W.Va. salutes top Class A players | News, Sports, Jobs

Wahama’s Connor Lambert carries the ball against Cameron during the Class A state football championship game at University of Charleston Stadium at Laidley Field last Friday in Charleston. Wahama won 29-22. (Photo by Chris Dorst/Gazette-Mail)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — 2024 has been a dream season for running back Connor Lambert and the Wahama football team.

Lambert and the White Falcons won just the second state title in school history Friday afternoon by defeating Cameron 29-22 at UC Stadium at Laidley Field in Charleston to cap a perfect 14-year season. 0.

Lambert’s season got even sweeter after the win as he was named offensive captain of the Class A all-state team by the West Virginia Sportswriters Association.

The senior credited last year’s heartbreaking 22-20 loss to Greenbrier West in the Class A quarterfinals for fueling this season not only for him, but for the entire White Falcon team.

“The week after Greenbrier West lost last year, me and a few teammates immediately started going to the gym,” said Lambert.

Lambert was the cog that led to Wahama’s high scoring performance, as the White Falcons averaged 54 points per game.

Lambert led Class A in rushing as the speedy senior ran the ball 150 times for a staggering 2,331 yards and 45 touchdowns. He was a big play machine for the White Falcons averaging 15.5 yards per carry.

“Our offensive line is excellent. Honestly, I feel like they’re the most underrated part of our game.” said Lambert. “The running backs can’t take any credit because the offensive linemen are great.”

Lambert added 16 catches for 330 yards and six scores in the receiving game, while scoring three more touchdowns on interception returns, four on punt returns and one on a kick return, which gave him 59 touchdowns this year.

“I feel like speed and vision are my strength and my ability to cut a dime” said Lambert.

Joining Lambert in the first-team offense is one of the guys up front who helped open up the holes for running back as Wahama’s Alijah Hicks was named offensive lineman.

The first-team offensive quarterback was Tug Valley’s Preston May, who led Class A in passing yards, touchdowns, completions and attempts. The sophomore completed 182 of 300 passes for 2,877 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while adding 350 rushing yards and two more scores.

After the Panthers’ loss to Cameron in the Class A semifinals, Tug Valley coach Hady Ford revealed that May had played the entire season with a broken wrist on his throwing hand, requiring surgery just days after the season ended. .

May’s center, Dakoda Walker, joined him on the first offensive team representing the Panthers.

Tug Valley, which entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed and won a school-record 12 games, was tied with Wahama with five first-team selections, with each team also seeing three players named to the first team defense.

Cameron’s Klypsan Wallace and Meadow Bridge’s Kaiden Sims joined Lambert on the first team at running back.

Wallace was a deadly runner for the runner-up Dragons, who made their first appearance in a state championship game in school history. He finished the season with 244 carries for 1,940 yards and 25 touchdowns.

Sims also had a dominant season for the Wildcats as the junior totaled 2,433 yards and 30 touchdowns on 241 carries.

First-team receivers were Landon Thomas of Doddridge County and Josiah Kimble of Pendleton County. Thomas caught 47 passes for 746 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Bulldogs, while Kimble had 1,032 receiving yards, caught 18 touchdowns and averaged 22 yards per catch.

Sherman’s Trey Lester (877 rushing yards, 10 touchdowns, 507 receiving yards, six touchdowns), Wirt County’s Brody Ewing (1,827 rushing yards, 27 touchdowns) and Valley Wetzel QB Gavin Derby landed a spot in the first team offense as utility players. , who finished with 1,642 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns while passing for 750 yards and 10 additional scores.

Rounding out the first team as offensive linemen: Jackson Johnson of Sherman, Trevor Jones of Wirt County and Garrett Bordenkircher of Tyler Consolidated. East Hardy’s Levi Place was named first-team kicker after making 4 of 8 field goals with a long of 43 yards.

Like Lambert, and typical of Class A football, many of Class A’s top stars are two-way players.

Tucker County senior Jared Reall was named captain of the first-team defense at linebacker after a year in which he dominated on both sides of the ball for the Mountain Lions. He rushed for 2,068 yards and 29 touchdowns while also leading Tucker County with over 140 tackles.

Reall’s teammate Garrett Wolfong joined him on defense as a utility selection as he made over 80 tackles and picked off five passes while catching 10 touchdowns and compiling over 740 receiving yards.

Wahama had three selections on the defensive side as defensive lineman Seth Ohlinger (64 tackles, 6 sacks) and linebackers Ben Withrow (105 tackles) and Reezin Stitt (125 tackles) were chosen to represent the NFL champions. State.

Tug Valley also saw three players named in the first team defense. Bryson Elia (1,478 rushing yards, 20 TDs, 379 receiving yards, six TDs, six INTs) was named first-team defensive back for the second straight year. Brothers Adam Slone (113 tackles, 16 TFLs, three sacks) and Cameron Slone (73 receptions, 1,325 yards, 14 TDs, five INTs) were named linebacker and utility selection, respectively.

The first team as defensive linemen is rounded out by Cameron freshman Talan Brown (101 tackles, 19 TFL) and Clay-Battelle’s Kooper Statler, while Doddridge County’s Brycen Eidel (135 tackles) was named linebacker.

Cameron Scott of Cameron and Porter Goodwin of Wirt County landed spots at defensive backs. Scott led the Dragons with five interceptions and was their leading receiver with 12 touchdowns and 503 receiving yards, while Goodwin had 16 touchdowns with 1,059 receiving yards and three interceptions for the Tigers.

The first team was rounded out by utility selection Brandon Poticher of Greenbrier West (83 tackles, six TFLs, six blocked kicks) and Ritchie County punter Braiden Haught, who averaged 40 yards per kick with a season of 59 yards and 27 kicks inside the 20. .

The second-team captains are Doddridge County quarterback Brysen Dixon on offense and Tug Valley sophomore linebacker Cane Thompson on defense.

Dixon threw for 1,810 yards and 21 touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs, while Thompson led the Panthers defense with 122 tackles, 11 TFLs, four sacks and three interceptions.

West Virginia shaped wooden plaques that include player name, school, WVSWA licensed logo, year of honoree are available for first team all-state, second team and honorable mentions and can be purchased from Bear Wood Company through WVSWA. .com or Bearwoodcompany.com.