The other shoe finally dropped in West Virginia last weekend. It dropped on the Kennedy Award race, ending it prematurely.
But more devastating was it ended the football season as a whole. No Super Six. No champions. Sure, three teams were awarded football championship trophies, but none were won on the field in the championship game.
One team didn’t even have to play a game last week; rather, be the lone team standing and able to play.
That’s not to fault South Charleston, Fairmont Senior, nor St. Marys. Those teams played under the same rules as every other team in the state. It the case of both Fairmont and St. Marys, they won the final game they were allowed to play. It just happened to take place in the semifinal round.
Kennedy Award voting is underway. Ballots were sent out Friday and must be returned by Thursday. The plan was to give voters one more week to watch some of the state’s best compete. And if not in person, to see statistically what the candidates could do against top competition.
That chance too, has passed.
Of the remaining candidates, only two were able to play a game last week. Those two were Fairmont’s Gage Michael and Bluefield’s Gage Michael. Michael’s Polar Bears prevailed 21-19 in what turned into the AA championship game.
Oak Glen’s Hunter Patterson didn’t get to play against RCB. The Golden Bears’ do-it-all senior was mere yards away from eclipsing both the 1,000-yard mark in receiving and rushing.
Musselman’s Blake Hartman didn’t a chance to break another record. SC sophomore Trey Dunn already set the stage for next season’s candidacy but missed out on another opportunity to add to his growing resume.
No, it was an unfitting end to a season filled with firsts.
Leave it On the Field
Michael gave it his usual performance in his final high school game. The Polar Bears’ QB rushed for 185 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He threw for another touchdown, completing only 2 of 5 passes for 58 yards with a pick.
Fairmont was content to stick to the ground. Deeb, meanwhile, was 11 of 23 for 106 yards and a score as the Beavers too looked to the ground game.
It was fitting these two teams faced off against one another in the postseason. This was the fourth year in a row the two battled in the playoffs and the second in the semifinals.
The two prior seasons, the Beavers and Bears met in the Class AA title game, splitting the two. This season makes the third time in four years these programs decided the AA championship.
New Faces at the Top
Kennedy Award voters are asked to select their top three choices for the award and wants the votes are tabulated, the winner will be selected and the top five announced.
Looking back to last season, when Poca’s Ethan Payne won the award as a junior, he finished just ahead of Parkersburg South QB and DB Brandon Penn. Martinsburg receiver Jarod Bowie was third, with Hartman finishing fourth and Doddridge’s Hunter America fifth.
Only two of the top five returned this season. Hartman emerged early as a frontrunner and nothing slowed down the Applemen’s feature back all season.
Payne looked good in spurts, but the Dots’ battle with the map all season left Poca short on games and Payne short on opportunities to compile anything resembling the ridiculous numbers he posted last season.
Looking Ahead to 2021
It’s never too early to talk about next season’s Kennedy race, including before this season’s winner is announced.
Most of the frontrunners from this race are seniors.
But more than a few of underclassmen have made a name for themselves this season and should be fixtures in next season’s race.
The two that stand apart presently are current Independence junior running back Atticus Goodson and the Black’ Eagles’ Dunn.
Princeton sophomore quarterback Grant Cochran threw for more than 2,300 yards in nine games and 27 touchdowns. Further North, Parkersburg’s resurgence had a lot to do with the dual-threat capabilities of Bryson Singer. Singer didn’t have the gaudy passing numbers that Dunn and Cochran posted, but he did rush for better than 1,200 yards.
Class A always has a dark horse candidate and next season’s may be Ritchie County’s Gus Morrison. Morrison finished with 1,104 yards rushing and 16 TDs to go with 438 yards receiving and 11 scores.
