Parkersburg High School Big Reds Football

.....JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Penn State and former Parkersburg High School receiver Brenton Strange with the 61st overall pick in the NFL draft Friday night, giving them a versatile tight end to pair with veteran Evan Engram at the position.

.....Jacksonville let tight ends Chris Manhertz and Dan Arnold leave in free agency, creating holes in coach Doug Pederson’s offense. General manager Trent Baalke seemingly filled them by adding the 6-foot-4, 253-pounder with potential to be a matchup problem for defenses and a red zone option for Trevor Lawrence.
.....He joins Oklahoma offensive tackle Anton Harrison in Jacksonville’s draft class. Jacksonville drafted Harrison with the 27th pick in the first round Thursday night.
Strange had 32 catches for 362 yards and five touchdowns for the Nittany Lions last year. He finished his college career with 70 receptions for 755 yards and 11 scores in four seasons.
.....He joins a position group that includes Engram, Luke Farrell and Gerrit Prince. Jacksonville used its franchise tag on Engram, guaranteeing him more than $11 million this fall. But Engram has yet to sign the tender offer.
.....Tight end had been one of the Jags’ top needs. Nonetheless they traded down five spots, moving from No. 56 to No. 61, to land Strange. They picked up the first selection of the fifth round (No. 136 overall) in return from Chicago.

.....Strange was a two-time all-state selection at PHS, 2017 and 2018, and holds most of the Big Red pass receiving records.

The same opponents with several of the same star football players returning means a daunting schedule for the 2023 Parkersburg Big Reds.

The Big Red schedule for now second-year head coach Matt Kimes has all 10 of the same opponents faced this year and that includes six playoff teams including champion Huntington, top ranked Parkersburg South and four other schools ranked in the top 11. Those six teams accounted for all six of the PHS losses in 2022 and those six teams return six first team all-staters and eight second-team all-state players.

Those other four playoff teams include sixth ranked George Washington, seventh-ranked Spring Valley, eighth-ranked Musselman and 11^th ranked Cabell Midland.

All games PHS played at home this year will be played on the road in 2023 and only slight changes in the order of games to be played. South Charleston moves to the number three spot in the lineup while Parkersburg South moves down to number four opponent.

State champion Huntington returns three first-team all-staters and one second team pick while top-ranked and state runner-up Parkersburg South has back two first-team all-staters and two second-team picks.

Leading Huntington, which must replace first team quarterback Gavin Lochow, will be receiver-defensive back Wayne Harris along with running back Zah Jackson and lineman Robby Martin. Jackson scored four touchdowns against the Big Reds (three on offense with 183 yards rushing and one interception return). Harris caught six passes for 120 yards and one score. The Highlanders also have second team kicker Johnny Aya-Ay back.

South will have back quarterback Robert Shockey (picked as a first-team utility player on the all-state squad) along with linebacker Gage Wright not to mention second-team all-state picks linebacker Turner Garretson and defensive back Triston Walker. Shockey ran for 122 yards and passed for 278 yards and four touchdowns against PHS while Wright added 89 yards rushing and one score in the Big Red game.

Cabell Midland returns all-state lineman Michael Lunsford along with second team running back Curtis Jones. Jones was one of three backs who ran for over 100 yards against PHS this year. George Washington has three second team all-staters returning including quarterback Abe Fenwick, receiver Keegan Slack and utility player Anthony Valentine. Fenwick threw for 316 yards and five touchdowns against PHS this past season Spring Valley returns second team all-state lineman Sam Boothe.

While there are some very tough and talented teams on the 2023 PHS schedule the Big Reds can be buoyed by the fact that they also have lots of talent returning.

Leading the list of returners for PHS is first-team all-state kicker Casey Stanley, who led the team with 92 points scored this year. The versatile Stanley kicked six of nine field goals and 30 of 34 extra points while averaging 35.5 yards per punt and putting 29 kickoffs into the end zone. He caught 14 passes for 302 yards and six touchdowns while ranking fourth on the team with 59 tackles.

PHS also has back quarterback David Parsons, an all-state honorable mention player who is ready to set several school records after a junior year with 2,143 yards in total offense. He completed 144 of 249 passes for 1,947 yards with 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Big Reds also have back their defensive Player of the Year in Andrew Stalnaker, who led the team with 67 tackles including nine tackles for loss, five sacks and two interceptions. Also returning is top receiver Anthony Ice with 38 caches for 397 yards and five touchdowns as well as center Jack Mills, tackles Jake Bauman and Caleb Norman, guards J.D. Pauley and Kody McHale as well as talented newcomers like Jakel Shelton (5-10, 200 junior to be), tackle Brayden Robinson (6-3, 290 senior to be), Sylas Cheuvront, Ethan Jones and Zane Lewis.

Following in the footsteps of Parkersburg High School kicking legends Connor Louden, Matt McCullough, Marc Kimes, and Tyler Warner, Big Red junior Casey Stanley has been named first team Class AAA all-state by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Stanley, a junior who is a versatile performer as a wide receiver and defensive back as well, was six for nine on field goals, with a long of 46 yards, this year. He also made 30 for 34 on extra points, with three of the misses being because of botched snaps or holds. His 29 touchbacks were the most in the state.

For his career, Stanley is currently fourth all-time at PHS with 121 points. The leader is Louden with 140 points. Stanley has the third longest field goal in history with making 12 three-pointers (in 16 attempts) during his career while adding 85 extra points in 93 attempts.

Stanley is the sixth Big Red to be named first team all-state kicker in the last 23 years. McCullough was a 1999 selection while Louden made first-team all-state in 2003 and 2004 while Kimes was selected in 2000 and Warner earned honors in 2006.

Named to the honorable mention list was tight end-linebacker Austin Fleming and quarterback David Parsons. Fleming led the team in receiving yards while Parsons, also only a junior, passed for nearly 2,000 yards (1,947) with 22 touchdowns.

Senior Austin Fleming, who led the team in receiving yards, and junior Casey Stanley, who is on track to become the all-time kick scorer in school history, have been named to the first team of the 2022 All-Mountain State Athletic Conference football squad selected by the coaches.

Five other Big Reds were picked to the second team while four made special honorable mention and two were named honorable mention.

A 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior tight end, Fleming was selected as a tight end on the honor squad while Stanley, a 6-foot-2, 175 pound junior, was named as the kicker on the squad of standouts from the acknowledged best conference in the state. Big plays were common for both first team selections.

Fleming led PHS in receiving yards with 535 on 36 receptions for a 14.9 average per catch and four touchdowns. He also ran for 47 yards on 12 carries and scored a total of 30 points. His 174 receiving yards against South Charleston (one seven catches with two touchdowns) ranks him sixth all-time for most yards receiving in a single game. Defensively teams ran away from the talented senior but he was still able to make 33 tackles, 8.5 for loss and came up with four sacks and two fumble recoveries (one he returned 20 yards for a touchdown).

Stanley was a jack of all trades for PHS but particularly as kicker was he outstanding and with one year left to play he figures to become the all-time leading kicker in school history. This year he kicked six of nine field goals with a long of 46 yards while also kicking 30 of 34 extra points for 48 points by his leg alone. His 121 career kicking points places him only 19 behind leader Connor Louden. He also put 29 of 51 kickoffs into the end zone and averaged 35.5 yards on his 24 punts with a long of 59 yards while putting four kicks inside the 20 yard line and having three other boots of 50 yards or more.

The team leader in scoring with a whopping 92 of his team’s 267 points,Stanley led the team in touchdown receptions with six while catching a total of 14 passes for 302 yards and a 21.6 average per catch. He returned three punts for a 43.3 average and one touchdown while even running for a two-point conversion. Defensively he was fourth on the team in tackles with 59 including a team-high 34 solo stops in addition to one interception and a blocked kick.

Named to the second team was linebacker Grant Snyder, defensive back Andrew Stalnaker, offensive lineman Alex Hay, wide receiver Anthony Ice and quarterback David Parsons. Ice, Stalnaker and Parsons are all juniors while Snyder and Hay are seniors.

Snyder played only five games before being injured but still ranked fifth on the team with 38 tackles. Stalnaker was the leading tackler with 67 total stops including nine for loss with five sacks and two interceptions. Hay had 31 stops from his tackle position and was an outstanding blocker. Ice caught 38 passes for 397 yards and five touchdowns while also getting a touchdown on one of his two interceptions and returned a kickoff 80 yards for another score.

Parsons has already put his name high in the PHS record book and with another typical year could wind up atop most of the school records. As a junior he completed 144 of 249 passes (57.8%) for 1,947 yards with 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. His passing yardage was the fourth highest ever and he needs less than 1,800 yards to pass Marc Kimes (5,320) as the all-time leader. His 22 TD passes in a single season is fourth best all-time and his career total of 34 is 18 behind Kimes. He has 265 career completions and is just 37 away from the record of 302 by Eric Ranson.

Making special honorable mention from PHS was Xaiden Matteson, Andrew Williamson, Matthew Stalnaker and Aidyn Cooke while Jake Bauman and Logan Hartshorn earned honorable mention honors.

Musselman rode the incredible big play ability of Ray Adames to a 69-27 victory over Parkersburg Friday night at Stadium Field as the talented Applemen senior turned on the afterburners four times for touchdown runs of between 63 and 99 yards.

Adames, a 6-foot-2, 180 pounder with blazing speed, ran the ball five times for 222 yards and three touchdowns on plays of 80 (the first time he touched the ball), 63 and 64 yards while catching four passes for 78 yards (one a 40 yarder) and returned a kickoff 99 yards for another touchdown as he amassed 403 yards in all on just 11 touches.

Quarterback Bayden Hartman added three touchdown runs while Isaah Beard and Brayden Miller had interception returns of 54 and 51 yards for the playoff-bound winners. The ninth-ranked Applemen won their seventh game of the year while PHS finishes with a 4-6 mark.

The Big Reds were led by junior quarterback David Parsons who completed 14 of 27 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns but was sacked twice and suffered two interceptions. His three touchdowns gave him 22 for the season and tied the school record for TD passes in the regular season. He now shares the mark with Jake Johnson. He is now tied with Chance Litton with 34 career touchdown passes – with another season to go after the career mark of 52 held by Marc Kimes (brother of current head coach Matt Kimes).

Scoring passes for PHS went to Aiydn Cooke for 39 yards, Andrew Stalnaker for 37 yards and Casey Stanley for 29 yards. Cooke also had a one yard touchdown run as he finished with 16 carries for 59 yards on the ground.

PHS took the opening kickoff and drove into Musselman territory only to have Miller intercept and return it 51 yards to the Big Red 10 yard line. Two plays later Hartman scored over right guard from three yards away.

The Big Reds responded with an 11-0play, 80-yard drive that started with a 15 yard pass to Austin Fleming and including a 22 yard sprint by Xavier Robinson. Cooke’s run up the middle closed the gap to 7-6 but Casey Stanley’s extra point kick was blocked.

Stanley put the ensuing kickoff in the end zone forcing Musselman to start from its own 20 but 13 seconds later Adames took off on an 80 yard sprint which saw him break a tackle in the secondary and no one was going to catch him on his way to the end zone for a 14-6 lead.

After a Big Red punt, Musselman went 74 yards in eight plays with Hartman covering the final 26 when he went back to pass but then scrambled up the middle to the goal line. PHS tried to reverse the momentum by going for it on fourth down near midfield but the pass failed and the visitors covered 52 yards on seven plays with a pass for the final 10 yards.

A 32 yard kickoff return by Anthony Ice set up Parkersburg’s second touchdown, a 39 yard toss to Cooke with 2:01 left in the first period which cut the lead to 28-13 and fans were beginning to expect another wild shootout like last year’s 56-52 PHS victory at Musselman.

Adames again took just one play to answer that touchdown as he took a backward pass out of the backfield, got to the sidelines and it was off to the races with no one about to catch the senior thoroughbred on this 63 yard run as the score moved to 35-13.

Musselman got the ball to start the second half and in four plays Adames did a repeat of his 63 yard run with a 64 yard scamper around right end to make it 42-13. The Applemen then tried a successful onside pooch kickoff which they recovered at the PHS 49 and a 40-yard pass to Adames on the second play took the ball to the three from where Dalton Hanes reached the end zone to make it 49-13.

The Big Reds failed on a fourth down play from their own 34 and Musselman covered that distance in seven plays with Hartman scoring from the four to make it 56-13.

With a running clock in the fourth quarter, PHS scored on a 37 yard pass to Stalnaker with 9:14 remaining but Adames returned the ensuing kickoff for a score just 13 seconds later as the lead ran to 63-20.

A 40-yard kickoff return by Ice set up the 29 yard scoring pass to Stanley with 6:30 remaining to make the score 63-27 but when the Big Reds tried an onside kick it was recovered by Adames and with 1:24 remaining in the contest the Musselman reserves scored on a 22 yard run.

03:29 MUSS - Brayden Miller 10 yd pass from Bayden Hartman (Jayson Gordon kick), 7-52 2:43

02:01 PHS - Aiydn Cooke 39 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-63 1:20

4th 09:14 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 37 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 6-56 4:00

06:30 PHS - Casey Stanley 29 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 4-42 2:18

RUSHING: Musselman-Ray Adames 5-222; Bayden Hartman 11-59; Zachary Miller 2-23; Jaesaun Miller 5-17; Dalton Hanes 5-11. Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 16-59; Xavier Robinson 2-27; David Parsons 11-19; Jakel Shelton 2-9; Dylan Stone 1-4.

PASSING: Musselman-Bayden Hartman 10-13-0-132; Michael Thompson 2-2-0-15. Parkersburg-David Parsons 14-27-2-208.

RECEIVING: Musselman-Ray Adames 4-78; Logan Shelton 3-17; Jaesaun Miller 1-15; Zachary Miller 1-12; Dalton Hanes 1-12; Brayden Miller 1-10; Isaah Beard 1-3. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 5-32; Andrew Stalnaker 3-66; Austin Fleming 2-29; Aiydn Cooke 1-39; Casey Stanley 1-29; Xavier Robinson 1-9; Dylan Stone 1-4.

INTERCEPTIONS: Musselman-Isaah Beard 1-54; Brayden Miller 1-51. Parkersburg-None.

SACKS (UA-A): Musselman-Caleb Conley 0-1; William Henderson 0-1. Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 1-0.

TACKLES (UA-A) Unofficial: Musselman-William Henderson 0-1; Caleb Conley 0-1. Parkersburg-Matt Stalnaker 3-3; Andrew Stalnaker 4-1; Casey Stanley 2-2; Austin Fleming 1-3; Andrew Williamson 3-0; Quayvon Cyrus 2-1; Anthony Ice 2-1; A.J. Ellis 1-2; Xavier Robinson 2-0; Brayden Robinson 1-1; David Parsons 1-1;

Zane Lewis 0-2; Aiydn Cooke 1-0; Alex Hay 0-1; Eli Bauman 0-1; Xaiden Matteson 0-1; Mason Merrifield 0-1; Logan Hartshorn 0-1; Jake Bauman 0-1.

When Musselman and Parkersburg met a year ago it produced one of the wildest endings imaginable and the return engagement Friday night at Stadium Field could be just as interesting.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. as the Applemen come to town with a 6-3 record and looking to avenge last year’s incredible 56-52 loss to the Big Reds, who are 4-5 and looking to avoid a losing season.

