Welcome back to The Deep Post, a weekly column that hits on the rumblings of the week past and ahead. This week’s offering from Wheeling puts a bow on football season.
Opening Drive
Princeton and Greenbrier West saw their seasons conclude at Wheeling Island Stadium on Saturday, though neither walked away with the trophy they came seeking. And that’s okay.
The Super Six is a spectacle that everybody wants to be a part of. It’s a great environment, the kids are treated like stars and the committee does a great job of making it a memorable experience. Just getting there is an accomplishment of its own. Princeton, one of the teams that lost Saturday, had never been.
That inexperience showed.
At worst I thought the Tigers should’ve been trailing by maybe a score at the half, potentially tied.
There were throws QB Chance Barker missed that were touchdowns if he connects and they came on plays he made all season long. Brad Mossor had a step on his defender on a go route and Dom Collins had a slant route that likely would’ve gone for a score if Barker had connected with him. The unfortunate problem for Princeton is it had no margin for error against a program like Martinsburg. I believe the figurative and literal pressure impacted Barker, more so the literal pressure. Martinsburg’s defensive line made life difficult for him all afternoon, registering seven sacks and regularly flushed him out of the pocket.
Now, to patch Barker up. He’s not the reason they lost. Martinsburg was just incredibly talented. Their second or third best defensive lineman had three interception return touchdowns this season. Most defensive backs don’t have that many. For Barker, he’s just a sophomore who had one of the most prolific passing seasons in state history. He finishes with 48 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. After the loss to Hurricane earlier this year I was told he was already eager to get in the weight room this off-season to add muscle and become a better player. He wasn’t pleased with how difficult scrambling was against stronger players. Part of what makes great players such is acknowledging their faults and working to improve them.
Coming into the season I thought starting Barker at QB was the right call despite never having seen him play. He was competing with Brad Mossor but my personal philosophy is you don’t weaken yourself at one position to be competent at another. I’d rather have a young QB who I can help with two proven receivers and a standout running back. Princeton went that route and hit the jackpot.
Mossor was a good wide receiver last year as a freshman. This year he finished with over 800 yards receiving and truthfully, won his share of battles on the outside Saturday against the Bulldogs. Of note, 13 months ago Mossor’s numbers (50 receptions, 852 yards) would’ve pushed program records. When Ethan Parsons won the Moss Award as a senior in 2020 he finished with 48 receptions for 862 yards. Mossor, a sophomore, is next and will share in Barker’s success if Princeton can keep everyone together in the age of the portal. More on the future later.
Capping a stellar career
There are probably many tired of hearing about Dom Collins. That’s too bad.
The senior receiver proved the only way to stop him is field an unworldly defensive line that limits an offense’s ability to attack down the field. Even then he’s still inevitable.
Collins caught seven passes for 169 yards with touchdown grabs of 44 and 51 yards. With a running clock and no hope for a comeback, this was the coverage he was seeing late in the game.
His second touchdown grab, the 51-yarder was perfect. There was nobody in sight and he had to slow up to catch the ball. Coincidentally, that pass led him straight to WVU head coach Neal Brown who was standing beside the goalposts of the end zone Collins reached. It was a strong day for the #OfferHim crowd.
Collins finished his season with 1,901 yards receiving and tied the state record for most touchdown receptions in a season with 27. Is he undersized? Yes, but his explosiveness is hard to replicate. He’s earned a DI offer and I hope everyone that watched him this season can appreciate that they witnessed one of the greatest individual seasons from a receiver in state history.
Fourth Time’s The Charmco?
Everybody is hurt in some capacity this time of the year. West was probably victimized by the injury big as much as anybody remaining and it finally caught up to the Cavs in their state title game loss to Williamstown. There’s nothing to be upset about in Charmco. The Cavs won a pair of exciting playoff games in situations they hadn’t faced most of the year. Truthfully, that Williamstown team was good enough to compete in Class AA and potentially win in that class this year.
