By Michael Griffith (The Dominion Post)
For the WVSWA
MORGANTOWN – Morgantown High sophomore quarterback Maddox Twigg was nothing short of a difference maker for the Mohigans on their run to the 2025 Class AAAA state championship.
Better yet, THE difference maker.
Through the four games played in the 2025 postseason, Twigg accounted for 1,084 yards and 19 touchdowns of total offense to lead his team to its first title in two decades.
His best performance came in the finale against Martinsburg in a 28-21 title-winning victory, accounting for 316 yards and four touchdowns.
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound second-year player finished 2025 with 3,323 yards and 44 touchdowns as the signal-caller for MHS. He completed 66% of his passes for 2,239 yards and 26 touchdowns, adding 1,084 yards and 18 more scores on 184 carries, earning him Class AAAA First-Team All-State honors as well.
For his efforts, Twigg was named the 2025 J.R. House Award winner by the West Virginia Sportswriters Association for the top quarterback in the state. The House Award is named for former Nitro High quarterback J.R. House, who set multiple national passing records, including 10 touchdowns in a state championship game.
“This means the world to me, especially after being able to accomplish all of the goals we set as a team,” Twigg said. “Coming into the season, my goal was simply to lead my team to a state championship game and give us a shot to win it all. Along with that, I just wanted to build confidence with my offense, and amazingly, the season worked out that way for us.”
One obstacle for Twigg and the MHS offense was a shift in 2025 toward a more balanced passing game from playing a run-heavy style in recent years. But the transition was seamless, as the Mohigans opened the season with a 44-7 victory over Parkersburg, in which Twigg completed 12 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns.
“After that first game, we came off the field knowing we had something special to work with offensively,” he said. “I think gaining that confidence early made us comfortable and helped us settle in quickly. It felt like we could do whatever we wanted everywhere. Our offensive line was great all season; we had athletes on the outside who could make plays, and we ran the ball effectively. We didn’t feel like we had to live or die by one single aspect of the offense, and could let the game come to us by taking it one play at a time.”
Twigg had several memorable moments throughout the season, but perhaps none more than leading MHS to a 34-33 double-overtime victory over Spring Mills in the quarterfinals of the Class AAAA playoffs.
The Twigg-led Mohigans marched 80 yards in the final 90 seconds of regulation to force overtime, eventually winning the game by a single point. Twigg accounted for 254 of his team’s 263 total yards against the Cardinals.
“We came together before that drive, and I think it really hit us just how much we loved and cared for each other,” Twigg said. “Some of those guys were facing their final seconds playing football, and the guys on defense were on the sidelines, possibly having played their final snap. In that moment, our entire mentality was simply to go out and get it done.”
He followed his quarterfinal performance with 294 total yards and six touchdowns against Jefferson in the semifinals, before ultimately carrying the Mohigans to the title with his best postseason performance of the year, and possibly the season, against Martinsburg in the championship.
Even with all the things he was doing for his team, Twigg says he never really thought of how special a season he was having. Admittedly, at times, he even felt like he wasn’t doing enough.
“Honestly, I didn’t really notice. In the Spring Mills game, I just kept thinking I wasn’t doing enough,” he said. “We were in such a close game, so I was just thinking about how we had to pick it up towards the end of the game after not playing how we knew we could.”
In the end, however, Twigg’s efforts were enough to help the Mohigans reach their goals and end the season on a high note.
“When that buzzer went off at the end of the championship game, it just felt surreal,” he said. “It was almost like it was a dream, especially playing Martinsburg, who has dominated the state for so long. We always believed we could do it, but actually saying we did it is an amazing feeling.”
Twigg is the first Morgantown High player to win the House Award since its inaugural year in 2014, and only the third MHS player to win an individual award since 2013 (Caden Biser, 2020 Howley Award; Jamie “Chazzy” Thomas, 2013 Kennedy Award).
House Award selections (senior unless listed otherwise):
2024 – Dane Hatfield, Herbert Hoover
2023 – Maxwell Molessa, Williamstown
2022 – Gavin Lochow, Huntington
2021 – Gavin Lochow, jr., Huntington
2020 – Gage Michael, Fairmont Senior
2019 – Brandon Penn, Parkersburg South
2018 – Connor Neal, Fairmont Senior
2017 – Tyson Bagent, Martinsburg
2016 – Jeremy Dillon, jr., Mingo Central
2015 – Tyrhee Pratt, jr., Capital
2014 – Kentre Grier, jr., South Charleston
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