A year ago in Inwood the two teams lit up the scoreboard for over 100 points by producing touchdowns in bunches. PHS held a 49-35 lead but the home team got a 79 yard kickoff return by Ray Adames and then tied the game at 49 all on a touchdown pass with 6:17 to play.

Musselman took the lead for the first time at 52-49 with 1:27 remaining on a field goal but PHS roared back. A 30 yard kickoff return by Bryson Singer was followed by David Parsons passing to Singer and then Casey Stanley, putting the ball at the 23 yard line. A six yard pass to Carter King moved the ball to the 17 before Parsons hit King in the back corner of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 26.6 seconds remaining. There was still time remaining and Musselman moved into PHS territory with a long pass to Adames, who had scored two long touchdowns. But Andrew Stalnaker came up with a game-ending interception at the 20 yard line.

Adames, who caught six passes for 106 yards and had the kickoff return touchdown in that game, returns to lead the Applemen this year as a recruited Division I wide receiver with break-away ability every time he touches the ball. Their quarterback is Bayden Hartman, the brother of 2020 Kennedy Award winner Blake Hartman. His team is coming off a 62-21 loss to a Bridgeport team that ran for 541 yards in that game.

Musselman has beaten Spring Mills (27-0), Jefferson (21-20), Sherando, Va. (30-26), Morgantown (36-33), Hedgesville (62-13) and Washington (54-0). The Applemen lost to Martinsburg 62-20 in week two and dropped a 34-7 decision to Wheeling Park three weeks ago.

Hartman has passed for 1,675 yards and ran for 799 more, scoring a total of 16 touchdowns while passing for 13 more. He has compleed 119 of 181 passes with five interceptions while running the ball 115 times. Adames has 297 yards rushing with a whopping 16.5 yards per carry average and three scores while catching 52 passes for 894 yards (17.2 average) and eight touchdowns. Logan Shelton is another big play performer for Musselman with 39 receptions for 569 yards and five touchdowns along with one kickoff return score (and a 36.7 yard kickoff return average to go with a 20.7 yard punt return average). Adames is averaging 19.1 yards per kickoff return.

Parkersburg is coming off a 26-10 loss to Spring Valley, which was ranked seventh a week ago. The Big Reds got 243 yards passing from Parsons in that game but penalties proved to be disastrous.

On the year Parsons has thrown for 1,739 yards and 19 touchdowns, completing 59% of his passes (130 of 220) with five interceptions. He is three touchdown passes away from tying the school record of 22 for regular season and is already fourth on the all-time yardage record.

He has a host of outstanding receivers like Austin Fleming (34-506-4), Anthony Ice (33-365-5), Stanley (13-273-5), Aiydn Cooke (13-154-1), Andrew Stalnaker (12-210-2) and Matt Stalnaker (11-136-1).

Cooke is the team’s leading rusher with 388 yards on 76 carries with four touchdowns. Stanley has contributed 83 total points with 27 extra points to go with six field goals, one conversion and six touchdowns.

Defensively, Andrew Stalnaker leads the team with 62 tackles while Andrew Williamson has 59, Matt Stalnaker 55 and Stanley 52. Andrew Stalnaker has nine tackles for loss and four sacks while Fleming has 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Ice, Andrew Stalnaker and Logan Hartshorn all have two interceptions.

It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams from opposite ends of the state. In addition to last year’s wild one, the Big Reds and Applemen met in 2019 in the playoffs with host Musselman winning 48-29. The only other meeting was 1999 in the second round of the playoffs with PHS winning 54-14.

Nolan, 1920s Standouts Enter Hall
The final three members of the Class of 2022 will be inducted into the Parkersburg Big Red Football Hall of Fame Friday night prior to the regular season finale against Musselman.
Leading the way will be current assistant coach Zach Nolan along with standouts from the 1920s, Wayne Funk and Roland Hobensack.
Zach Nolan

Which Parkersburg football team is the greatest in the long, illustrious history of the school? We can debate different teams from different eras, but it is hard to argue against the 2007 Big Reds as they accomplished something no other Parkersburg High team did – won back-to-back championships.
The Big Reds of 2007 went 13-1, defeated St. Albans in the title game and placed five players on the first team all-state team. That came, of course, on the heels of a perfect 14-0 season in 2006.
Perhaps the most unsung of the all-state performers was Nolan. While he might not have received the press that followed Josh Jenkins or Matt Lindamood he was every bit the leader of that championship team.
“Zach was like having another coach on the field,” said then Parkersburg head coach Bernie Buttrey. “He understands what we are trying to do more than any other player.”
At 5-10 and 260 pounds, Nolan controlled the defensive line while Matt Littleton dominated the middle and Andy Thomas wreaked havoc on the back end of a unit that bent but didn’t break. The 2007 Big Reds posted three shutouts and gave up only 49 points in their four playoff wins.
Probably the highest honor that was bestowed upon Nolan was that he was a two-year captain – something that was unheard of at that time at Parkersburg as captaincy was reserved for seniors. So, all Nolan did was lead his peers to 27 wins in 28 tries.
“He’s always got a smile on his face,” said Buttrey. “All the rest of us have a bad day every now and then, but I’ve never seen Zach Nolan have a bad day.”
Big Reds’ fans are smiling tonight at the induction of Zach Nolan into the Parkersburg Football Hall of Fame.
Zach will be accompanied by wife Brittany and children Benson and Decker.
Wayne Funk

Funk had a stellar athletic career at Parkersburg High School. He played on the first Big Reds baseball team and was a four-year player on the Big Reds basketball team and captain for the 1921-22 season. He was also talented enough at football to be named Captain of the 1921 all-state football team – the highest honor bestowed upon a high school athlete.
Funk quarterbacked a loaded Big Reds team to a perfect 9-0 record and the 1921 state championship. Out of the 22-members of the all-state first and second teams, eight were Parkersburg stalwarts.
Nicknamed “Skillet”, Funk was the unquestioned leader of this all-star squad. He ran for seven touchdowns and threw for four more as PHS outscored its competition by a 317-25 margin. The Big Reds only tests in 1921 came against Wheeling, 6-3, and Marietta, 7-0. Pennsboro, Fairmont West, Marietta (a second time), Moundsville, Charleston, Huntington and Elkins did not fare as well.
He intended to go to Washington and Jefferson College but decided instead to attend West Virginia University. Funk was one of 42 players who saw action on the undefeated, once-tied 1922 Mountaineers who won the East-West Christmas Classic Bowl game.
Funk married Alice Suter in 1937 and they had two daughters. He spent his working life in the Portland Cement industry, living in Greensboro, NC, Clarksburg, WV, and Hagerstown, MD. He was a lifelong friend of PHS and WVU teammate Ross McHenry. The two spent many happy hours at the 19th Street Country Club.
Funk’s granddaughter, Sally Garshell, of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, will receive her grandfather’s Hall of Fame plaque when she returns to Parkersburg in December. In her absence his plaque will be accepted by Barbara Waters, both were PHS Class of 1980.
Roland Hobensack

Hall of Fame inductee Roland Hobensack was an all-state halfback at Parkersburg High School although he lived in Belpre, Ohio. He was permitted to attend PHS and play for the Big Reds because of a lack of school athletics at Belpre.
That turned out to be a real steal for Parkersburg as “Hobie” Hobensack became a three-year regular from 1920-22 and all-state halfback on the state championship 1921 squad.
For his Big Red career he scored 23 touchdowns.
According to teammate Ross McHenry, Hobensack was the reason the first wrestling team began at Parkersburg. He wrestled in the first match against Morgantown in February of 1922. He played football and wrestled in the unlimited weight class at West Virginia University.
By 1929 he was flying blimps for Goodyear in Akron, Ohio. In 1942 he joined the Navy, rising to rank of Captain. He flew anti-submarine patrols on the Pacific Coast and the coast of Brazil during World War II. He was employed by Goodyear for 40 years and was one of the first Goodyear blimp pilots in peacetime.
Hobensack passed away in 1972 in Santa Rosa, California. He has no living descendants.

A horrible start to the second half by the Parkersburg Big Reds was the difference Friday night at Stadium Field as seventh-ranked Spring Valley posted a 26-10 triumph.

Trailing 7-3 at the half despite playing the Timberwolves on even terms through the first two quarters, PHS received the second half kickoff and started from its own 22 yard line. Two plays later after an 11 yard run by Aiyden Cooke, the Big Reds were on their 37 when things began to unravel.

A false start penalty moved the ball back five yards and Cooke picked up two yards on the next play. David Parsons then hit Austin Fleming for a big 35 yard pass play to the Spring Valley 31 but the play was called back by a holding penalty.

On the next play Parsons found Jakel Shelton for a 17 yard gain but that play was also called back (for ineligible man downfield).

Two plays, 52 yards gained, but wiped out by the yellow flags and the Big Reds were now back on their 19 and facing a third down and 28 to go for a first down. Parsons threw incomplete on third down and PHS was called for a dead ball personal foul that pushed the ball back to the nine yard line and forced a punting situation. The bad luck continued when the kick went off to the sideline and out of bounds for 17 yards, giving Spring Valley a first down on the PHS 26.

Given an extremely short field to work with, the Timberwolves scored in five plays to take a 14-3 lead with 6:31 left in the third period.

PHS continued to self-destruct on its next series with back-to-back quarterback sacks for 26 yards in losses to start the drive. Pinned on their own four yard line the Big Reds tried to run for room but was hit for a three yard loss and punter Casey Stanley was forced to kick from the back of his own end zone but got off a 56 yard boot.

However, Spring Valley put together a 52-yard drive for a nine yard TD run by Cody Shy that made the score 20-3 after the extra point kick was blocked.

The Big Reds tried to get back in the game with a 34 yard drive to the Spring Valley 26 yard line but on fourth-and-one Cooke was stopped for a one yard loss and the Timberwolves took over with 7:01 left in the fourth quarter.

With 2:35 left in the game the Big Reds got the ball back by holding the Wolves on fourth down at midfield and a 39 yard pass to Fleming, who made an over-the-shoulder catch, put the ball on the 11 yard line. But two plays later Ethan Null picked off a pass two yards deep in the end zone and returned it untouched 102 yards for the insurance touchdown.

The Big Reds scored with 22 seconds left in the contest on a 22 yard pass to Anthony Ice that was set up by passes of 34 yards to Cooke, 13 yards to Xavier Robinson and 14 yards to Andrew Stalnaker.

Both teams scored on their first possessions of the game as Spring Valley drove 80 yards with the final 44 coming on a pass from Dalton Fouch to Jaylen Abercrombie who got behind the Big Red secondary.

PHS had to start from its own 14 and suffered a fumble that moved the ball back seven more yards but passes of 18 and 13 yards respectively to Andrew and Matt Stalnaker helped push the ball to the Spring Valley 15 yard line before settling for a 33-yard field goal by Stanley with 2:55 remaining in the half.

Overall, PHS had a 16-14 edge in first downs and a 333-275 advantage in total yards while running 61 plays to 44 for the visitors. While the Wolves ran for 231 yards on 42 carries, PHS had 243 yards passing with Parsons completing 10 of 37. Spring Valley attempted just four passes and completed just one with an interception (by Quayvon Cyrus). Garry McFeeley led the winners with 92 yards rushing while Shy added 81 on 10 tries and Abercrombie 58 of 10 attempts.

Cooke ran for 64 yards on 13 carries and caught two passes for 43 yards for PHS while Fleming caught four passes for 70 yards for the Big Reds. Xavier Robinson caught four passes for 26 yards while Andrew Stalnaker had three receptions for 45 and Ice three for 36.

1st 08:52 SV - Jalyn Abercrombie 44 yd pass from Dalton Fouch (Landon Mosser kick), 7-80 3:08

4th 01:35 SV - Ethan Null 100 yd interception return (Landon Mosser kick blockd)

00:22 PHS - Anthony Ice 22 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 6-73 1:13

RUSHING: Spring Valley-Garryk McFeeley 17-92; Cody Shy 10-81; Jalyn Abercrombie 10-58; Dalton Fouch 4-1; Jamison Smith 1-minus 1. Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 13-64; David Parsons 7-26; Jakel Shelton 3-3; Anthony Ice 1-minus 3.

PASSING: Spring Valley-Dalton Fouch 1-4-1-44. Parkersburg-David Parsons 19-36-1-243; TM 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: Spring Valley-Jalyn Abercrombie 1-44. Parkersburg-Austin Fleming 4-70; Xavier Robinson 4-26; Andrew Stalnaker 3-45; Anthony Ice 3-36; Aiydn Cooke 2-43; Casey Stanley 2-10; Matt Stalnaker 1-13.

Crunch time has arrived for the Parkersburg football team as Spring Valley’s Timberwolves come to Stadium Field Friday night for a 7:30 game.

The Big Reds of first-year coach Matt Kimes are looking for an upset as they strive for a playoff spot with just two games left in the regular season and carry a 4-4 record and 18^th spot in the ratings. The top 16 teams make the playoffs and Spring Valley has already clinched a spot with a 6-2 record and currently are ranked seventh overall.

While PHS is coming off an impressive 44-14 win over Capital, Spring Valley under veteran coach Brad Dingess (14 years with an overall record of 122-43), is fresh from a hard-fought 39-27 loss to George Washington. The Timberwolves had to rally from a 25-0 deficit to make a game of it against GW. Two weeks ago the Timberwolves beat Capital 64-0.

The only other loss for Spring Valley came three weeks ago at Cabell Midland by a 21-17 score. Prior to that the Wolves had beaten Huntington (29-28), Portsmouth, O. (42-31), Hurricane (31-28), Riverside (24-0) and South Charleston (17-0).

It will be the eighth meeting between the two Mountain State Athletic Conference squads with Spring Valley holding a 4-3 advantage thanks to wins in their last two meetings. Last year Spring Valley won 34-10 and two years ago it was a 42-7 victory for the Timberwolves. That 2020 meeting was the first since 2004 when PHS won 49-21. The first meeting was in 2000 with PHS taking a 21-3 decision.

Spring Valley boasts a balanced team which makes few mistakes (only three interceptions and three lost fumbles the entire season).

Quarterback Dalton Fouch (5-11, 160 sr.) is the key performer for the Wolves as he has completed 60 of 135 passes (51%) for 1,200 yards with 10 interceptions and just three interceptions while being sacked only twice all season. He has also rushed for 473 yards on 77 attempts with three touchdowns. He passed for 224 yards against GW.

Bruin Booth (5-10, 176 sr.) is the second leading rusher for Spring Valley with 463 yards on 69 carries with seven touchdowns. Logan Perry (5-7, 160 sr.) has 248 yards rushing while Cody Shy (6-0, 220 sr.) is the bulldozer in the backfield with seven touchdowns and 240 yards on 53 attempts.

Spring Valley has several long-strike receivers like Kyndon Keesee (6-0, 177 sr.) with 20 receptions for 394 yards (19.7 average) and five touchdowns and Jaylen Abercrombie (5-10, 155 so.) with 17 catches for 330 yards (19.4) and three scores. Kyrell Lewis (6-1, 175 sr.) is averaging 15.4 yards on 13 receptions and Tate Adkins (6-2, 173 jr.) is at 17.9 yards per each of his 10 catches.

