The gridiron has been tough sledding for Woodrow Wilson the last few years.
Friday night, the Boys of Fall wearing Beckley across their chest finally pushed that sled to the top of the mountain to earn its first trip to the postseason since 2014.
“It’s a feeling that I have never had in the years I have been here and it is really cool to experience this,” senior quarterback Maddex McMillen said. “I think we all knew that we could do it as a team. It feels good to silence the noise.”
“For me to be a senior and be practicing at this time of year is really special,” fellow senior wide-out Keynan Cook. “When we started bonding and meshing as a team we started to turn things around.”
With two games to play in the regular season, the postseason situation for Beckley was clear, win or go home.
“Our game with Oak Hill was like our sectional and the game with South Charleston was our regional. We had to win them,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Street Sarrett said.
The Flying Eagles responded with a crucial win over Oak Hill, setting up a showdown with Class AAA defending state champion South Charleston.
“South Charleston is the defending state champions. They are a very good ball club that is very athletic. We went didn’t turn the football over and won the first five minutes of the game,” Sarrett said. “Like I have been telling them all year, win the first five minutes and don’t turn the ball over, good things will happen to you.”
Beckley won the first five minutes as well as the last five minutes to double up the Black Eagles 42-21.
“The formula has always been there. It’s just about hard work. The group that is out here right now, they have bought into that formula and it shows that hard work pays off,” Sarrett said. “The rewards of their efforts was winning the last two games and making the playoffs. To play the way they did against South Charleston, I am very pleased. It makes us happy as a staff to see kids grow and get better. That is the way it supposed to be.”
The success over the past two weeks has been linked to a resurgence in the running game. The Flying rushed for 226 yards against Oak Hill before gaining 238 last Friday.
“When we started running the ball more it opened up the passing game more for us,” Cook said. “We have done a great job playing as a team. If we continue to play like we have and each one of us does our jobs individually we have a good chance.”
Should teams try to stack the box on Woodrow, McMillen is more than capable of making them pay through the air.
The senior quarterback has thrown for just under 1,400 yards and is also a threat with his legs.
“Maddex has been on and he puts the ball right in there. The last two games he has been running a little bit and playing some defense,” Sarrett said. “Maddex is a well rounded athlete and like I have said, we will go as far as he wants us to go. Hopefully we go along way.”
Along with the boost from the run game, the Flying Eagles have been stingy on defense which had been an area of concern in the past.
“The kids have figured it out about defense and we have gotten better this year. Jay Jones has really showed up. He might be one of the best linebackers that we have had in a long time,” Sarrett said. “He shows it every week and competes. Jay makes big plays and tackles great backs in the backfield. He makes our defense go.”
On the season, Jones has 101 total tackles with 14 tackles for loss.
“Up front Mike Miller has been playing his tail off and our guys have been covering people,” Sarrett said. “We had three interceptions Friday night. We had a pick-6 Friday and one the week before. The guys are having fun playing defense and it has been fun to watch them grow.”
The secondary will need to be in top form Friday because their first round opponent, No. 4 University possess a solid passing attack. Hawks quarterback Luke Hudson threw five touchdowns in the win Friday night over Oak Hill.
“They are a really good team and they will test our secondary, but their run game is really good also. They are 10-0 for a reason,” Sarrett said. “(Head) coach (John W.) Kelly has been coaching forever, maybe longer than I have been alive. He knows a lot of football and it will be a tough ball game for us.”
Clearly Beckley will be the underdog in the eyes of many. It is a role that the Flying are both familiar and comfortable with lately.
“They are a really good team. It is going to take exactly what we did last week. We have to play a complete game as a unit,” McMillen said. “We can’t take breaks anywhere. We have to go 100 percent all the time at every position the whole game.”
“I think if we keep playing the way that we have been playing, we can go up there and surprise some people,” Sarrett said.
