It’s never too early to talk West Virginia high school football.
Given it’s mid-August, it’s actual a late start by normal standards. But given the delayed start thanks yo the coronavirus, there’s no time like the present.
And what would a discussion of W.Va. football be without talking about the Kennedy Award? Everyone loves pontificating on who they think will win the state’s top individual honor.
This year, picking the “favorite” is easy as the 2019 winner is back.
Poca running back Ethan Payne put up ridiculous numbers during his junior campaign.
Payne rushed for 2,845 yards and 49 touchdowns, averaging 13 yards per carry and 237 per game.
In the regular season alone, Payne scored 46 touchdowns and 276 points.
His efforts failed to go unnoticed as he made his verbal commitment to join the Thundering Herd at Marshall amongst a number of offers.
Not penciling in the 6-2, 205-pound bruiser would be foolish.
Payne would not be the first player to repeat as the Kennedy winner should he post similar numbers. The last to do it was George Washington graduate and current Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Switzer during the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
In fact, five other players have repeated their senior seasons: Martinsburg’s Brandon Barrett (2002-2003), Magnolia’s Mark Cisar (1992-1993), South Charleston’s Robert Alexander (1975-1976) and Dupont’s Danny Williams (1972-1973).
J.R. House was a multiple winner, both solo in 1996 and again in 1998, sharing it with Weir’s Quincy Wilson. House is also the only sophomore to ever win the award.
Another factor working in Payne’s favor is his victory in 2019 marked the fourth-consecutive year a Class AA player captured the award. No longer does AAA have a stranglehold on the honor.
But who else has a legitimate shot?
Returning Vote Getters
Blake Hartman, Musselman
Musselman’s multi-faceted back led the Applemen to an 8-4 final record and a No. 5 ranking in the Class AAA playoffs.
Hartman rushed for 2,109 yards and 29 touchdowns while displaying his versatility with 506 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 27 receptions. He even threw a pair of TD passes and added seven sacks on defense to go with 79 tackles.
An injury kept Hartman out of the Applemen’s quarterfinal round loss to Kennedy Award runner-up Brandon Penn and Parkersburg South.
Gage Michael, Fairmont Senior
This Polar Bears’ dual-threat quarterback threw for 2,162 yards and 25 touchdowns as a junior. Michael also ran for 1,381 yards and 21 touchdowns.
That was quite an answer to the preseason question of “How will Fairmont Sr. replace Kennedy Award winning quarterback Connor Neal.”
Michael led the Polar Bears to an undefeated regular season and a No. 1 ranking before falling to Class AA runner-up Bluefield in the semifinal round. In that game, an injured Michael played through the pain to throw for 225 and run for 173 in a 40-24 loss.
Hunter Patterson, Oak Glen
Neither Oak Glen nor Hunter Patterson will catch anyone by surprise this season. The Golden Bears finished 10-0 first the first time in school history last season and upset Poca in the quarterfinal before running into the methodical buzz saw that is Bridgeport Indians football in the semifinals.
Graduation dealt the Bears a few key losses, but many of both their skill players and interior starters return. Perhaps most important is Patterson.
On a team with a number of weapons, he was the deadliest. As a junior, he rushed for 1,239 yards and 16 touchdowns while catching 829 yards worth of passes with nine touchdowns on 45 receptions. He averaged 10.4 yards per carry and nearly 19 per reception.
Other Potentials
There’s a good chance the 2020 Kennedy Winner comes from the Class AA ranks, aside from the fact Payne returns.
A lot of the top returning offensive players in the state reside in the middle classification. Many of Class AAA’s top offensive talent departed with their diplomas this summer.
But the state’s top classification isn’t without its hopefuls, in addition to Harman.
Class AAA
Jacob Caudil, Cabell Midland (5-10, 205)
Picture Payne, but knock off a couple inches of height, packing the 205 pounds of running power into a slightly more compact frame.
That’s what Cabell Midland has in Caudil, a first-team all-state selection as a junior after helping the Knights to the state championship game before falling to Martinsburg.