Landon Mosser has kicked two field goals and 24 of 29 extra points for the Wolves while averaging 31.3 yards per punt. Abercrombie has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns for Spring Valley.

Defensive leaders for Spring Valley are linebackers Shy with 74 tackles, 13 for loss, Booth with 55 and Cam Bailey (5-6, 218 sr.). The Wolves have returned two interceptions and one fumble for touchdowns.

The Big Reds are led by junior quarterback David Parsons with 1,496 yards passing on 111 completions in 186 attempts (59.7%) with 18 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The regular season TD pass record at PHS is 22. He is also the team’s second leading rusher and has scored twice.

Austin Fleming and Anthony Ice have each caught 30 passes and four touchdowns on the year while Casey Stanley has five touchdown receptions amongst his 11 receptions. Aidyn Cooke is the team’s leading rusher with 324 yards and four touchdowns. Stanley leads the team with 79 points on six touchdowns, five of eight field goals (long of 46 yards), 26 of 29 extra-point kicks and a two-point conversion run.

Defensively for PHS a pair of Andrews, Stalnaker and Williamson, lead the way with 53 tackles each. Matt Stalnaker and Stanley follow with 45 and 43 tackles each. Fleming leads the team with four sacks while three players have two interceptions apiece, Andrew Stalnaker, Logan Hartshorn and Ice.

There have been a handful of truly dominant football teams at Parkersburg High School over the past 100 years yet one would have a hard time arguing against the 1927 Big Reds as maybe the best-ever.

The 1927 team, led by tonight’s Hall of Fame inductees Jack Gilchrist and John McCuskey, went 10-0 and were popularly acclaimed state champions along with Morgantown. All the Big Reds did that season under coach Maurice Carlson’s guidance was outscore its opponents by 314 points while shutting out eight teams (including Marietta twice).

Gilchrist, aptly nicknamed Bull, did much of the tackling for the Big Reds, who allowed only 19 points all season. Their closest contest was a 13-12 decision over Huntington. He also did the blocking for the versatile “Mac” McCuskey – who along with Howard Rutter and Harry Stephens combined for 1,900 yards rushing and 31 touchdowns.

While at PHS, McCuskey ran track for three years, played basketball for two, was Class Secretary for the first half of his senior year and was Class President during the spring of his senior year. Upon graduation McCuskey matriculated at West Virginia Wesleyan College where his father became President in 1931. He graduated in 1932 and attended Northwestern School of Medicine. He began a Urology practice in Clarksburg before serving in the US Army Medical Corps from 1942-45. He returned to his practice in Clarksburg until his untimely death in an automobile accident in 1958.

John’s brother Paul McCuskey practiced Urology in Parkersburg for many years. John’s son, John, accompanied by his wife Carol, is an attorney with Shuman, McCuskey, Slicer in Charleston. The McCuskey family recently made a $1.4 million gift to WV Wesleyan for the establishment of research programs for students interested in natural sciences. Grandson JB McCuskey, accompanied by his wife Wendy and their children Cam and Matti, is West Virginia’s State Auditor. Nieces Maggie (PHS ‘70) and Jennie McCuskey (PHS ‘72), join their family for this induction.

After high school Gilchrist worked at American Viscose and for the WV Department of Highways. He became a landowner, contractor and businessperson. He owned land and figured in the development of Willowbrook Acres in 1956 and Hillcrest Terrace on the east side of Quincy Hill in the 1950s. He also owned the Sleep Haven Motel and Kopper Kettle Restaurant on Washington Boulevard in Belpre. He was elected to the Wood County Commission in 1951.

All Six of his grandchildren and two great-grandchildren are PHS graduates. Grandaughters, Joan Aders and her husband Otis Harris of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Julie Bourque and husband Gary Bourque of Winchester, Kentucky are here to represent Gilchrist at his induction.

CHARLESTON – Parkersburg’s defense stole the spotlight here Friday night as the Big Reds produced as many defensive touchdowns as offensive touchdowns en route to a 44-14 victory over the Capital Cougars.

Anthony Ice, Casey Stanley and Andrew Stalnaker all caught touchdown passes from David Parsons but also produced scores on the defensive side of the ball as well to help PHS even its record at 4-4 while dropping Capital to 2-6.

Ice and Stalnaker returned interceptions of 41 and 19 yards respectively while Stanley ran a blocked punt (by Ice) back 16 yards for another touchdown. The pass reception yards for scores were: Ice 11, Stanley 54 and Stalnaker 65. Stanley also added his fifth field goal of the season in the game (from 39 yards away).

Parsons finished the game with 250 yards through the air, completing 16 of 23 passes with one interception. He spread the aerial heroics around by finding nine different receivers, six of them with at least two catches.

The Big Reds took the opening kickoff and passed the ball down the field in a hurry, covering 72 yards in 4:36 on nine plays, all but one of them passes and the last six all completions with Ice getting into the end zone when he caught the ball across the middle at the goal line.

Capital ran out of downs at the PHS 42 yard line when Stalnaker led a defensive charge that stopped the Cougars for a loss of four yards on a fourth down play. It then took just one play for Parsons to find Stanley behind the Capital defense for a 54 yard pass, catch and run play that made it 14-0 with 3:47 on the clock.

The third Big Red touchdown of the first quarter came just 63 seconds later when Ice blocked a punt which Stanley scooped up and took into the end zone from 16 yards away with 2:44 remaining in the quarter.

Capital scored with just 3:50 left in the half on a 59 yard pass from Fernando Valdivia to Sal’vion Brown to cut the lead to 21-7 but the PHS defense came up big late in the second quarter when A.J. Ellis blocked a 29 yard field goal try by Brayden Scott and the Big Reds got the ball at the 29 yard line. Two plays later Parsons hit Stalnaker behind the secondary for a pass play that covered 65 yards and left just six seconds before the half and ran the score to 27-7 after the extra point kick failed.

The third quarter saw PHS tack on 17 more points as Ice picked off a tipped pass and sped 41 yards to the end zone just 1:38 gone in the period. Six seconds later it was Stalnaker’s turn as he stole a pass near the sideline and went into the end zone from 19 yards away to make it 41-7 with 10:16 on the clock.

On their next possession after forcing another punt, the Big Reds moved from midfield to the Capital 22 before bringing on Stanley to kick a field goal to make it 44-7 and set up a mercy-rule, clock running fourth quarter.

Capital scored 5:18 left in the game on a nine yard run by Valdivia that was set up by a 78 yard interception return by Tanner Burnette that thwarted a PHS drive that ate up 61 yards on 13 plays but ended at the Cougar seven yard line.

1st 07:24 PHS - Anthony Ice 11 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 9-72 4:36

03:47 PHS - Casey Stanley 54 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 1-54 0:09

2nd 03:50 CAP - Sal'vion Brown 59 yd pass from Fernando Valdivia (Brayden Scott kick), 1-59 0:09

00:06 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 65 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 1-65 0:17

RUSHING: Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 6-31; Jakel Shelton 7-29; Xavier Robinson 1-26; Dylan Stone 2-16; David Parsons 7-5. Capital-Sal'vion Brown 15-63; Sha'lik Hampton 1-4; Camdyn Harris 1-1; Fernando Valdivia 7-minus 8.

PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 16-23-1-250. Capital-Fernando Valdivia 8-18-2-113.

RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 3-11; Austin Fleming 2-36; Aiydn Cooke 2-30; Matt Stalnaker 2-29;

Xavier Robinson 2-16; Logan Hartshorn 2-12; Andrew Stalnaker 1-65; Casey Stanley 1-54; Jakel Shelton

1-minus 3. Capital-Shannon Brown 3-14; Sal'vion Brown 2-64; Sha'lik Hampton 2-24; Trenton Tiggie 1-11.

INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 1-41; Andrew Stalnaker 1-19. Capital-Tanner Burnette 1-78.

.... HUNTINGTON – Speed is a huge asset. It makes it easy to score touchdowns and helps makes big plays.

Thus fourth ranked Huntington was able to defeat Parkersburg 40-21 here Friday night despite having the ball in its possession for less than half the game.

The Highlanders ran just 36 plays but produced 523 yards thanks to breakaways from Zah Zah Jackson and Company that enabled the home team to score six touchdowns and win their sixth game in seven outings. The Big Reds felt to upset the Highlanders they would have to maintain possession and keep the ball out of the hands of speedsters like Jackson, Wayne Harris and all-state quarterback Gavin Lochow. PHS accomplished that by keeping the ball for 31.37 minutes to just 16.09 minutes for Huntington but it was to no avail as the home team came up with one big play after another.

Jackson scored four touchdowns, three on runs of 76, 19 and 56 yards and returned an interception 13 yards for another. He had 183 yards rushing on just seven carries and caught two passes for 19 more. Harris, the all-state transfer from South Charleston, scored just one touchdown but caught six passes for 120 yards. Lochow, who earned the J.R. House Award a year ago as the state’s best quarterback, ran for 135 yards on nine carries and completed nine of 12 passes for 180 yards.

The Big Reds had a 20-19 edge in first downs, ran for 156 yards and David Parsons completed 18 of 31 passes for 202 yards. Aiydn Cooke became the first PHS player to rush for 100 yards this year as he gained 111 yards on 20 carries while Austin Fleming caught six passes for 34 yards and Anthony Ice caught five for 72.

PHS started the game with an impressive 10-play, 63 yard drive that used up over half the first quarter clock. Mixing the run with the pass, the Big Reds got the touchdown with 5:45 showing when Cooke went over right guard from a yard away. Big play was a 21 yard pass to Ice on a third-and-nine situation.

Huntington’s first possession saw a 20-yard run by Lochow followed by a 57 yard breakaway by the quarterback that appeared headed for a touchdown only to have Casey Stanley catch him at the three yard line and knock the ball out of the runner’s hand and Ice recovered.

But misfortune reared its head just two plays later when Jackson stepped in front of a Parsons’ pass and took it into the end zone. The extra point was blocked and PHS still held a 7-6 lead.

The Big Reds took the ball to the Huntington 40 but ran out of downs on a fourth down incompletion. It then took the home team just three plays to score as Jackson took a pitch to the left, reached the sidelines and simply out-ran everyone to the end zone with 11:29 on the clock for a 13-7 lead.

PHS tried to answer with a nice drive of 13-plays with a first down on the Huntington 13 but settled for a 33-yard field goal try that missed.

A Matt Stalnaker fumble recovery got PHS the ball back on the Highlander 34 but on fourth-and-one from the 25 the Big Reds came up with no gain and turned the ball over.

Huntington quickly capitalized by throwing a 41 yard pass to Malik McNeeley and then a 31 yard scoring strike to a wide-open Harris over the middle to make it 20-7 after the PAT.

Second half saw the Highlanders display more of their speed on the ground, taking the kickoff and moving 61 yards in five plays to score on Jackson’s 19 yard run to make it 27-7.

But PHS was not ready to throw in the towel as the Big Reds followed with a 13-play drive for 67 yards and a touchdown on a seven yard pass to Ice, who caught the ball at the one and turned away to slip a tackle and go into the end zone to make it 27-14 with 5:04 left in the third period. Cooke made the big play when he picked up three yards on a fourth down and two yards to go near midfield. Matt Stalnaker also caught a 16 yard pass on the drive.

Huntington missed a field goal just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter but PHS had to punt and the Highlanders got a 56 yard TD from Jackson as he cut back and out-ran the defense again.

Trailing by 20, PHS tried to push the ball in a hurry as Ice caught a 26 yard pass and Cooke ripped off a 10 yard gain but Fleming’s extra effort produced a fumble on the Huntington two-yard line after a 14 yard gain. A touchdown would have cut the lead to two scores with 6:25 left to play.

A 49-yard pass to Harris set up an insurance score for Huntington as D’Edrick Graves ran in from the three with 3:29 remaining.

PHS was able to hit the end zone again with 14 seconds left when Parsons found Fleming from two yards out. The big play on the drive was a 16 yard completion to Ice on a fourth-and-six play at midfield. Stanley’s extra point kick was blocked for the final 41-20 margin.

Big Reds, now 3-4, travel to University of Charleston’s Laidley Field next Friday to meet Capital.

04:27 HUNT - Zah Zah Jackson 13 yd interception return (Jonny Aya-Ay kick blockd)

00:45 HUNT - Wayne Harris 31 yd pass from Gavin Lochow (Jonny Aya-Ay kick), 4-75 1:08

05:04 PHS - Anthony Ice 7 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 13-67 5:16

00:14 PHS - Austin Fleming 2 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick blockd), 9-71 3:08

RUSHING: Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 20-111; David Parsons 8-26; Austin Fleming 2-21; Jakel Shelton 1-5; Anthony Ice 2-minus 7. Huntington-Zah Zah Jackson 7-183; Gavin Lochow 9-135; DEdrick Graves 7-24;

PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 18-31-1-202. Huntington-Gavin Lochow 9-12-0-180.

RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Austin Fleming 6-34; Anthony Ice 5-72; Matt Stalnaker 3-58; Aiydn Cooke 2-17; Xavier Robinson 1-13; Casey Stanley 1-8. Huntington-Wayne Harris 6-120; Zah Zah Jackson 2-19; Malik

FUMBLES: Parkersburg-Austin Fleming 1-1. Huntington-Zah Zah Jackson 1-1; Gavin Lochow 1-1.

.... A 27-point third quarter enabled Parkersburg to pull away from a winless but stubborn South Charleston team as the Big Reds snapped a two-game skid with a 52-17 homecoming victory Friday night at Stadium Field.

David Parsons threw for four touchdowns and nearly 300 yards while also rushing for another score as the Big Reds broke the game open after leading just 25-17 at the half.

Two incredible receptions and ensuing touchdown runs by Austin Fleming sparked PHS in the first half as the senior receiver finished with 174 yards on seven catches for the night.

Parsons, who played only the first three quarters after building a 35-point lead, finished with 292 yards through the air on 16 completions in 21 attempts with one interception. He also had a 17 yard touchdown run early in the third quarter that started the PHS pull-away.

The Big Reds, now 3-3 on the year, wound up with 383 yards in total offense to 265 for South Charleston, which is now 0-6 after playing five of the top eight teams in state ratings.

Logan Hartshorn, Casey Stanley, Aiydn Cooke and Jakel Shelton also had touchdowns for the Big Reds. Cooke was the team’s leading rusher with 48 yards on seven carries and Anthony Ice caught four passes for 51 yards to rank behind Fleming. Hartshorn and Andrew Stalnaker had interceptions for the winners.

South Charleston, which had scored just three touchdowns in its first five games, took the opening kickoff and drove to the PHS 16 yard line where Devin Rader kicked his first field goal of the year from 32 yards away to give the visitors a 3-0 lead with 6:16 left in the first quarter.

PHS responded with a 65-yard, six play scoring drive capped when Fleming caught the ball over the middle and broke a tackle at the 10 yard line to complete a 25-yard touchdown play with 3:02 on the first quarter clock.

After a Black Eagle punt, Parsons was intercepted near midfield but Stalnaker returned the favor on the next play, giving PHS the ball back on the PHS 37 yard line.

Taking to the air again, Parsons found Fleming over the middle and this time the senior tight end broke two tackles at the 20 by simply running through between them and scored to complete a 63 yard play and give the Big Reds the lead for good with 41 seconds left in the first period. A bad snap on the extra point saw Stanley pick the ball up and race to the right corner flag for the two-point conversion to make it 15-3.