West’s offense moved the ball effectively in Saturday’s Class A title game. The issue was drives continuously stalled out, plagued by execution problems such as drops and an interception. The Cavs needed to keep pace to stay in the game because Maxwell Molessa and Co. sprung and bounced out of tackles.
Getting back to Wheeling will be difficult next year. There’s a belief West could be in the new Class AA and the Cavs lose a lot of players who kept them afloat during a reloading period in 2021. Cole Vandall, who broke all the single-season passing records, is out as are defensive standout Ethan Holliday and leading rusher Jake Pate. That’s a special senior class. I thought there’d be decline in the program once the senior group of Kaiden Pack and Noah Brown graduated in ’21 but this group kept West’s playoff hopes alive and busted over the quarterfinal hump.
What’s Next?
The Super Six is going to look a lot different next year as the Super Eight. That doesn’t have the same ring to it. The feeling around Wheeling is the name will likely change to the Great Eight or Elite Eight. I like the Great Eight better. Of course I’m referencing the four-classification shift that will go into effect next year, necessitating a fourth state championship game. The belief is we’ll have noon title games on Friday and Saturday with the other two title games occupying the 7 p.m. slots on those days.
That’s fine. I don’t necessarily like the idea of four classes for football like I do basketball. I do think the playoff field will have to drop to eight teams per class next year. That opens another can of worms and makes me wonder if a smaller field will offset the strength of schedule factor introduced this year. In discussions I had this weekend in Wheeling I was told to expect the playoff fields will stay at 16 per class, with a possible exception.
Here’s the curve.
The rule could be different for each Class. For example the new Class AAAA could allow just eight teams into the playoffs while the other classes allow 16 each. That would create a first-round bye for the Class AAAA playoffs which would make sense given that class would have around 20 schools while the others push 30.
Either way this will be the last Super Six, ending a 68-year run where three state champions were crowned each year. I was told the new classifications will likely be announced a few days before Christmas.
What does that mean from a local standpoint aside from more work for us? It creates more opportunities for local teams and the entire middle class of football teams. Smaller Class A and AAA teams that were in that middle class jump a figurative tax bracket. Take Princeton for example. Part of the reason its Super Six run was so celebrated is it’s a small triple-A school (less than 1,000 kids) competing against schools with enrollment numbers that touch 1,800. Next year the Tigers are likely to be in a classification with teams such as Fairmont Senior, Shady Spring, Bridgeport, Spring Valley, Nitro and Winfield. That sounds a lot better than battling Morgantown, Cabell Midland, Huntington, Martinsburg and Parkersburg each year. Again that’s not solidified but the enrollment differences are around 200 kids between Princeton and the other potential schools in the new Class AAA, much different than the 500-plus that separates it from a sprawling area like Martinsburg.
That said, I do like Princeton to replicate its success to a degree if it can land in that new classification. Barker, Mossor, Marquel Lowe and Kalum Kiser are amongst returning foundational pieces for the Tigers. That’s a group that can spearhead another Wheeling push and finish the job in 2024.
Super Six Nuggets
I’m the guy that glances through the record book to see which ones are in danger throughout Super Six weekend. This year we had a few fall. Murphy Clement broke the record for yards per rushing attempt with 15, Maxwell Molessa broke the record for longest play from scrimmage with his 98-yard touchdown run and Dylan Ours broke the Class AA rushing touchdown record with six.
Let’s jump into the performances and key plays throughout the weekend, starting with Fairmont Senior’s defensive stand on the two-point conversion attempt that saved the game. Trailing 49-42, North Marion drove the field in the final minute, scoring in just 38 seconds. A miraculous touchdown grab with 14 seconds left presented North Marion with an opportunity to take the lead with a successful conversion. A bad snap threw the play off and Fairmont made the stop at the 1 to seal the game.
What was poetic about that? Six years ago Fairmont led Bluefield 26-21 with the ball on that same exact spot. The Polar Bears went under center for the first time all season and fumbled the snap into the end zone. Truck Edwards recovered for Bluefield and the rest is history as the Beavers scored, eventually winning 29-26. Not that the Polar Bears are crying about the play considering they’ve won four state championships since then but I’m sure the Fairmont faithful are happy to have positive memory associated with that spot.
