pax Calhoun have all but solidified their spots as first team all-state players in just their first season, helping the Beavers rewrite the history books on their way to a title game appearance. Jones has become arguably the best linebacker in the area and Calhoun has already broken the record for most receiving yards in a single season.
Neither of those players played last year.
Add in the breakout seasons of sophomores Jaleel Jones and Max Simpson as well as linemen Ethan Thompson and T.J. Francisco and there’s a perfect recipe for a title run.
Players such as Tylee Simon, Jordan Hess, Jamarius Smith and Ja’Myere Harris have also stood out.
This group’s improved each week and had been a pleasant surprise. They went 3-1 to start the season in a stretch that’s yielded 1-3 or 0-4 records in previous years. They lost their starting running back in Week 5 and have won eight straight games, hitting a new high in the postseason where they’ve averaged 51 points per game on offense.
I believed their semifinal game against Philip Barbour would be close.
It was over 11 minutes into the game.
On a cold day that favored the Colts’ style of offense the Beavers took to the ground early and pounded their way to an early 14-0 lead. Then the passing game took over and the lead was 28-0.
Some of my favorite teams to cover are the ones that are surprises or seeking redemption arcs.
This Bluefield team falls under the latter.
Winning is an expectation and birthright at Bluefield and despite their youth, the Baby Beavers play like that applies to them.
Paint the Town Blue
What a difference a year makes for Princeton!
Raise your hand if you believe the 2024 Princeton team beats that Spring Valley team Saturday. A year ago Herbert Hoover came into Hunnicutt Stadium and ran a ball-control, run-heavy offense and the Tigers had no answer.
This year they came up with every key stop, got off the field and capitalized on their limited possessions. In doing so they pitched their first shutout of the season, passing their final ground-heavy test.
There were aches and moans when the Tigers struggled with Graham’s run-heavy approach earlier in the season but they adapted and won and that approach served them well against a physical Spring Valley team.
I mentioned my favorite teams to cover are the surprises and redeemers. Princeton falls into the latter – on the verge of history during what’s been the most successful period in program history.
Kennedy Ballot and explanation
I submitted my official Kennedy Ballot earlier this week. Princeton’s Brad Mossor was at the top followed by Boston Todd (Martinsburg) and Maddox Twigg (Morgantown). Last week I had Brennan Wack at No. 2 but the semifinal performances of Todd and Twigg were too much to ignore especially with both playing in one-score games late in the first half.
I’ll know the results Thursday morning but I do get the feeling Mossor is the favorite. That’s not insider info, just a reflection of the straw polls I took and the fact his name is being thrown out in different corners of the state.
I’m interested to see how the polling ends up aside from who’s No. 1 on the ballot. Jim Workman, who tallies the ballots and is the president of the WVSWA, did a great job reaching out and pushing voters to submit their ballots which means we may get more than 25 this year.
If I had to guess Twigg finishes as the runner up. I do believe his semifinal showing pushed him up some ballots but the sense I get is Mossor had enough of an edge and only added to his case with 200 yards and three touchdowns against Spring Valley.
I do believe the next two Kennedy Awards will be highly contentious. There are good, young underclassmen skill players that will be named all-state players this year and the sophomore QB class that features Twigg, Bluefield’s Max Simpson, Independence’s Brock Green and Herbert Hoover’s Peyton Grigsby will make the 2026 and ’27 House Award races as entertaining as the Kennedy itself.
The Kingmaker
Lost in the shuffle of Mossor’s Kennedy push is the play of his quarterback Chance Barker. Only three players have ever primarily played wide receiver (Dom Collins, Brandon Barrett and Randy Moss) and won the Kennedy. If Mossor wins it, Barker will conclude his career having driven the Kennedy campaigns of two different wide receivers. That’s an award we’ve given out since 1947.
He reminds me of Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford who helped receivers Calvin Johnson (2012) and Cooper Kupp (2021) break the NFL record for receiving yards in a season. A kingmaker, if you will.
Barker will graduate as the area’s most accomplished passer from a statistical perspective but he also deserves credit for elevating his teammates to historical honors.
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