After forcing a Black Eagle punt, PHS coughed the ball up on a fumble on the Big Red 38 yard line and on the next play Nasjaih Jones made a great reception on a slant pass and took it in for the touchdown which cut the lead to 15-10 after the extra point kick.

The Big Reds followed that with a 73-yard scoring drive highlighted by yet another Fleming reception which saw him make a one-hand catch over the middle and break two separate tackles en route to a 19-yard gain to the SC 14 yard line. Three plays later Hartshorn took the handoff at the three, headed up the middle then cut right to the outside to score with 5:24 left in the half. Stanley’s kick made it 22-10.

Three big pass plays, two of them to Avery Pannell for 27 and 28 yards respectively, quickly got South Charleston back in the game with a 14 yard run by Delviccio Dyess scoring with 2:24 on the clock to cut the lead to 22-17.

A wild finish to the half took place when PHS drove from its own 39 to the SC 18 with 16 seconds left and on fourth down Stanley came on to try an 35 yarder that was wide left. South Charleston got the ball back on the 20 after the miss and tried a pass that Hartshorn intercepted and returned 18 yards to the Black Eagle 20. With no timeouts and only seven seconds left to play, Stanley came on to try another three-pointer and this time hit from 37 yards away to make it 25-17 at the intermission.

The Big Reds got the ball to start the second half and went 51 yards in just five plays to score on a run by Stanley, who made a great fake and kept the ball around left end from 17 yards away. Big play on the drive was a 29 yard reception by Fleming.

A short SC punt gave PHS the ball back four plays later on the visitors 39 and on the first play Parsons hit Stanley in stride for the touchdown with 7:56 on the clock.

A bad snap on an SC punt attempt was recovered on the Eagles’ nine yard line and two plays later Cooke ran it in from the three to make it 46-17 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.

Another short punt gave PHS the ball back on the SC 39 and five plays later Parsons hit recent transfer Jakel Shelton out the backfield for a 15 yard scoring play to push the lead to 52-17 with 39 seconds left in the quarter and force a running clock final period.

The visitors got the PHS 16 late in the game but that threat was ended by a D.J. Chambless fumble recovery.

03:02 PHS - Austin Fleming 25 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 6-65 3:14

00:41 PHS - Austin Fleming 63 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley rush), 1-63 0:12

2nd 09:41 SC - Nasjaih Jones 38 yd pass from Emerson O'Dell (Devin Rader kick), 1-38 0:00

07:56 PHS - Casey Stanley 39 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 1-39 0:06

00:39 PHS - Jakel Shelton 15 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 5-39 2:42

RUSHING: South Charleston-Nasjaih Jones 7-61; Aaron Clark 7-35; Delviccio Dyess 9-15; Jayson Barnett 4-7; Avery Pannell 1-minus 6; Emerson O'Dell 2-minus 8. Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 7-48; David Parsons 4-18; Xavier Robinson 1-11; Jakel Shelton 4-6; Logan Hartshorn 1-3; Anthony Ice 1-2; Dylan Stone 1-minus 1; TEAM 2-minus 1.

PASSING: South Charleston-Emerson O'Dell 10-18-2-161. Parkersburg-David Parsons 16-21-1-292; Cooper Cancade 1-1-0-5; TEAM 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING: South Charleston-Avery Pannell 4-90; Nasjaih Jones 4-51; Aaron Clark 2-20. Parkersburg-Austin Fleming 7-174; Anthony Ice 4-51; Casey Stanley 2-45; Jakel Shelton 2-20; Aiydn Cooke 2-7.

INTERCEPTIONS: South Charleston-Tyrell Ellis 1-17. Parkersburg-Logan Hartshorn 1-18; Andrew Stalnaker 1-0.

FUMBLES: South Charleston-Emerson O'Dell 2-0; Nasjaih Jones 1-1; Delviccio Dyess 1-0. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 1-1.

SACKS (UA-A): South Charleston-Aaron Clark 1-0. Parkersburg-D.J. Chambless 0-1; Andrew Stalnaker 0-1.

One of the top receivers in school history and a versatile lineman who helped turn the Big Red football program back into a state powerhouse will be honored Friday night as they become the latest members to be inducted into the Parkersburg High School Football Hall of Fame.

Ceremonies will take play at 7 p.m. at Stadium Field prior to the game against South Charleston.

Jeremy Bell, a current PHS wide receiver and special teams coordinator coach, put his name in the record book multiple times by the end of his all-state 2011 senior season as part of a high-scoring squad while Chris Davis was one of three Big Reds who earned first team all-state honors in 1995 after an 11-win season that saw PHS reach the playoff semifinals.

Currently a Parkersburg police officer in addition to his football duties, Bell was team captain on a 2011 team that averaged 34 points per game while winning seven games and making the playoffs for the second year in a row. As a junior the Big Reds went 6-5. He went on to play four years at Shepherd University where his team was 2016 national D2 runner-up.

Bell was a prolific receiver during his career at PHS, finishing as the fourth all-time leading pass catcher with 80 receptions for 1,256 yards and 20 touchdowns. His touchdown total set a career record in 2011 which was tied by Karson Snyder in 2016 and broken by current Penn State standout Brenton Strange with 26 touchdowns the following year. He scored nine touchdowns as a junior and had 10 as a senior. He twice scored three touchdowns in a single game three times had over 100 yards receiving in a game as a senior. He had 49 receptions for 754 yards in 2011 as he and quarterback Alex Ash hooked up to consistently over a two-year span.

Davis played multiple positions on both sides of the ball during his career. He began as a linebacker/fullback, then moved to guard as a junior as PHS reached the playoffs for the first time in nine years and as a senior became an undersized D-lineman that posted five shutouts en route to a 1995 season which saw the Big Reds reach the semifinals. That was the second of nine straight playoff appearances for PHS. Leigh Barbour and Nathan Kirby were other all-staters from that 1995 team.

A football official with the Ohio-West Virginia Board, Davis has been an active part of Wood County Athletics since 1997 as a three sport coach. He is currently the sixth grade boy’s basketball and girls track coach at Hamilton Middle School. He has coached football at every level, from Pee-Wee to varsity, for the North End Ramblers, VanDevender Junior High, Jackson Middle School and Parkersburg High School. He has also coached basketball for elementary and middle school for over 20 years while serving as the throwing coach for PHS and South for over a decade before switching to the middle school level five years ago.

Also a three-year letterman in track, Davis held the PHS school record in the shot put for 10 years. He currently resides in Davisville with his wife Christie and their two children, Amelia (16) and Ryder (13).

CHARLESTON – Abe Fenwick’s amazing accuracy in the passing department led George Washington to a 42-10 win over Parkersburg here Friday night in a Mountain State Athletic Conference contest.

The Patriot quarterback came into the game completing 61 percent of his passes for over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns but out-did himself against the Big Reds’ secondary as he hit 28 of 35 (80 percent) for 316 yards (he had been averaging 223 yards per game) and five touchdowns.

Keegan Sack caught two scoring passes among his 10 receptions for 94 yards while Hayden Hatfield also had two receiving touchdowns among his eight catches for 125 yards.

The Patriots built a 28-3 halftime lead, scoring on all four of their first half possessions, en route to their fourth win in six outings. They had a 29-9 edge in first downs and a 433-213 margin in total offense.

The Big Reds managed just a field goal of 40 yards by Casey Stanley in the second quarter and a 58 yard touchdown pass from David Parsons to Andrew Stalnaker in the fourth quarter as they fell to 2-3 on the season.

A nine play, 76 yards drive on the opening possession gave the home team a lead they never gave up. Six of the first nine plays were runs With Anthony Valentine gaining 32 yards on four carries. The TD came on a 19 yard pass to Sack.

PHS got a first down on a penalty on its second play of the game but had to punt and GW fashioned a 13-play, 78 yard drive with the big play coming when Fenwick hit Valentine with a four yard pass on a fourth down and three to go situation.

Another Big Red three-and-out series ended badly with a 10 yard punt giving the Patriots the ball on the PHS 33. Five plays later Fenwick again hit Sack for a touchdown from seven yards out to make it 21-0.

A 28-yard kickoff return by Aiydn Cooke gave PHS good field position after that and the Big Reds were able to drive to the GW 23 yard line before settling for a field goal by Stanley. Twice PHS converted fourth down plays, one on a six yard pass to Anthony Ice when five yards was needed and the second time on a three yard run by Parsons when two yards were required.

The relentless aerial bombardment by Fenwick continued on the next GW possession as he drove his team 80 yards in 11 plays led by his six completions in six attempts and capped it with a nine yard catch by Hatfield, who bobbled the ball in the end zone, was hit by a defender but still held onto the ball to make the score 28-3.

The Big Reds took the second half kickoff and drove from their own 44 to the GW 13 but had to settle for a field goal attempt that missed with 5:11 on the third quarter clock.

An 11-play, 80-yard drive by GW made it 35-3 as Fenwick got the score on an eight yard completion to Hunter Giacomo.

Hatfield had a 27 yard catch and run through tackles for the final GW touchdown with 9:30 on the fourth quarter clock but PHS quickly answered when Parsons found a wide-open Stalnaker on a 58 yard scoring pass with 7:39 remaining on a running clock for the final 42-10 margin.

Parsons finished the night completing nine of 21 passes for 159 yards with Stalnaker catching three for 61 yards and Aiydn Cooke catching two for 55 to go with 37 yards rushing on seven attempts.

1st 08:28 GW - Keegan Sack 19 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick), 9-76 3:32

2nd 10:56 GW - Keegan Sack 7 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick), 5-33 1:48

01:05 GW - Hayden Hatfield 9 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick), 11-80 4:40

3rd 00:42 GW - Hunter Giacomo 8 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick), 11-80 4:29

4th 09:30 GW - Hayden Hatfield 27 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick), 4-63 1:17

07:39 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 58 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 2-60 1:11

RUSHING: Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 7-37; David Parsons 8-10; Logan Hartshorn 3-7; Austin Fleming 1-0. George Washington-Anthony Valentine 12-77; Klayton Matthews 3-15; Abe Fenwick 5-12; Keegan Sack 6-10; Clyde May 1-5; TEAM 2-minus 2.

PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 9-21-0-159. George Washington-Abe Fenwick 28-35-0-316.

RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 3-61; Aiydn Cooke 2-55; Anthony Ice 2-20; Austin Fleming 1-16; Matt Stalnaker 1-7. George Washington-Keegan Sack 10-94; Hayden Hatfield 8-125; Hunter Giacomo

ONA – Cabell Midland used a familiar theme as it continued its recent mastery over Parkersburg here Friday night in cruising to a 31-10 victory.
The Knights won their third straight game of the year after an opening loss to George Washington and beat the Big Reds for the 11th time in a row with their usual time-consuming, run-based offense. Midland ran 65 plays to just 43 for PHS and piled up 483 yards in total offense, 473 of it on the ground. The Knights completed just one pass.
Meanwhile the Big Reds dropped their second game in a row to even their season’s record at 2-2 despite being able to move the ball well at times on offense but coming up short and had to settle for a field goal and a third quarter touchdown on a 22 yard pass from David Parsons to Anthony Ice.
Parsons threw for 147 yards as he completed 14 of 26 passes with Ice catching six for 51 and Austin Fleming four for 66 including a one-hand grab in the fourth quarter.
But Midland had a trio of 100-yard rushers in Zachy Roberts (9-117), Curtis Jones (19-125) and quarterback Ryan Wolfe (14-123) and got two touchdowns from freshman Kylan Grace, who ran for 70 yards himself on just nine carries.
Midland scored a touchdown in each of the first two quarters before Casey Stanley kicked a 31-yard field goal only to have the Knights answer with no time left on the clock with an Olivia Charles 23-yard field goal.
The Knights took the opening kickoff and drove 85 yards on 12 plays, all on the ground, for the touchdown. Faced with a fourth and one on their own 29 the Knights gambled and got a 26 yard run from Wolfe. They scored from the four to cap the 6:25 drive.
After PHS had a four-and-out, Midland got the ball near midfield but again tried for a first down on a fourth and 10 to go but came up inches short on their only pass completion of the night.
After a PHS punt, the Knights put together an eight-play, 47-yard scoring drive that was helped by a third-and-12 facemask penalty against the visitors. Wolfe’s one-yard run came with 7:30 left in the half and made the score 14-0.
A 17-yard run by Parsons and a 20 yard catch and run by Austin Fleming enabled PHS to drive from its own 31 for a first down at the Midland 14 but had to settle for Stanley’s field goal with 4:20 on the clock.
After a change of possessions, Midland got the ball on its own 35 after PHS failed on fourth down and five. The Knights ran off six plays and advanced to the PHS 11 before settling for their field goal.
A five-play drive highlighted by a 29 yard run from Grace enabled the home team to put its third touchdown on the board with 9:11 on the clock and then got a break when PHS failed to cover the ensuing kickoff and Midland had the ball back at the PHS 36. Seven running plays produced another touchdown and the lead expanded to 31-3.
PHS responded with a three-minute touchdown drive highlighted by Fleming’s one-hand reception and run for 35 yards. The touchdown came with a pass near the sideline in the end zone to Ice to cut the lead to 31-10 with just under two minutes left to play.

#13 Parkersburg vs #13 Cabell Midland (Sep 23, 2022 at Ona)
Score by Quarters           1      2      3   4 - Total
Parkersburg                  0      3      7   0 - 10
Cabell Midland             7    10    14   0 - 31
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 05:36 CM - Cannon Lewis 4 yd run (Olivia Charles kick), 12-80 6:24
2nd 07:30 CM - Ryan Wolfe 1 yd run (Olivia Charles kick), 8-51 4:22
04:20 PHS - Casey Stanley 31 yd field goal, 8-55 2:58
00:00 CM - Olivia Charles 23 yd field goal, 6-58 0:35
3rd 09:11 CM - Kylan Grace 5 yd run (Olivia Charles kick), 5-61 1:33
05:30 CM - Kylan Grace 5 yd run (Olivia Charles kick), 7-36 3:34
01:56 PHS - Anthony Ice 22 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 7-74 3:25
.................................................................PHS         CM
FIRST DOWNS                                      13            27
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       17-74       61-473
PASSING YDS (NET)                           147          10
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               26-14-0 4-1-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     43-221     65-483
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                0-0           0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           3-12         0-0
Interception Returns-Yards                    1-3           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                              3-31.7      1-19.0
Fumbles-Lost                                          0-0           0-0
Penalties-Yards                                       9-70         14-110
Possession Time                                     19:01       26:30
Third-Down Conversions                       4 of 10     3 of 6
Fourth-Down Conversions                     0 of 2       2 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     1-2           5-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       0-0           0-0
RUSHING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 7-46; Austin Fleming 5-11; Logan Hartshorn 2-6; Anthony Ice 1-6; Xavier Robinson 1-4; Aiydn Cooke 1-1. Cabell Midland-Curtis Jones 19-125; Ryan Wolfe 14-123;
Zechariah Roberts 9-117; Kylan Grace 9-70; Cannon Lewis 7-30; Jayden Branch 3-8.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 14-26-0-147. Cabell Midland-Ryan Wolfe 1-4-1-10.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 6-51; Austin Fleming 4-66; Casey Stanley 2-19; Andrew Stalnaker
1-6; Logan Hartshorn 1-5. Cabell Midland-Jayden Branch 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-Logan Hartshorn 1-3. Cabell Midland-None.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-None. Cabell Midland-None.
Parkersburg (2-2) vs. Cabell Midland (3-1)
Kickoff time: 7:00 • End of Game: 9:31 • Total elapsed time: 2:31
Temperature: 65 • Wind: calm • Weather: sunny
SACKS (UA-A): Parkersburg-Austin Fleming 1-0. Cabell Midland-None.
UNOFFICIAL TACKLES (UA-A): Parkersburg-Grant Snyder 11-4; QuayvonCyrus 8-0; Andrew Williamson 6-0; Austin Fleming 4-2; Zane Lewis 4-1; Casey Stanley 4-1; Matt Stalnaker 4-0; Jake Bauman 3-1; Alex Hay 2-1; Mason Cyran 2-1; A.J. Ellis 2-1; Andrew Stalnaker 1-0; Anthony Ice 1-0.