For what it’s worth, I agree with the decision to go for two. Roll with the guys that got you there, not a kicker. It made for an instant classic, probably the first we’ve had since the 2017 title game between Fairmont and Bluefield.
Moving onto Saturday there are few, if any, players that have had the type of career Molessa has had in the Super Six. He finished his career with a 2-1 record in title games, winning MVP honors for his team all three years. I covered all three of his title games and added up his numbers. He finished with 557 yards rushing and nine rushing touchdowns on 61 carries. Molessa will play baseball at WVU next year but his gridiron tour was special!
Bringing the Super Six south
The Super Six, or whatever it will be called next year, is up for bid again. It’s been in Wheeling since 1994 and I have a hard time imagining it will leave any time soon. A gigantic new video board was added this past summer and it looked terrific. The committee to keep the event in Wheeling does a great job and truthfully the venue accommodates it well. The locker rooms bleed directly onto the field and keep fans away from the players. On top of that there’s plenty of room on the sideline to accommodate media. I was told there are north of 100 volunteers that help each year and it shows.
Personally, I hate that it’s in Wheeling strictly because I despite driving four hours one way each year. I can get to Charlotte in three hours depending on the traffic at Lake Norman.
Marty Gearheart has done a great job spearheading an effort to bring the Super Six to the south but I think it will fall short until massive changes are made.
First off you have to beat the organization and volunteers in place. That’s a tough task. The second issue has already been resolved but there was an idea pitched about rotating it between Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton and Mitchell Stadium in Bluefield. That would be chaotic and truthfully, Hunnicutt can’t handle it. I’m a press box snob. If I can’t get a seat in your press box (it’s meant for the PRESS, not friends and family), then I can’t take your operation seriously. I’ve covered two games from the Hunnicutt press box in seven years and had to stand up and watch behind somebody with obstructed views for both. The facility is great, but the press box would have to be torn down and completely reconstructed with at least two stories to accommodate print media as well as broadcast operations. On top of that any time Princeton plays Bluefield or any other significant opponent I usually have to park over near Sheetz which is 200 yards away.
There’s no way it could handle an influx of Super Six spectators with the current parking situation. But unfortunately Princeton would probably be Mercer County’s best chance at hosting due to hotel proximity.
Mitchell Stadium mostly has the infrastructure. The press box is terrific and the parking situation is great, though with the Holiday of Lights it may complicate things. The field is great, the new stadium lights are great but there are some issues. The sidelines are tight which isn’t accommodating to media, the locker rooms are small and Bluefield isn’t exactly sprawling with hotels as most of them are right off Exit 9 in Princeton which is about a 20-minute drive on the interstate from Mitchell Stadium. I’d love to see the Super Six come to Mitchell which has a great history and has housed numerous championship teams between Graham, Va. and Bluefield but it’s going to be difficult to pry it from the Wheeling. From the WVSSAC’s standpoint why disrupt a good thing? The first year or two in Mercer County would naturally come with a few hiccups, ones that could simply be avoided by keeping it in Wheeling.
Final Thoughts
The seniors from Independence, Princeton, James Monroe and Greenbrier West should be proud of what they’ve accomplished. Aside from an appearance each by James Monroe (2007) and Greenbrier West (2013), Super Six berths amongst local teams in the 21st century were reserved for Bluefield which has nine this century.
Those four schools have changed the narrative and put Southern West Virginia back on the map. I’ve said it before but football was an afterthought around here, second fiddle to basketball. Their appearances in Wheeling may not have ended the way they wanted – aside from Independence’s last season – but they’ve made football in the area respectable on a statewide level. It’s why the area has produced three Kennedy Award winners since 2017.
Rising tides lift all boats.
Kudos to those fellas, their coaches and their programs.
Email: tylerjackson@lootpress.com and follow on Twitter @tjack94