Caudil ran for 1,933 yards and 15 touchdowns, averaging 7.3 yards per carry.
Naieem Kearney and Kevon Warren, Martinsburg
Martinsburg’s yearly offensive embarrassment of riches is no more evident than in the backfield tandem of Kearney and Warren.
Both rushed for 1,000-plus yards as juniors as the Bulldogs locked up their fourth-straight championship in impressive fashion.
Should either be the featured back at another school, or even in the MHS backfield, there’s no telling how many yards they might compile.
But the two are teammates and friends and have no problems sharing the load, and the spotlight, in pursuit of that fifth championship. That being said, either will be hard pressed to compile the types of numbers others in the list will produce by season’s end.
Given the number of fresh faces toting, throwing, or catching the leather this fall in AAA, this list is sure to expand.
Class AA
A number of AA players have already been listed, but there are still others who distinguished themselves in 2019 and could make a run for Kennedy glory.
Caleb Bower, Wyoming East
Bower ran for 2,034 yards and 26 touchdowns, averaging 184.9 yards per game and 8.3 per carry in helping the Warriors to an 8-2 regular season mark.
Wyoming East fell victim to Oak Glen in the first round of the playoffs, but that didn’t stop Bower from joining Payne and Bluefield’s J.J. Davis in the all-state offensive backfield as a first-teamer.
Daylin Goad, Mingo Central
Miners’ quarterback was a veritable stat machine down in Mingo County. He threw for more than 3000 yards and 30 touchdowns while nearly eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark on the ground with an additional 21 touchdowns.
Mingo beefed up its schedule for this season, adding a number of playoff participants including perennial AA favorite Bluefield. If Goad puts up similar figures against that gauntlet of a schedule, it’ll be hard not to see his name rocket atop the list.
Carson Deeb, Bluefield
Speakers of the Beavers, quarterback Carson Deeb quietly turned in an impressive debut as the team’s starting quarterback while Davis got most of the press at running back.
Deeb won a competitive three-way battle for the starting job and responded by throwing for 2,835 yards and 32 touchdowns against just seven interceptions.
He displayed the ability to make the right decision at the right time and rarely made a mistake. Davis’ departure could see more emphasis on the passing game and perhaps the first Beavers’ QB to win the award since Will Cole in 2008.
Atticus Goodson, Independence
One of the more highly touted baseball prospects in the state, Goodson is no slouch on the football field.
He returned to the gridiron after not playing for a few years and quickly shook off any rust. Goodson ran for 1,767 yards and 19 touchdowns as a sophomore while adding 342 yards and three touchdowns receiving.
It’s his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield that has turned the most heads. History is not on Goodson’s side, however.
While a number of juniors have won the Kennedy Award, a junior has never been named the winner two years in a row.
Jeremiah King, Robert C. Byrd
The other junior on this list, King rushed for 2,032 yards and 23 touchdowns as a sophomore whilst averaging 10.1 yards per carry for Robert C. Byrd.
If King wants to steadily climb the Kennedy ladder, he’ll need to get his team to the postseason as an absence from the playoffs will hurt his chances.
Class A
Noah Brown, Greenbrier West
We come to the initial dark horse for the race, named so as its exceedingly rare that a Class A player is talked about for the Kennedy, let alone wins it.
In fact, you have to go back to Sistersville’s Jeff Swisher in 1986 to find a Single-A player winning the award. Doddridge County’s Hunter America turned in a season for the ages last season in helping DC reach the Super Six. And he finished a distant fifth in the final race.
Still, Brown’s 6-3, 220-pound punishing frame and junior-year numbers are hard to ignore. He helped the Cavaliers to the quarterfinal round with 2,154 yards and 28 touchdowns rushing, averaging 7.5 yards per carry.
That’s a good as jumping off point as any. Names will rise and fall as statistics compile and the unexpected happens.
We’ll revisit this list after Week 3 and see who stands where and what potential new names could be added.