Big plays on offense and a blitzing defense carried second ranked Parkersburg South to a 55-7 win over fourth-ranked Parkersburg Friday night before a crowd of 6,000 in the 55th meeting of the two city rivals at Erickson All-Sports Facility.
While South averaged over 10 yards per play with its no-huddle offense, collecting 567 yards on 52 plays with 26 first downs, the Patriot defense pressured Big Red quarterback David Parsons all night and limited the junior signal caller to just 135 yards passing.
South quarterback Robert Shockey threw for four touchdowns and 278 yards (16 of 24 with one interception) while also leading his team with 122 yards rushing on 11 carries. Cyrus Traugh added three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing, as he caught six passes for 82 yards and ran for 40 yards on three attempts. Gage Wright added two touchdowns on the ground with 89 yards rushing on nine attempts as South raised its record to 4-0 and won for the 17th time in the series by putting up the most points for any Patriot team in the series.
Parsons completed 18 of 31 passes with one interception and was sacked once for the Big Reds, who fall to 2-1 on the year. He accounted for 49 of the PHS total of 52 yards rushing. Austin Fleming caught five passes for 39 yards and ran the ball for 15 more on four carries.
The Patriots got on the board with 5:22 left in the first quarter on a 38 yard run by Traugh and added another touchdown with 53 seconds left in the period on a 14 yard run by Wright.
Mid-way through the second period, Traugh added a touchdown on a shovel pass reception from the two but the extra point kick was blocked to make it 20-0.
The Big Reds got on the board with 1:49 left in the half when Aiydn Cooke caught a 16 yard pass from Parsons to cap a 13-play, 64 yard drive that cut the lead to 20-7 and appeared to give PHS some momentum.
But that disappeared when South got the ball back with 14 seconds left on the PHS 34 yard line and two plays later Traugh turned a pass from Shockey into a 23 yard touchdown as time expired to make it 27-7 at the half.
The Patriots produced three scores in the third quarter on a one yard run by Wright, a 26 yard run by Eli Bartley and a 28 yard pass reception by Triston Walker to run the score to 48-7 going into the fourth quarter and force a running clock situation.
With just 8:05 left in the game, Shockey tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yarder to Mason Reams.

2nd 06:33 SP - Cyrus Traugh 2 yd pass from Robert Shockey (Miciah Jones kick blockd), 9-97 2:28

01:49 PHS - Aiydn Cooke 16 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 13-64 4:37

00:00 SP - Cyrus Traugh 23 yd pass from Robert Shockey (Miciah Jones kick), 2-34 0:14

01:15 SP - Triston Walker 28 yd pass from Robert Shockey (Miciah Jones kick), 8-70 1:36

4th 00:43 SP - Mason Reams 18 yd pass from Robert Shockey (Miciah Jones kick), 5-49 8:05

Attendance: 6000. Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 10:10 • Total elapsed time: 2:40.Temperature: 81 • Wind: calm • Weather: sunny

Big Reds Travel To South Friday;
Scoreboard In For A Workout
When two teams which are averaging over 100 total combined points per game collide the defensive coordinators are sure to be working overtime in preparation.
That will be the case when Parkersburg High crosses the Little Kanawha River to face Parkersburg South for the 55th time on Friday night at 7:30 at the Erickson All-Sports Facility.
The Big Reds lead the overall series 38-16 including a 28-19 victory last year.
Parkersburg South enters the contest as the state’s highest scoring team with 185 points (61.7 points per game) while PHS is hitting a not too shabby 43.5 points per game.
South has beaten Capital 59-0, University 78-14 and Beckley 48-25 while PHS has downed St. Albans 52-0 and Riverside 35-28. The Big Reds are coming off a bye week.
Big plays and an opportunistic defense have led the way for South, which has come up with 12 turnovers, nine of them interceptions. They have turned four of those takeaways into immediate touchdowns – two pick-six returns and two fumble returns covering 79 yards. Three of those returns by Cyrus Traugh (two interceptions) who has also ran for one score, returned a punt for a score and caught three touchdown passes (among his 10 receptions) for a total of eight touchdowns.
Gage Wright has also returned a punt for a South touchdown while tacking on six rushing touchdowns while averaging an amazing 21.1 yards per carry on 17 attempts for a team-high 358 yards.
Turner Garretson has returned a fumble for a touchdown for South while Triston Walker, like Traugh, has three interceptions. The Patriot defense has accounted for four touchdowns and special team play two more scores.
The other member of South’s offensive Big Three is junior quarterback Robert Shockey. Shockey has completed 33 of 51 passes for 504 yards, seven touchdowns and just one interception. He has also rushed for four scores while gaining 311 yards on just 25 carries (11.2 average).
The Patriots, who have had to punt just one time, have scored 77 points in the first quarter and 57 in the second, meaning their games have had running clock in most of their fourth quarters of play.
Defensively South is led by Braeden Hamilton with 28 tackles while Wright has 3 and a half sacks.
The Big Reds have come up with six turnovers in two games (four fumble recoveries and two interceptions) while giving up the ball just once (a fumble).
Leading scorer for PHS is junior Casey Stanley with three receiving touchdowns, a 46 yard field goal and 11 of 11 extra point kicks for a total of 32 points. Stanley is also averaging 43 yards on three punts while putting nine of 14 kickoffs into the end zone for a 59.5 yard average. As a receiver he has caught five passes for a 27.4 average.
Junior quarterback David Parsons has completed 20 of 34 passes for 347 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. His other scoring passes have gone to Anthony Ice and Austin Fleming. Leading rushers are Aiydn Cooke with 85 yards (5.3 average) and two touchdowns along with Logan Hartshorn with 81 yards (4.8 average) and one score. Parsons also has a rushing touchdown.
Defensively, PHS is led by a pair of Andrews, Williamson and Stalnaker, with 16 and 14 tackles respectively. Alex Hay and Zane Lewis have added 12 and 10 stops. Stalnaker has five tackles for loss including a sack while Fleming has two fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown).

Special team plays and some big pass combinations were enough to lift Parkersburg to a 35-28 victory over visiting Riverside Friday night at Stadium Field.
The win was the second of the season for the Big Reds of coach Matt Kimes and was the 14th in a row over the Warriors, who drop to 0-2 with their second narrow defeat after their second big comeback attempt failed.
The Big Reds were out-gained by whopping totals in the statistics but made numerous big plays to build leads of 28-7 and 35-13 but watched the visitors claw back with big plays of their own only to fall short when PHS stiffened defensively in the final minute.
Casey Stanley had an incredible game for the winners as the versatile junior scored the first three touchdowns, returned kickoffs 48 and 37 yards to set up touchdowns, kicked five extra points, put five of six kickoffs into the end zone and iced the victory with 1:04 left to play with an interception at the PHS 41 yard line. He caught three passes for 93 yards in the game – all touchdowns.
Junior quarterback David Parsons threw for four touchdowns in all while completing 10 of 21 passes for 160 yards with the other score going to Austin Fleming, who caught three passes for 33 yards on the night. The Big Reds were held to 35 yards net rushing.
The big play heroics were needed to offense a 441-195 Riverside advantage in total yardage. The Warriors had a 21-8 margin in first downs and ran 72 plays to just 42 for the home team. Riverside ran for 201 yards and passed for 240 with Reed Marsico gaining 131 yards on the ground and quarterback Jake Walker added 60 yards with his scrambles that caused Parkersburg’s defense problems all game.
The game started with Stanley putting back-to-back kickoffs into the end zone thanks to a penalty and he then returned a Riverside punt 48 yards to the Warrior five yard line. Two rushes and a penalty put the ball back on the nine but Parsons calmly found Stanley with a pass over the middle for the touchdown with 8:52 on the clock.
Riverside tied the score with an 80-yard drive that took just seven plays. A 46 yard run by Marisco on a fourth down play from their own 27 was the spark that kept that drive alive. Walker finished it with the first of his three touchdown passes with 5:54 on the first quarter clock.
It took PHS just 51 seconds to go ahead for good as Parsons found Stanley in stride after a 40-yard pass downfield to complete a 70-yard score.
With time winding down in the second quarter, Stanley returned a Walker punt 37 yards to the Riverside 26 with 1:53 remaining in the half. After a pass to Fleming moved the ball to the 14, Parsons hit Stanley with another in stride completion to make it 21-7 after the extra point.
The Big Reds got the ball to start the second half and quickly went 65 yards in eight plays while using 4:15 off the clock to run the score to 28-7. A fourth-down pass near midfield for 18 yards to Aiyden Cooke kept things going until Parsons found Fleming for the final 15 yards with 7:37 remaining in the period.
Riverside answered with an 80 yard drive that took 17 plays and nearly seven minutes. Twice the Warriors converted on fourth down, once making four yards when they needed two on their own 40 and a second time getting 18 yards on a scramble by Walker when he needed 15 for the first down at midfield. The visitors scored on a three yard run to close the gap to 28-13 with just 56 seconds in the period.
It took Anthony Ice just 12 seconds to answer that for the Big Reds with an 80 yard kickoff return in which he had to go back for the kick that was going over his head but once he hauled it in he went virtually untouched up the middle to the end zone to make it 35-13 with 44 seconds left in the quarter.
The fourth quarter was long and hectic with Riverside scoring twice and passing for 141 yards in the final 12 minutes alone. The first score came on an 85-yard pass and run play while the second came on a fourth down pass in the corner that Jaylen Symns caught over the out-stretched hands of a PHS defender. That made it 35-28 with 6:34 still left to play.
After a failed onside kick, Riverside got the ball back on downs at its own 40 but faced with a fourth and 17 from its own 33, the Warriors elected to punt with just over three minutes left to play.
A 26 yard run by Logan Hartshorn gave the Big Reds some breathing room but on fourth down at the Riverside 34 the home team was stopped and gave the Warriors one last possession with 1:14 to play. That end two plays later when Stanley intercepted at the PHS 41 and the Big Reds were able to take two kneel-downs to preserve the win.

1st 08:52 PHS - Casey Stanley 9 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-5 1:32

05:54 RIV - Adam Wikinson 27 yd pass from Jake Walker (Jase Cook kick), 7-80 2:58

05:03 PHS - Casey Stanley 70 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 2-74 0:45

2nd 00:30 PHS - Casey Stanley 14 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 4-26 1:23

3rd 07:37 PHS - Austin Fleming 15 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 8-65 4:15

4th 11:45 RIV - Michael Terrell 85 yd pass from Jake Walker (Jaylen Symns pass from Jake Walker), 2-85 0:42

06:34 RIV - Jaylen Symns 9 yd pass from Jake Walker (Jase Cook kick), 10-82 4:00

RUSHING: Riverside-Reed Marsico 22-131; Jake Walker 12-60; Michael Terrell 5-6; Justin Rucker 1-2; Bryce Green 3-2. Parkersburg-Logan Hartshorn 5-32; Aiydn Cooke 10-25; Dylan Stone 1-minus 1; David Parsons 4-minus 9; Casey Stanley 1-minus 12.

PASSING: Riverside-Jake Walker 16-29-1-240. Parkersburg-David Parsons 10-21-0-160.

RECEIVING: Riverside-Jaylen Symns 7-44; Michael Terrell 2-85; Braydin Ward 2-47; Brock Jeffries 1-28; Adam Wikinson 1-27; Jase Cook 1-11; Bryce Green 1-8; Reed Marsico 1-minus 10.

Parkersburg-Casey Stanley 3-93; Austin Fleming 3-33; Aiydn Cooke 2-22; Anthony Ice 1-10; Logan Hartshorn 1-2.

FUMBLES: Riverside-Jake Walker 2-1; Reed Marsico 1-0. Parkersburg-Casey Stanley 1-0.

Warner, Gordon Named To PHS Grid Hall
A record-setting all-state place-kicker who also happened to be the most consistent punter in Parkersburg High School history as well as a stalwart from nearly 100 years ago are the latest members of the Big Red Football Hall of Fame.

          Tyler Warner who excelled as the special teams leader of the back-to-back 2006-2007 state championship teams and Walter “Red” Gordon who moved from the backfield to anchor both lines and earn all-state honors for the 1924 Big Reds will be inducted into the PHS Hall of Fame on Friday, Sept. 2, prior to the Riverside game at Stadium Field.
          Setting record after record as a junior on the undefeated 2006 state championship Big Red team, Warner continued his excellence as a senior on the 13-1 title squad of coach Bernie Buttrey.
          After handling just the punting chores as a sophomore, the lanky Warner had an all-time season as a junior, kicking 68 points with nine field goals and 41 of 47 extra points. That remains the most points ever scored by a kicker in one season at PHS. He capped that season by setting a school and playoff record 50-yard field goal in the 34-6 state championship win over Martinsburg in Wheeling.
          For his efforts as a junior he was named first team all-state kicker. As a senior he upped his career field goal total to 13 (out of 16 attempts) and finished his career with 133 points, second most all-time. He maintained his incredible consistency as a punter with a 36.5 average as a senior and was named second-team all-state punter. His year-by-year punting averages were 36.6, 36.4 and 36.5 for a career mark of 36.5 yards per kick.
          After an senior basketball season where he served as team captain, Warner went on to Marshall University where he was Conference USA all-freshman kicker in 2008 and played on two bowl championship teams in 2009 (Little Caesar Pizza Bowl) and 2011 (St. Petersburg Bowl). He hit 12 of 15 field goals during his senior season.
          After 10 years of ministering with the Athletes In Action, Warner and his wife Ashley returned to Parkersburg to work in family car dealership business. They have three children, Benjamin (4), Hazel (2) and Timmy (1).

Gordon started out in the backfield but was quickly moved to the line where he was a two-way standout, earning honors in 1924 for the Big Reds of coach Fred Chenoweth who won five games and tied two with three losses despite allowing just eight touchdowns with four shutouts. The speedy 5-foot-11, 182 pound Gordon was known for tackling runners from behind.
Moving on to West Virginia University, Gordon was a two-way starter for coach Ira Rodgers and was named captain as a senior in 1930. The Mountaineers went 8-2, 4-3-3 and 5-5 with the former PHS standout on the line. He was a starter in 1928 when WVU upset Pitt 9-6 in the only WVU over the Panthers in a 23 year span from 1924 to 1947. Highlight of his WVU career was the Georgetown game in 1930 when he recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone for the game’s first touchdown in the first quarter. In the second period he blocked a punt which enabled the Mountaineers to hold on for a 14-7 victory. The three-year WVU letter winner was known as a team leader with fighting spirit. He also played basketball as a senior.

