Gallery by Heather Belcher
Charleston – Bradyn Tyler spent most of Saturday afternoon terrorizing Bluefield with his legs. But his most important play came through the air.
Lined up in a wildcat look, Tyler took a direct snap with 10 seconds left, sprinted right and threw to a wide-open Keiton Nester for the game-winning 43-yard touchdown reception with three seconds left, delivering the top-seeded Falcons a 49-42 victory over the Beavers 49-42 in the Class AA title game at Laidley Field in Charleston.
The victory gives the Frankfort its second consecutive state championship after toppling Roane County a year ago.
“We had a couple guys that were out in our secondary,” Simon said. “I’d like to go back but we didn’t have any timeouts make a couple of adjustments and maybe we go back and put them in prevent type coverage but hell, the way (Tyler) was running you don’t know about that either.”
Frankfort head coach Kevin Whiteman admitted he almost called the play earlier but holstered it for the perfect moment.
“I’ll be honest with you that’s the only trick we had in our bag,” Whiteman said. “We’ve been running that play for two weeks and put that in two weeks ago. We didn’t use it last week. Today we ran the ball out of it and that last play just set up and was perfect for it. The corner bit up on the run and our guy was wide open.”
The play fittingly capped a wild title game and fourth quarter.
The two teams combined for 911 yards of total offense, doing so in different ways.
Bluefield picked up 321 of its 480 yards through the air while Frankfort moved by land to the tune of 323 yards, 430 on the day.
The first half saw its share of points with the Falcons ahead 21-14, capitalizing on five third down conversion with an average distance of eight yards to go.
The second half evolved into shootout the featured just one punt and a turnover on downs.
The Beavers, who saw QB Max Simpson connect with fellow sophomore Pax Calhoun for three touchdowns in the second half alone, scored on four of their five drives after the intermission.
The first two ended with touchdown strikes of 4 and 9 yards to Calhoun, giving the Beavers their first lead of the game at 28-21 but the Falcons struck back 51 seconds into the fourth quarter, tying the game on a Shanholtz run from a yard out.
The Simpson to Calhoun connection was true again in response with the sophomore duo connecting for a 26-yard touchdown and a 34-28 advantage after missing the PAT. But in a quarter packed with pivotal plays, Frankfort flipped it on the following drive.
On fourth-and-5 at their own 48, Tyler’s number was called again as raced off the left side for a 52-yard score.
“We ran wing-back reverse and we ran it earlier in the game for a big play,” Whiteman said. “Dialed it up again and it went for another big play. When we needed a big play today we were able to get it.”
After forcing a turnover on downs on the following Bluefield drive and scoring once more on a Cole Shanholtz plunge from four yards out with 3:02 to play, the Falcons held a 42-34 advantage. But once again the Pax to Max combo was lethal.
A fourth-and-6 connection between the two with 1:10 to play moved the ball to the Beavers 44 but a drop by Tylee Simon on the next play stopped the clock and put Bluefield behind the sticks.
Two plays later on third-and-8, Simon’s number was called again and Simpson delivered a perfect strike to him from 40 yards out. The tying play once again involved Simpson throwing a fade to the right side to Calhoun, tying the game with 17 seconds to play.
A 24-yard kickoff return by Carder Shanholtz on the ensuing kickoff set Frankfort up at the Bluefield 43 where Tyler and Nester connected for the winning score.
“We were drawing it up all week out of that wildcat formation,” Tyler said. “We knew if we ran it a few times in that game we were going to get the corner to bite and that’s what he did. As soon as I saw Keiton’s back, that was it.”
The timing couldn’t have been worse for the Beavers who were without all-state caliber defensive safety Jaleel Jones who pulled a groin muscle and led them with 12 total tackles.
“They were cramping and worn out a little bit,” Simon said of his secondary. “Jaleel was hurt. He had a pulled groin muscle and couldn’t run. That hurt us a little bit defensively because if he could’ve run he could’ve made a play possibly but he couldn’t move.”
The loss caps a season that saw the Beavers return to the Class AA title game for the first time since 2019. They’ll return all but one starter with the bulk of their production coming from sophomores.
“Our quarterback played well today,” Simon said. “Guys caught the ball, well executed and my son (offensive coordinator Fritz Simon) did a good job of calling what he had to to get in the end zone. We would have liked to have got it into overtime and see what happens but it is what it is.”
Simpson, who earned MVP honors for Bluefield, completed 20 of 33 passes for 321 yards and five touchdowns, finishing the season with 41 total touchdown passes. Calhoun finished with eight catches for 109 yards and three touchdowns while Jeremiah Jones piled up 137 yards on 15 carries.
Tyler, who earned MVP honors for Frankfort, rushed 18 times for 189 yards and a touchdown while Carder Shanholtz added 75 yards and three more scores.
About the Author
