Summersville –
Team: Nicholas County
2024 Recap
In Gene Morris’ 27th and final season at the helm in Summersville, Nicholas County weathered a storm of injures to finish 6-4, earning a spot in the Class AA playoffs. The Grizzlies ultimately fell to Wheeling Central, ending Morris’ tenure.
2025 Outlook
When veteran coaches hang it up, they usually do so with the cupboard bare. That’s not the case for new head coach Matt Morriston.
Morriston will have a two-year starter at quarterback and a 1,000-yard rusher at running back to start.
Quarterback Coleton Hellems saw his season come to an early end last year when he suffered an arm injury late in the year. Before that Hellems had thrown for 854 yards but saw regression in the touchdown-interception ratio department going 6:5 after going 11:3 during his sophomore campaign.
Healthy and with a set of veteran skill players around him, Hellems will look to recapture his 2023 form that saw him throw for 1,198 yards.
“Coleton, he’s back as good as he ever way,” Morriston said. “He hasn’t shown any signs of injury and he’s looking really good.”
Helping Hellems will be a talented stable of skill players, highlighted by running back Devin Nash. Nash rushed for a 1,273 yards and 12 touchdowns, adding 266 yards and four more scores through the air, putting him over 1,500 scrimmage yards.
Hellems also returns his second favorite target in Colton Burkhammer who caught 13 balls for 201 yards last year. Other returning targets include Ian Nutter and Spencer Keiper, each of whom were over 100 yards each last year.
“The experience makes it a ton easier to step in as the new coach,” Morriston said. “You can’t have anything better than that, stepping in in a spot like this.”
The road to the postseason will be difficult for the Grizzlies. While a Board of Review ruling helped drop them from Class AAA to AA before the year started, they’re back in Class AAA for the 2025 season, aiming to punch their ticket to the playoffs against a schedule that features playoff contenders such as Oak Hill, Shady Spring, Bluefield, Greenbrier East, Independence and Midland Trail.
We hadn’t been in Class AAA since 2012 and they put us back up there this year,” Morriston said. “We’ll see how it goes. I think we’ve got the team to really compete in triple-A this year. We have all the experience and the seniors. It gets really tough at the top with Bridgeport, Herbert Hoover and Fairmont Senior but hopefully we’ll get the chance to contend with them.”
The Grizzlies open their season on Aug. 29 when they travel to Oak Hill.
| 1 | 08/29/25 | 7:00PM | A – | OAK HILL | – | |||
| 2 | 09/05/25 | 7:00PM | H – | CHAPMANVILLE REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 3 | 09/12/25 | 7:00PM | A – | SHADY SPRING | – | |||
| 4 | 09/18/25 | 7:00PM | H – | LINCOLN | – | |||
| 5 | 10/03/25 | 7:00PM | A – | MIDLAND TRAIL HIGH SCHOOL | – | |||
| 6 | 10/10/25 | 7:00PM | H – | BLUEFIELD | – | |||
| 7 | 10/17/25 | 7:00PM | H – | GREENBRIER EAST | – | |||
| 8 | 10/24/25 | 7:00PM | A – | ROANE COUNTY | – | |||
| 9 | 10/31/25 | 7:00PM | A – | INDEPENDENCE SENIOR | – | |||
| 10 | 11/07/25 | 7:00PM | H – | RIPLEY | – |
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