With eight different players scoring for the Big Reds, the Matt Kimes coaching era started with a bang Friday night before a crowd of 3,000 at Stadium Field as Parkersburg coasted to a mercy-shortened 52-0 win over visiting St. Albans.
The victory was the 15th in a row for PHS over the Red Dragons and was the first shutout posted by a Big Red team since 2015.
Six different Big Reds found the end zone while Casey Stanley kicked a 46 yard field goal, six extra points and Conner Gribble added one conversion.
Aiydn Cooke scored two touchdowns and was the leading rusher with 60 yards on six carries for the winners, who scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and collected three more in the second.
Anthony Ice, Austin Fleming, Matt Stalnaker, David Parsons and Logan Hartshorn also had touchdowns as PHS posted its most impressive victory since 2009 (68-14 over Beckley).
As a team the Big Reds had 335 yards total on just 42 plays while holding St. Albans to just four first downs, seven yards rushing and 54 yards in total offense. Junior quarterback David Parsons threw for wo touchdowns and ran for another as he completed 10 of 13 passes for 187 yards with Ice being the leading receiver with four catches for 93 yards. The Red and White defense collected one interception and recovered three fumbles, one for a touchdown.
The game started with PHS forcing the visitors to punt after three plays netted minus one yard and the defense nearly blocked the kick. The punt went one yard from scrimmage and the Big Reds took over on the St. Albans 20 yard line. Three plays later Parsons tossed a shovel pass to Ice, who sped around left end for the score with 8:58 left on the first quarter clock.
Another quick score followed three plays later when Fleming picked up a fumble and raced 20 yards for a touchdown with 7:28 showing.
A Big Red fumble gave St. Albans the ball near midfield and a 20 yard pass completion enabled the visitors to move close enough to try a field goal from 33 yards out but the kick was short.
Ice and Parsons hooked up on a 67 yard completion one play later which led to a 17 yard scoring pass to Matt Stalnaker with Stanley’s kick making is 21-0 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.
An interception by Andrew Williamson put the Parkersburg offense back on the field one play later and it took just two plays to reach the end zone again as Fleming caught a 26 yard pass that set up a 15 yard run by Cooke for a 28-0 lead with just 12:08 elapsed in the contest.
A quarterback keeper for 14 yards produced score number five and that was followed by a two yard run by Hartshorn that was set up with completions of 25 yards to Stanley and 12 yards to Fleming.
St. Albans fumbled the ensuing kickoff and four plays later Stanley, who put eight kickoffs into the end zone, to kick a 46 yard field goal with 12 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 45-0. The kick tied the record for the third-longest in school history.
The third quarter saw PHS run the ball 10 times while throwing it just three with sophomore Cooper Cancade coming on to attempt two of them (completing one for six yards).
Content to run the ball in the fourth quarter with a running clock, PHS scored on a two yard run by Cooke with 10:15 remaining and Gribble’s PAT made the final margin of 52.
The Big Reds did not have to punt in the contest and scored on all seven of their possessions in the red zone.

1st 07:28 PHS - Anthony Ice 8 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-15 2:29

00:14 PHS - Matt Stalnaker 17 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-80 1:38

RUSHING: St. Albans-Devin Silvas 3-27; Eli Littlejohn 6-11; Jake Shears 1-1; Harley Roy 6-minus 2; Andrew Thomas 2-minus 14; Elijah Samples 5-minus 16. Parkersburg-Aiydn Cooke 6-60; Logan Hartshorn 12-49; Dylan Stone 2-24; Xavier Robinson 2-15; David Parsons 5-minus 6.

PASSING: St. Albans-Elijah Samples 3-10-1-43; Andrew Thomas 1-1-0-4. Parkersburg-David Parsons10-13-0-187; Cooper Cancade 1-2-0-6.

RECEIVING: St. Albans-Jake Shears 2-20; Eli Littlejohn 1-23; Ethan Edge 1-4. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice4-93; Casey Stanley 2-44; Austin Fleming 2-38; Matt Stalnaker 2-16; Andrew Stalnaker 1-2.

FUMBLES: St. Albans-Elijah Samples 2-1; Andrew Thomas 1-1; Harley Roy 1-1. Parkersburg-David Parsons 1-1.

WHEELING – To use an old baseball term, the Parkersburg Big Red football team played long ball here Friday evening in a game-like scrimmage which lasted a full half for the varsity squad.
In the final tune-up for next Friday’s Aug. 26 home season opener against St. Albans, the Big Reds turned in three long scoring plays against the pre-season 12th-ranked Park Patriots. PHS, under first-year head coach Matt Kimes, then held on to finish in a standoff against Park, after accomplishing the same feat last week against fourth-ranked Bridgeport.
Played under game conditions without special team plays (no kickoffs with offenses starting from their own 30 if after a score and no punt returns) the workout saw the Big Reds score on each of their first three possessions while stopping Park on its first try before allowing three touchdowns with the final coming with 2:40 left to play.
The Big Reds started the scrimmage on offense and went 70 yards in eight plays with junior David Parsons throwing a 46 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Ice with 3:11 run off the clock. Casey Stanley then kicked the first of his three extra points.
A big stop by Austin Fleming keyed a PHS defense that stopped the hosts on the Parkersburg 34 yard line two yards short of a first down on a fourth down play.
Four plays later Parsons found Ice in stride again for a 67 yard pass over the middle and another touchdown with 4:47 left in the first quarter.
Wheeling responded with a touchdown on its own in just seven plays with four of them being passes including the final one from 12 yards out with 1:17 on the clock.
A 13-yard run by Logan Hartshorn helped start PHS on its third scoring drive. A 23-yard pass to Fleming was another big play on the seven-play drive that was capped when Fleming caught a pass up the middle, broke a tackle and raced 34 yards to the end zone for a two touchdown advantage with 10:10 left to play.
Wheeling came back to score on a 10-play drive that was highlighted by a 35 yard pass and ended on a one yard plunge by the tailback with 6:19 remaining.
The Big Reds had to punt on their next series and Wheeling drove 55 yards on eight plays alternating between the run and pass. The touchdown came on a one yard run with 2:40 left to play.
PHS started its final series with an eight-yard pass completion but was then hit with three straight penalties and had to punt with Stanley getting off a 56 yard kick. Wheeling was able to only run two plays before time expired.
Parsons completed seven of 13 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. Ice had two receptions for 113 yards.
The junior varsity squads played two series each under the 10-play format.

Parkersburg opened the Matt Kimes era of Big Red football with a scrimmage Saturday morning against perennial powerhouse Bridgeport, which was a Class AAA semifinalist a year ago.
The controlled workout saw the teams run 10 plays each with their varsity squads and then repeated that format before turning to a down-and-distance format.
Each team scored once during two sets of the 10-play format and then each scored once during the two sets of down-and-distance before letting the junior varsity squads finish up the two hour scrimmage.

The Big Reds showed their outstanding passing ability throughout the varsity formats as junior quarterback David Parsons completed 14 of 19 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns. He hooked up with Matt Stalnaker on a 52-yard scoring play which saw Stalnaker break a tackle and get a clearing block from Casey Stanley. He later connected with Stanley on a 37-yard pass where he hit the junior receiver in stride at the goal line. Stanley had five receptions for 94 yards on the day and kicked two extra points.

Bridgeport, running from their single-wing, unbalanced line offense, scored on a 65 yard run on the second play of the scrimmage and later added a short TD run after a 51 yard scamper by their quarterback, who faked a handoff by putting the ball behind his back and then raced around right end before Quayvon Cyrus ran him down from behind at the six yard line.
The Big Reds will travel to Wheeling Park on Thursday for their final pre-season scrimmage at 6 p.m.

Big Red Football Family Loses One of Biggest Supporters as Pat Minnite Sr. Passes at Age 82

The Parkersburg Big Red football family lost one of its greatest contributors and supporters yesterday with the passing of Pat Minnite Sr.
To show you how much of an impact he had in over 50 years of service he is to be inducted into the PHS Football Hall of Fame at the season opening game at Stadium Field on Aug. 26 against St. Albans.

From the left, Tanner Minnite and his grandparents Judy and Pat Minnite, pose with Richard Adams of United Bank at the 2022 Sour Mash Golf Tournament. Pat Minnite died on Friday. (Photo Provided)

By Jess Mancini
Parkersburg News & Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — A developer who became known for his philanthropy in the Mid-Ohio Valley passed away on Friday.
Pat Minnite of the PM Company was 82.
Minnite was the son of Italian immigrants who settled in Harrison County after World War I. He moved to Ohio and attended school where he learned to design buildings.
Minnite and his wife Judy married in 1961 and moved to Vienna where he started the business that eventually became the PM Company, purchasing and developing properties throughout the Mid-Ohio Valley.
“Our dad’s favorite quote he lived by: ‘What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say,'” the Minnite family said in a statement. “His actions of love and commitment touched the lives of so many. People mattered to him. His family was everything to him. This community blessed him and he blessed this community. His goodness will last forever.”
The Minnites and the PM Company in 2007 created the Spirit of Giving initiative through the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. Through the Spirit of Giving, $121,000 was raised in 2021.
“My sympathies are with the family,” said Judy Sjostedt, executive director of the PACF.
Minnite was a “wonderful gentleman” who helped many people and organizations in the region through the Spirit of Giving, she said.
“What a huge loss for our community,” she said.
Pat and Judy Minnite were honored this year by the United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio which dedicated the 2022 Sour Mash golf tournament to the Minnites.
“His philanthropy was genuine. His generosity came from the heart and he led his family and his company with that heart for humanity,” said Stacy DeCicco, executive director of the United Way Alliance. “His example of community stewardship was a shining beacon of what is possible when we choose to make a difference for others.
“Pat and Judy are such special people to this community and there will be an inevitable void, but I know that his legacy and spirit will live on because he set such an authentic example for all of us,” DeCicco said.
Minnite’s friends remembered him as a dedicated family man who loved the community.
Former Wood County Commissioner W.C. “Bill” Parrish has dealt with Minnite for 38 years, mostly for carpet.
“We never had any kind of contract other than a handshake,” Parrish said.
“What a great friend he was,” Parrish said. “And what a loss he will be for the community.”
County Commissioner Jimmy Colombo called Minnite a great friend who was dedicated and proud of his family. The Colombo and Minnite families are connected by marriage.
“He was the kind of person who could take adversity and turn it into something positive,” Colombo said.
Minnite was among the greatest people “to ever be in the Mid-Ohio Valley,” Vienna Mayor Randy Rapp said.
“He and his companies and family have done more for this family and the growth of this valley than anyone that I personally know of,” Rapp said. “And he was a gentleman at all times. Truly a terrific person.”
Ditto from Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce.
“Pat Minnite was an absolutely wonderful person. His generosity and kindness touched so many lives, especially young people,” Joyce said. “His efforts with recreation and youth activities alone impacted generations.
“Many times over the past several years I would comment to him what a wonderful family he had, and he would smile,” Joyce said. “His family was his greatest achievement, and he was so proud.”

Stressing Tradition Kimes Says Big Reds Must Improve Defense In 2022
By Greg Carey, WV Metronews
When Matt Kimes took over as Parkersburg’s football coach in March, he started to look over what the Big Reds had done well and where things went wrong during a 4-6 season in 2021.
One thing stuck out to Kimes above the rest.

“Defensively, we have to get better,” Kimes said. “We gave up over 33 points a game last year. Number one and foremost, that’s what we’re trying to stress is we have to be able to stop people first.”
Kimes spent the last three years as the head football coach at nearby Warren High School in Ohio and was an assistant for six seasons at Parkersburg South for six seasons before that.
But the 1997 PHS graduate has strong ties to the Big Reds, and over his first few months, Kimes worked to ensure his staff does, too.
“I was able to put a solid staff together and out of the 14 guys on staff, 10 of them are former Big Reds,” Kimes said. “That was important to me. Those guys understand the tradition and pride that we’re trying to instill in the kids and it’s been a good process so far.”
Kimes believes the benefit of having a coaching staff comprised of majority Parkersburg graduates is two-fold.
“There’s been separation from community and team a little bit, so getting the coaches that have lived it, been there and done it at a high level helped the community rally around the team a little bit better for whatever reason,” he said. “I don’t know the exact reason for that, but they trust the Big Reds that have been there before and done it, and been successful at it. The guys that are on staff have won state championships, played in big-time playoff games and they’ve seen it done at a high level. They know what it takes to get back there.”
A year ago, in what was Mike Byus’ fifth and final season overseeing the PHS program, the Big Reds finished No. 20 in Class AAA after allowing at least 28 points in all six losses and 34-plus points in an equal number of games.
The need for defensive improvement may not have been more evident in any game than Parkersburg’s final one of the season — a 56-52 victory at Musselman that prevented the team from finishing with seven setbacks.
“We’re trying to get our best guys on defense and change their mentality,” Kimes said. “When I first got there, I’d go talk to kids about what their positions were and a lot of them were offensive-minded only. I’ve been trying to change that concept of what they’re thinking to make sure we get our best guys out on the field defensively.
“We did pretty well in some 7 on 7s, but you guys all know, winning games down to blocking and tackling. We’ll find out here in a hurry whether we’re good at that, and that’ll tell us how good we’re going to be. If we stay healthy, I like our guys and I think we have a chance to compete.”
For as much as defensive improvement is necessary for Parkersburg to return to the postseason, the Big Reds also need to replace one of the more decorated players in program history in Bryson Singer.
Offensively, Singer primarily played quarterback, though his versatility allowed him to carry and receive the ball as well.
He finished as the program’s all-time all-purpose yardage leader, and Singer’s departure leaves a void on both sides of the ball as he was recognized for his defensive prowess by being named captain of the first-team all-state defense as a utility selection as a senior.
“They were kind of centered around one guy and that guy was pretty good,” Kimes said. “Anytime you lose your all-time all-purpose leader in school history, you have some holes to fill, but we’re going to kind of do it by committee. We have a lot of different guys that we can spread the ball around to.
“Our quarterback, David Parsons, is a talented kid. He has a big arm. He got to play some last year when they moved Singer around to receiver and running back, so he has some experience on Friday nights, which is important. We have a bunch of sophomores that played last year, so those kids are all juniors and they have some Friday night experience as well. I’m excited to see those guys go out and compete.”

