Just two weeks remain in the regular season with a couple of key storylines playing out in relation to postseason hardware. Dating back to 2016, the area has had its share of major award winners.
- Carter Sebert-Sweeney (Nicholas County) won the Moss Award in 2016
- Mookie Collier (Bluefield) won the Kennedy Award in 2017
- Colby Piner (Greenbrier East) won the Walker Award in 2020
- Ethan Parsons (Princeton) won the Moss Award in 2020
- Atticus Goodson (Independence) won the Warner and Kennedy Awards in 2021
That’s not a bad haul over a five-year stretch and this year the area should have another strong case for several awards when we sit down for the all-state meeting on the morning on Dec. 2.
Starting with the Moss Award, Princeton’s Dominick Collins checks all the boxes as a strong contender for the award. Heading into Friday’s matchup with Greenbrier East, the speedy junior has caught 42 passes for 758 yards and 14 touchdowns. The 14 touchdowns are a single-season record for the program, breaking the mark of 12 set by Ethan Parsons in 2020. As it stands, Collins is on pace to shatter all of Parsons’ records, established during an impressive campaign that landed him the Moss Award.
What makes Collins’ body of work most impressive is the level of competition he’s faced and excelled against. Â Let’s examine.
- No. 5 Bridgeport – Six catches for 74 yards and three touchdowns
- No. 1 Hurricane – Ten catches for 177 and three touchdowns
- No. 16 Beckley – Four catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns
- Lord Botetourt, Va. – Four catches for 137 yards and three touchdowns
- Bluefield – Nine catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns
- No. 14 Oak Hill – Seven catches for 49 yards and a touchdown
It goes without saying Collins isn’t beating up on chumps – he’s performing against the best teams in the state. In fact his worst game came against the only gimme on the Tigers’ schedule. He caught two passes against Lincoln County in a game where seven different players carried the ball and five different players caught passes. He’s beating teams in the short game and over the top and it’s clear where the Tigers are going when they drop back to pass, yet opposing teams are still struggling to contain him. It’s a testament as well to the Tigers’ coaching staff for putting Collins in the right positions to succeed. With deep safeties they can screen for him against lighter boxes in the short game and his elusiveness and quickness make tackling him a task. Against single-high looks he wins one-on-one for huge gains when the safety can’t range to his side.
As impressive as his campaign has been thus far, he still has an opportunity to strengthen his case for a Moss Award. He had a 52-yard touchdown catch against East last season, the team the Tigers host on Friday. Following that contest will be the regular season finale against Co-No. 1 Parkersburg South, a team Collins had a strong showing against last season as well.
The other area award candidates mostly hail from Independence.
To recap, the awards in question are the Moss (WR), House (QB), Howley (LB), Lee (DB), Stydahar (lineman), Walker (Special Teams), Huff (DPOY), Warner (RB) and Kennedy.
The Kennedy is the only award which is voted on and decided upon without discussion. All of the other awards as well as all-state selections are hammered out during an eight-hour meeting we sportswriters conduct in Wheeling on Dec. 2.
As it stands there are likely only candidates for the Warner, Kennedy, Howley/Huff and Sydahar Awards locally.
Starting with the Stydahar there are realistically three area candidates, a number that will need to dwindle to two. Brady Grimmett and Logan Isom are the best two from Independence, a team that names the score on any given week. Isom is the better pass blocker while Grimmett is the mauler in the run game. Collectively they’ve paved the way for 1,323 yards through the air and 2,872 more on the ground for a total of 4,195 yards of total offense. That’s 524 yards of total offense per game in games that have mostly been played with shortened second halves. The issue at hand is Indy’s coaching staff will need to throw its weight behind one or the other or risk splitting the vote. Grimmett to his credit has scored a touchdown on fumble recovery. The award also isn’t exclusive to one side of the ball so if you excel on both ends it only strengthens your case.
The other candidate would be Princeton’s Eli Campbell. Campbell has helped man a line that graduated two starters, paving the way for an offense that’s played the toughest schedule in the area. The Tigers haven’t been as successful running the ball but they’ve thrown for over 1,400 yards against quality opponents each week. Campbell’s case would be strengthened if the Tigers close out the season on a high note and play deep into November. Taking down a Huntington, Spring Valley or Cabell Midland wouldn’t hurt either as those teams are likely to boast a strong candidate each for the award.
The only realistic candidate for the Howley Award, given to the state’s top linebacker, would be Independence’s Jordan Harvey. Harvey was a Top 5 finalist for the award last year and the play of the Patriots this year has him in that discussion again. On a roster loaded with great players, Harvey’s the best on the Independence defense. He’s not the fastest or most athletic but he’s smart enough to diagnose plays and stop them in the backfield. The greatest testament to his play is how the Patriot defense has performed as a unit. They’ve pitched six shutouts (the lone Nicholas County touchdown was scored on a kickoff return), making life miserable for opposing offenses. The only thing that might weaken Harvey’s claim to the award is Independence’s schedule.
It’s weak, but not for lack of trying.
Summers County and Midland Trail, both Class A teams, were replaced with Bluefield and Oak Hill. In the offseason the conversation surrounded the schedule featuring two Class AA semifinalists in Poca and Bluefield, and three other playoff teams in Nicholas County, Liberty and Shady Spring. In total the schedule features five playoff teams from last year but those teams just haven’t been very good this year, something magnified by how good Indy has been. It’s hurting the Patriots in the playoff ratings as well with home field throughout the playoffs an uncertainty to this point.
To the Patriots’ credit they’ve done exactly what they’re supposed to do.
But back to the award discussion.
Last but not least are the Warner and Kennedy Awards, which tie in together here.
Independence running back Judah Price has the best claim to those awards in the area at this juncture. With 1,570 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns he leads the area in both categories. Strengthening his case is the fact he’s 19 points away from breaking the state’s regular season scoring record … in just nine games. When Poca’s Ethan Payne, the current record holder with 276 points, established his mark in 2019 he did so with a 10-game schedule. Payne went on to win the Kennedy that season, becoming the second player since 1989 to win the award without making a semifinal appearance.
Last year I wrote about Atticus Goodson’s pursuit of the Kennedy Award – which he ultimately won – and what was required to make it a reality. The truth is Price’s resume to this point is the first stepping stone towards that award. It helps build the framework but what he accomplishes in the postseason fills it out. Price will likely finish the regular season with a hair under 1,800 yards rushing and the state scoring record, earning him the name recognition he needs if he hasn’t grabbed the attention of eligible voters around the state.
But the postseason variable is what makes or breaks the case.
Kennedy votes aren’t due until the Tuesday after the semifinals are played. I often use the example of Mookie Collier’s semifinal game against Bridgeport sealing the deal on his candidacy in 2017. He rushed for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Two of his competitors – Jeremy Dillon and Jadon Hayes – lost their semifinal matchups and turned in bad performances.
Scott QB Matt Frye, a player Indy could see in the postseason, has thrown for 1,720 yards and 21 touchdowns against a quality schedule. Hurricane running back Jeremiah Riffle has rushed for 1,492 yards and 13 touchdowns against another loaded schedule. Martinsburg QB Ezra Bagent has tossed 29 touchdown passes for the state’s premier program. That’s the competition Price faces if he hopes to achieve what Goodson did last year.
The next month should be telling on all fronts.