What a great night for our Big Red Football Family tonight!!
Brenton Strange, #86 TE, Penn St University delivered an inspirational message to the guys on Thursday.
He talked about his journey from the Vienna Wildcats, Jackson Generals, PHS, to Penn St. He told our guys to dream big and never stop chasing those dreams.
My favorite moment was when he spoke about how every Friday night when he’s hanging in his hotel room getting ready for his game the following day, he always checks to see how the Big Reds are doing.
Like I tell the kids everyday, IT MATTERS to so many people.
He even jumped in and did a few drills and showed the guys some techniques he’s learned.
Thanks Brenton
Once a Big Red, Always a Big Red!!
...Coach Kimes

By Jay W. Bennett
Parkersburg News & Sentinel
PARKERSBURG — The last time the Big Reds of Parkersburg High School reigned supreme on the gridiron in Class AAA was following back-to-back state championships in 2006-07 under Bernie Buttrey.
However, since then the Big Reds have tasted just one postseason victory and that came in 2018 during the Mike Byus era.
Matt Kimes, now in his first season leading PHS, was a member of the coaching staff with Buttrey and his plans are to try and get the red and white back atop the triple-A landscape.
“We’ve got a lot accomplished,” admitted Kimes so far of the offseason as his team had last week off and will be off this week due to the mandated three-week summer coaching period rules.
“I think we’ve figured out, starting to figure out roles. Kids understand the new expectations and are buying in. Consequently we are playing for the right reasons and for each other. We’re excited about the season.”

PHS already has been to a trio of 7-on-7 tournaments — St. Marys, the Mountain State Athletic Conference’s at Riverside and then one at Pittsburgh.
“We lost our first two pool play games and had a heart to heart and went on a five-game winning streak and made it to the finals of our bracket before losing to a really good team from D.C.,” Kimes said of the 7-on-7 in Pittsburgh.
“The kids showed that when they play like they are capable we are capable of being pretty good. Winning football games obviously comes down to blocking and tackling a lot of times.”
The Big Red defense will be out to improve upon a 33.2 points allowed per game average. The red and white also allowed more than 400 total yards a game last year.
That included allowing more than 218 stripes on the ground with a 5.5 yards per carry average.
Defense is definitely going to be a key, but the Big Reds only return three of their top 10 tacklers — Austin Fleming (6th), Chris Salyers (8th) and Casey Stanley (10th).
Fleming tied for the team lead with four sacks and paced PHS with five quarterback pressures. Stanley tied for the team lead with three interceptions.
Although the coaching staff started with a four front, they’ve shifted to a 3-3-5 stack because the depth on the defensive line isn’t quite as deep as other positions.
Kimes said they should be in the high 60s or lower 70s for players and that includes a freshman group of nearly 30. Along with a full junior varsity schedule, the Big Reds also will have a freshman squad.
“I don’t think it’s set in stone. Whatever gets our best guys on the field,” Kimes said of the defense. “I think we have the ability to jump into a four front when we need to.
“As coaches what we are always trying to do is what works best for us and what works best to stop other people. You got to be able to do both.”
David Parsons is expected to lead the offense. As a sophomore, the signal-caller completed nearly 57% of his attempts. He threw for 1,340 yard with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Anthony Ice, Logan Hartshorn, Stanley and Andrew Stalnaker are expected to be his top targets.
“Our goal is to be a state champion and we talk about it every day. If you don’t talk about that I think you are selling yourselves short,” admitted the coach. “We’ve been grinding since the last week of May.
“We got a two week break. I said use this time to recharge, refocus and get our priorities in order. Once July 11 hits, football has to be our top priority to get to where we want to be.”
Parkersburg plans to compete in two more 7-on-7 events — one in New Lexington and hopefully one at Fairmont State.
“We’ve got to get on the same page with our verbiage,” Kimes stressed. “Just a learning process, but football is football. It’s a matter of us being able to communicate to the kids what we want and when we want it. We understand as a coaching staff it’s going to take patience. They are going to mess up and you just have to learn from your mistakes.”
The Big Reds will open the campaign with a pair of home games at Stadium Field. St. Albans is set to invade on Friday, Aug. 26 with Riverside coming to town the following week.

During Tuesday’s Wood County Board of Education meeting, former Warren High head football coach Matt Kimes was approved as the new head football coach for the Parkersburg High School Big Reds.

Kimes leaves Warren after three seasons, in which he oversaw the Warriors’ first ever state playoff appearances. His teams went 6-4, 7-2 and 3-8.

He replaces Mike Byus, who in five full seasons with Parkersburg won 29 games, and led the Big Reds to four playoff appearances.

Kimes went to Parkersburg High School, making first team all-state in 1996 when he rushed for 1,156 yards. The Big Reds made the playoffs all three years he played, winning 25 of 35 games and advancing to the state finals once.

“As a former student and player at Parkersburg High School,” Kimes said. “Left for a few years and now coming back to your alma mater, I think is a truly special feeling, and I’m very excited to get started.”

St. Albans Only New Opponent On PHS 2022 Football Schedule
Only one new team appears on the 2022 Parkersburg Big Red football schedule as familiar opponent St. Albans returns after a three-year absence.
The Big Reds will be under a new, yet unidentified head coach, when the open the season Aug. 26 with a home game against St. Albans. The Big Reds last met the Red Dragons in 2017 when they notched their 13th straight victory against their Mt. State Athletic Conference rival. PHS has not lost to the Dragons since 1997.
St. Albans replaces Hurricane on the PHS schedule, which includes six teams which made the playoffs and four with losing records (including St. Albans, which had a 3-7 record). Musselman and Riverside return to meet the Big Reds after having records of 3-7 and Capital is back after a rare losing season (2-8 a year ago).
Heading the list of opponents is state runner-up Huntington, the number one ranked regular season team a year ago. Also on the card is number five Cabell Midland, number seven Spring Valley, number nine George Washington, number 12 South Charleston and 15th ranked Parkersburg South (which moves up to the third week of the regular season with the game scheduled at Erickson).
Following in the complete schedule:
PHS 2022 Football Schedule
(all games 7:30 unless noted)
Aug. 26 – St. Albans
Sept. 2 – Riverside
Sept. 16 – at Park. South (7:00)
Sept. 23 – at Cabell Midland (7:00)
Sept. 30 – at George Washington
Oct. 7 – South Charleston
Oct. 14 – at Huntington
Oct. 21 – at Capital
Oct. 28 – Spring Valley
Nov. 4 – Musselman (7:00)

Byus Bids Farewell at PHS Banquet
Head coach Mike Byus bid farewell to the 2022 Parkersburg Big Red seniors and announced his retirement Sunday night at the annual football banquet held at the Grand Pointe Conference Center.

The veteran coach became emotional as he said, “I’m not going to be coming back next year. It’s time to become a grandpa. I love all you players and will miss each and every one of you.”
Byus told his 2021 team members, “You certainly deserved better than the record showed. You worked harder than any group I have had in my five years here but it was just one thing after another. We had five broken legs and a broken ankle. We had three senior returning linebackers but they only got to play two out of 10 games together. In my 38 years of coaching I have never seen anything like what happened this year.”
His five-year record at PHS included 29 wins against 23 defeats with four playoff appearances and the first playoff victory in 11 years with a win over Wheeling Park in 2018. The 2021 Big Red team went 4-6 and missed the playoffs with a 28-24 loss to George Washington. His overall coaching record is 239 wins and 127 defeats. He will return to live with his family in North Carolina, where he won two state championships.
Awards were presented at the banquet with team Most Valuable Player honors going to senior Bryson Singer, who made first team All-Mountain State Athletic Conference and second team all-state.
Offensive Player of the Year honors were shared by Curtis Hayes and Xadrian Snodgrass while Kyle Hall won the Defensive Player of the Year and Zach Howard, who finished his career with 149 career tackles, won the Dave Manzo Award.
Other awards went to: Newcomer – Gabe Martin, Lineman – Jeffery Jones, Heart Award – Carter King and Austin Fleming, Most Improved Offense – Grant Snyder and Kennedy Jeter, Impact Player – David Parsons, Utility Player – Logan Hartshorn and Casey Stanley, Team Player – Christian West and Andrew Williamson.
All-MSAC honorees were recognized. In addition to Singer, Hayes was a first team selection while Howard was a second team pick. Stanley, Snodgrass and Jones were special honorable mentions and Fleming and Parsons were honorable mentions.
Zane Lewis was junior varsity defensive Most Valuable Player and Cyrus Backus was offensive Most Valuable Player.

Big Red senior Bryson Singer has been named second team Class AAA All-state captain of the defensive unit as a utility player.

Singer, who set an all-time PHS record for touchdowns accounted for with 69, was a complete utility player as he amassed 1,584 all-purpose yards while also getting three interceptions and 37 tackles on defense. He had 800 yards rushing, 500 yards receiving, 40 yards on punt returns, 199 yards on kickoff returns and 42 yards on interception returns. He led the team with 16 touchdowns.

Kyle Hall, the team's leading tackler, Curtis Hayes (all-conference lineman) and versatile receiver-defender-kicker Casey Stanley earned honorable mention all-state honors.

The team was selected by the W.Va. Sportswriters Association. State runner-up Huntington landed six players on the first all-state team including freshman defensive back Zah Zah Jackson while state champion Martinsburg had four first-team honorees.

Two Parkersburg Big Reds, seniors Bryson Singer and Curtis Hayes, have been named to the first team of the 2021 coach’s selected All-Mountain State Athletic Conference football team.

Singer was selected to the first team as a utility player and Hayes as an offensive tackle.
While Hayes was the anchor a line which produced over 24 points and 285 yards per game, Singer did a bit of everything for the Big Reds. The 6-foot-3 Singer ran for 805 yards, caught 34 passes for another 500 yards and passed for 160 yards and two touchdowns. He scored 16 touchdowns including a 74 yard kickoff return while amassing all-purpose yardage totaling 1,584.
Named to the second team from PHS was senior utility player Zach Howard. Named to the special mention list was sophomore Casey Stanley along with senior defensive lineman Jeffrey Jones and senior linebacker Xadrian Snodgrass. Austin Fleming and David Parsons were named honorable mention.
Howard ranked second on the team with 81 tackles while playing in nine games while Stanley kicked three field goals and 28 of 29 extra points (one was blocked) while also averaging 37.5 yards per punt and scored three touchdowns (one receiving, one interception return and one fumble return). Jones was third on the team with 72 tackles, including 13 for loss while coming up with four sacks. Snodgrass averaged six tackles per game and had two sacks. Fleming had 42 tackles, nine behind the line of scrimmage along with four sacks, an interception and five quarterback hurries. Parsons threw for 1,340 yards with 12 touchdowns while completing 57 percent of his 196 passes.
Spring Valley senior Ty Bartrum was named Player of the Year and Huntington’s Billy Seals was named Coach of the Year.
Bartrum tied for the state lead in touchdown receptions during the regular season with 15 as he caught 50 passes for 939 yards from quarterback Dalton Fouch, who threw for 33 touchdowns during regular season and playoffs. Seals, in his 13th season, guided the Highlanders to a 10-0 record and number one ranking before falling to Martinsburg in the state championship game.

The 2021 football season has come to a close for the Parkersburg Big Reds and it will go down as the year they missed making the playoffs by just a little more than a yard.
While it will be remembered as the season of what ifs and injuries and it will also be remembered as a season of more than interesting moments and a lot of names that were entered in the record books.
A 28-24 loss to George Washington in the ninth game of the season happened as the Big Reds failed to score after coming up with a first-and-goal situation from inside the two yard line with less than a minute remaining and that loss knocked the team out of a playoff chance. Had PHS won the GW game and then pulled off their miracle comeback against Musselman the following week the Big Reds would have finished as the 13th ranked team in the state and made a trip to Morgantown to play third-ranked and undefeated University in the first round of the playoffs.
Although it is easy to point to that one series of downs as the crucial point of the season fans will remember the 2021 season as a roller coaster ride with ups and downs thanks mainly to a large number of injuries to key players which began in game one against eventual undefeated and top-ranked Huntington.
The Big Reds lost six games this season, all six to teams which made the playoffs and even beat one team, Parkersburg South, which made the post season. Seven of the teams on their schedule finished ranked in the top 15, four in the top nine and four of them advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Between injuries, illness and suspensions the Big Reds lost at various times its leading receiver, running back, top tackler, most experienced lineman and other starters. Add to that some nagging injuries which players shook off and continued to perform and you have a season that had the coaches’ working overtime just to fill positions on the field.
There were some outstanding individual performances during the season with players like Bryson Singer, David Parsons, Casey Stanley, Logan Hartshorn and Xadrian Snodgrass all putting their names in the record books.
In fact, Singer can now be found 39 times in the updated records and that does not include the fact that he is the only player in PHS history to run and throw for 1,000 yards in a single season (accomplished as a sophomore). Had he not played at least half his senior season as a wide receiver he may have become only the second player in school history to rush for over 1,000 yards three times (John Richards being the only one to accomplish that feat).
Singer’s career came to an end with him being the all-time leader in touchdowns accounted for as he scored 38 times and passed for 31 touchdowns to pass Marc Kimes and Matt Lindamood on the list. Lindamood ran for 68 touchdowns while Kimes ran for 15 scores and passed for 52 more for a total of 67.
Singer finished second all-time in total offense with 5,538 yards (2,158 passing and 3,380 rushing) to trail only Kimes with 6,171 (5,317 of it passing). He finished third all-time in rushing with 3,380 yards to trail Lindamood (4,211) and Richards (3,955). He was fourth in career TD passes thrown with 31 despite playing quarterback only sparingly as a senior. He was sixth in career completions with 151, seventh in career passing yards with 2,158 and ninth in career points scored with 228.
A senior season which saw him play multiple positions produced a team-high 803 yards rushing to go with 160 yards passing and 500 yards receiving (on 34 receptions). Singer scored a team-high 16 touchdowns (10 rushing, five receiving and one kickoff return). He had 1,584 all-purpose yards with 40 coming on punt returns, 199 on kickoff returns and 42 on three interception returns.
Sophomore Parsons wound up with 1,340 yards passing (111 of 196 for 57% with 12 touchdowns and six interceptions). He had three games over 240 yards passing including one game with 25 completions and is in the top 10 all-time with 121 completions already for his career.
Another sophomore, Stanley, put his name in the record books six times including a fourth-best ever 84 yard fumble recovery touchdown run. His 44 yard field goal is eighth best all-time while he now has 73 career kicking points for the ninth best total. His 37 kicking points this year (3 of 4 field goals and 28 of 29 extra points) is in the top 20 and his 72 yard interception return also made the list as 16th best mark ever. His 37.5 punting average was the ninth best mark in school history.
Hartshorn put his name in the books with his nine receptions against South Charleston while Snodgrass and his 70 yard touchdown run versus Musselman is the 18th best all-time.
Snodgrass finished as the team’s second-leading rusher this year with 391 yards despite missing three games with injuries while Stanley tied for the team-high with three interceptions. Carter King played just four games because of injuries but caught 19 passes for the second best total on the team and four of them went for touchdowns.
Defensively, Kyle Hall led the team with 100 tackles including three sacks and 18 tackles for loss. He also forced three fumbles. Zach Howard had 81 tackles in nine games while Jeffery Jones had 72 including four sacks and 13 behind the line of scrimmage. Gabe Martin (51), Kennedy Jeter (48), Austin Fleming (42), Snodgrass (42), Chris Salyers (40), Singer (37) and Stanley (36) rounded out the top 10 tacklers. Fleming also had four sacks.

So, just how versatile is Parkersburg senior Bryson Singer?
Well, consider that he led the Mountain State Athletic Conference in rushing last season with 1,235 yards ... as a quarterback. Oh, and he also caught an 85-yard touchdown pass against Jefferson.
Yes, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior might be one of the most multi-faceted players in West Virginia, and Big Reds coach Mike Byus seems determined to find out just how many positions Singer can play this season.
"He's very versatile,'' Byus said. "We're going to play him everywhere, provided he's healthy. Bryson's going to play defense, Bryson's going to play different positions offensively. You don't actually have to put him at running back because when he's a quarterback, he's basically a running back from the quarterback position.''
Singer averaged better than 154 rushing yards per game as a junior and also threw for 687 yards and 11 touchdowns as Parkersburg went 6-2 and earned the No. 8 seed for the Class AAA playoffs. However, due to Wood County's COVID-19 status that week, the Big Reds weren't able to play their first-round game against Spring Mills and their season ended that way.
It's not like Singer suddenly turned into a Swiss army knife a year ago. Even as a sophomore, he flashed his all-around skills, rushing for 1,342 yards and seven TDs and passing for 1,311 yards and 16 scores. That's 241 yards of total offense per game.
But Byus appears more intent on using Singer all over the field this season, especially since promising sophomore David Parsons figures to get some run at quarterback.
"I've been hearing, 'Put him at running back,' but you know teams set their defenses to running backs,'' Byus said. "They don't necessarily count on the quarterback to run, but now with him they do at this point. Having him there as a dual threat [at quarterback], it's just different than sticking him at running back. And he's a heck of a receiver -- great hands.
"He can play outside linebacker and can play inside linebacker, actually, if we wanted him to. He can play safety -- strong or free. He's just so versatile, and talented in a lot of different areas. We took him to several camps and he played corner some since he's long and rangy. He covered everybody they threw at him just because of his length.''
Big Reds track coach Rod O'Donnell had the same experience with Singer competing on his squad, which won the AAA state title in June -- Singer can do so many things that O'Donnell wasn't sure exactly which events Singer should enter.
"I think that's been part of the recruiting process as well,'' Byus said of college football programs taking a look at Singer. "They're not sure where they want to use him, so I think it's actually slowed down the recruiting a little bit.
"And we haven't been able to train him in about a month now with some nagging injuries, like his hamstring. We're just hoping he gets healthy so we can utilize the 100% Bryson Singer. A healthy Bryson Singer will really help us a bunch, I can tell you that.''
Moving Singer around, and not relying on him to take every snap at quarterback, will allow Byus to employ him more on defense. Typically, Byus doesn't like to use his starting QB on defense, a move followed by many Class AAA coaches. Last year, Singer had 13 total tackles and one interception in eight games.
"We don't normally do that,'' Byus said. "Maybe in spots. This year, we've got a young man [Parsons] who does a great job swinging it around, so that's why we're going to use Bryson some at wideout, and we'll utilize his talents in different ways and see how that progresses.''

Big Reds Hope To Host Spring Mills Sunday If County COVID Color Rating Comes Down By Saturday

The Parkersburg Big Red football team needs help from all of Wood County if it is to participate in the 2020 Class AAA playoffs.
Given a second chance to participate in the Class AAA football playoffs thanks to a policy change by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission the Parkersburg Big Reds were not only to be allowed to play but play at home – if Wood County can lower its COVID-19percent of positivity rate to below 5.0. It currently stands at 5.10.
The 6-2 Big Reds finished the regular season ranked eighth in the final ratings but Wood County is currently coded orange in the state COVID color map and must drop to the next lower level, gold, by next Saturday’s 5 p.m. official map.
If that happens the Big Reds will play host to Spring Mills at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Stadium Field. Springs Mills (5-2) finished ninth in the ratings. If the Wood County rating does not come down, PHS will forfeit the game and Spring Mills will advance to the quarterfinals. Berkeley County where Spring Mills is located was orange last week but dropped to gold on Saturday, meaning they can play for sure in the first round.
Spring Mills played the Big Reds last year for the first time in school history and PHS came away a 27-7 winner at Stadium Field. Sam Potts was the standout of that game with four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown. Bryson Singer ran for 119 yards and one score but Spring Mills was missing its star player, leading rusher and passer, Keon Padmore-Johnson, who sat out the season with an injury.
This year Padmore-Johnson is back for his senior campaign and has been lighting up the stat sheets with incredible numbers. The 5-foot-10, 165 pounder has completed 94 of 130 passes for 1,732 yards with 23 touchdowns and just one interception to lead the entire eastern panhandle. He is the third-leading rusher in that area with 907 yards on just 80 carries (11.3 average) and 10 touchdowns.
It will mark the third time this year the Big Reds have played a team averaging over 40 points per game as the Cardinals are putting up 44 points per contest despite losing to Frankfort (21-20) and cross-town rival Martinsburg (82-27). Four times they have scored more than 50 points in wins over Washington (55-42), Hampshire (55-7), Jefferson (52-28) and Hedgesville (56-0) while traveling four hours to beat Ripley 43-14 on Oct. 16 in their last game.
Last year’s Spring Mills quarterback, Chase Henson, is now a 5-10, 195 pound senior running back with 308 yards rushing on 73 carries (4.2 average) with seven touchdowns. Henson has also caught 22 passes for 303 yards and eight scores while Jake McCarren (5-9, 165 sr.) has 29 catches for 518 yards and seven touchdowns. Jameer Hunter has been the big play man for the Cardinals, averaging a whopping 34.9 yards per catch on his 16 receptions, six of which have wound up in the end zone.
Defensively for Spring Mills, Henson is the leading tackler from his linebacker spot with 80 stops while 160 pound sophomore Sam Stotler is second with 48 and Koz Jackson has 46. Bernard Newman leads the team with three interceptions.
Singer will be trying for his second win over the Cardinals. The 6-foot-3 junior has rushed for 1,235 yards (despite losing 151 on sacks) for a 7.8 average per carry and 14 touchdowns. He has also caught an 85 yards scoring pass. He has passed for 687 yards and 13 scores with eight of them going to Carter King, who has caught 18 passes for 280 yards. The Martin twins, Jordan and Julian, have each caught two TD passes.
Xadrian Snodgrass and Justin Waybright are both averaging 4.8 yards per carry and Snodgrass has four rushing touchdowns.
Defensively, Waybright has 13 sacks and six fumble recoveries to go with 45 tackles while fellow end Austin Fleming has five sacks and seven passes batted down to go with an identical 45 stops. Casey Mahoney leads the team with 75 tackles while Zach Howard is second with 56 tackles and Carter Mills has 46 stops and four interceptions. Keenan Curry has 42 tackles and has returned two interceptions for touchdowns.
While two of the last three PHS opponents had both been scoring over 40 points per game, the Big Reds held Bluefield to one long scoring pass and John Marshall to one long scoring pass and a defensive touchdown. Two weeks ago against first-time ever opponent Jefferson, PHS gave up three scores.

A last-minute change in the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission football 2020 playoff policy will enable the Parkersburg Big Red football team to be in the playoff picture regardless of the COVID color of Wood County on Nov. 7.

Basically, the Big Reds are assured a spot in the playoffs but must get their color down from its current orange status to gold or better by Nov. 14 in order to play a game on Nov. 15 at 1:30 p.m. If Wood County is orange on red on Nov. 14 the Big Reds would have to forfeit.

Currently it appears PHS will be seeded eighth in the final Class AAA ratings and that means a home game against the ninth ranked team, which appears to be Spring Mills. The final ratings will be announced Sunday and playoff meetings will be held that day to determine final sites, dates and times.

The WVSSAC has announced that football teams from orange and red counties will be included in the playoff field. The top 16 teams will be entered into the brackets. Previously, it was announced that teams from orange and red counties on the state’s COVID metrics map would be excluded and the brackets would be backfilled with teams starting at No. 17 and so on.

To be clear to play however, counties must enter the green, yellow or gold category before game time. To accommodate teams that may still be in an orange or red county on this week’s Saturday 5 p.m. map release, a Sunday option has been introduced. Sunday games would kickoff at 1:30 p.m. If a team’s home county is still unable to enter a green, yellow or gold category, they will be forfeited and their opponent will receive automatic entry into the next round.

On Friday’s daily COVID map, seven of the top sixteen teams in Class AAA would be ineligible under the previous policy.

Parkersburg High School has added a 17th state football championship – without playing a game.
While it was well know that the 1911 PHS team went undefeated there was no state championship playoff or even a declaration of a state champion with supporting evidence – until now.
Thanks to supporting evidence from Spalding’s 1911 Official Foot Ball Guide (also titled the Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide), the PHS team can now lay claim to the West Virginia State Championship Football Title for that season.
On page 251 of the very detailed and complete book, PHS is declared undisputed state champion for that year. The book was found in the University of Michigan library. The book featured scores and rundowns on virtually every college and high school team in the country as well as All-American and All-Conference teams.
The following is the excerpt from page 251 of the book concerning PHS football.
“Parkersburg (W.Va.) High School – The team annexed the undisputed title of state championship during the season of 1911. The eleven completed its schedule of ten games, defeating every opponent by decisive scores. Only once during the season was Parkersburg’s goal line crossed. The strongest contenders for championship honors from each section of the state were defeated by the high school team, as well as two claimants for the Ohio state championship.”
There is even a Parkersburg team picture on page 276 of the book along with a team picture of the high school team from Sistersville.
The football season of 1911 was the last year that touchdowns counted five points and only three downs were allowed to make 10 yards for a first down. It was the same year Jim Thorpe, Pop Warner and the Carlisle Indians upset mighty Harvard on Thorpe’s three field goals. Considered one of the greatest college football upsets of all time.
Parkersburg was coached by B.B. Cooley and led by legendary Earle “Greasy” Neale, who dropkicked three field goals, 16 extra points and caught seven touchdown passes from quarterback Glenn Allen, who went on to play at West Virginia University.
They beat their Alumni 3-0, then traveled to New Martinsville to win 11-0 despite a hidden ball under the jersey trick by the home team. Then came a 24-0 win over Company A of the National Guard, a 17-0 win over Athens followed by successive victories over arch-rival Marietta by scores of 5-0 and then 6-0. The only points allowed during the entire season came in a 12-8 win over northern panhandle power Wheeling. That was followed by a 9-0 triumph over Charleston, a 6-0 victory over Athens and a 45-0 win over Clarksburg WI.
Other key players in 1911 for PHS, which did not officially become the Big Reds until 1915, were Dutch Lehman, Don Berkenstock, Harold Harvey, Charles Penwell and Raymond “Dutch” Neale (Greasy’s brother).

The home side finished product!

History of Stadium Field

In the spring of 1923 a group of men got together to form a stadium committee whose sole intent was to build a stadium for the newly constructed Parkersburg High School.
Those men included John S. Echols, President of the Board of Education, C.M. Martin, Sherman Dils, J.H. Biddle, C.T. Hitshaw, Herbert Smith, John Randolph, and Paul L. Summers. The committee was incorporated on July 14, 1923 and became known as the Parkersburg High School Corporation. The process of forming a corporation was necessary because the bonded indebtedness of the Board of Education was then at the peak permitted by law. Also serving on this committee was Fayette Smoot, H.L. Martin, Edward Doesch, H.R. Debussey and W.O. Holiday. The corporation leased the back campus from the Board of Education. It was impossible, according to the law of the time, for such a corporation to build any structure on land owned by a board of education. Therefore, the board had to turn over the land known as Stadium Field, on a 99-year lease to this corporation. The bonds were then released. The money for the bonds was to be recovered through football games and other activities held at the stadium.
The stadium was the first of its kind (concrete) in West Virginia and must have been the first of its kind to be built for the use of tax-supported institution without the investment of a single tax dollar.
The plans were to build one side of the stadium in 1923 and to build the other side the following year. The end of the U-shaped stadium was to be completed in the third year. When finally, completed it was to seat about 13,000 people. The end or bowl section of the stadium was never completed according to plans. The total cost of construction for the two sides was $104,000.
In just one day after the meeting in which the stadium plan was revealed, a total of $33,000 worth of bonds was sold.
In September of 1923 the first concrete was poured for the West stands of the stadium and on Oct. 4, 1923, the first game in the new stadium was played between the Big Reds of Parkersburg High School and Athens, Ohio. The Big Reds won by a 14-13 score. Ticket prices were 25 cents for student seating, 15 cents for student standing room. For the general public, the price was season ticket was $5 for seats and $4 for standing room.
In 1925 the stadium was officially dedicated. As part of the dedication, a race from Parkersburg to Marietta was held.
The installation of the stadium lights during the fall of 1940 made it possible for football games to be played at night. Until that time, most games were played on Saturday afternoon. The lights were installed by the Parkersburg Junior Chamber of Commerce at a cost of $7,000.75. The electric bill for the use of the lights was $3.25 per hour or about $10 for each game.
The lights were put in for the dual purpose of protecting the health of the players from the intense heat and to increase attendance. Among other reasons cited for the lighting was so that persons who worked Saturday afternoon could see the Big Reds play and so that the Stadium could be used for the purpose of holding other outdoor events such as political rallies or church events. Businessmen also felt that by playing Friday night games, Saturday afternoon business would be bolstered.
The first night game at PHS Stadium was Sept. 6, 1940 with the Big Reds beating Grantsville 50-0.
During the 1984-85 football season part of the stadium stands were closed for safety reasons. On June 13, 1988 it was recommended that both sides of the stands be closed. On June 14 the Board of Education accepted that recommendation.
During the summer of 1988 temporary bleachers were purchased and put up. Remodeling was done with funding help from C.O. Erickson and began in 1992. It was totally completed in 1994 with structural steel and concrete used to repair the stands.
In 1995 PHS qualified for home playoff games. After beating North Marion in the first round, the Big Reds were scheduled to host Wheeling Park. The Patriots protested the playing conditions at Stadium Field (no grass and nothing but mud) and a state inspection committee upheld the protest – moving the game to Tyler Consolidated High School. PHS won that game 28-7 and got to host the semifinal game after much work was done to repair the turf. But Hedgesville won the game 18-0 and the drive to install artificial turf on Stadium Field began in earnest.
The Stadium Renovation committee had its first planning session on Jan. 4, 1996 with more than two dozen members. In almost no time there were plans for an artificial surface to be added to the football field along with an 8-lane Eurotan track surface, new sidewalks, asphalt parking lot and refurbished concession stands.
On Aug. 30, 1996 the first game was played on AstroTurf Xl surface between Parkersburg South and Wheeling Park. On Sept. 6 the Big Reds played host to Hurricane on the new turf.
The cost of the new surface and renovations came to $1.25 million dollars which included $400,000 worth of in-kind services, $400,000 for advertising signs, $250,000 in donations and five bank loans of $400,000.
New light standards were installed in 1998. In 1999 new locker rooms were built in the Mary Lou Hague Memorial Sports and Arts complex at a cost of $536,390. In 2005 the restoration of the concrete stands was done at a cost of $129,356. In 2006 the turf was replaced at a cost of $295,000 with ProGrass artificial surface. In 2009 a new concession stand and restrooms were built on the home side at a cost of $195,000. The track was resurfaced in 2010 at a cost of $75,000 and in 2012 handrails were installed at a cost of $68,090.

In 2013 the home side bleachers were replaced in time for the second home game of the season. New seats were also installed with backs for the reserved seat section. The visiting bleachers still need to be replaced and contributions are still being taken.

Work was to begin in August, 2018, to replace the turf surface on the Stadium with work completed Aug. 26. The running track was also to be replaced but the surface was not to be finished until the fall of 2019.

[News Archive]