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Martinsburg’s Harman Wins Carl Lee Trophy

MARTINSBURG — Grant Harman has been known for his defense on the football field.

A two-time all-state player at free safety — the quarterback of the defense — for what seemed like eternity for perpetual state champion Martinsburg, Harman added “actual quarteback” to his resume for the Bulldogs as a senior.

It all worked out quite well for Harman and the Bulldogs. Harman passed and ran for touchdowns on offense and tackled and intercepted passes on defense.

With Harman leading the way, Martinsburg posted a third straight undefeated season for the first time in state history, produced a run to a state-record 42-game winning streak and won its third Class AAA state championship in a row.

Harman accounted for 2,363 yards combined between passing and running on offense and was his team’s most valuable player in the state championship game, largely for his offensive output.

However, it was his seven interceptions and reputation in the secondary that helped him land atop the voting for the Carl Lee Trophy as the defensive back of the year, as given by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Either way, Harman succeeded. Harman was named to the Class AAA first-team all-state team for a third straight year and was honored as a co-captain on defense with teammate R.J. Barrett, a linebacker.

“I think Grant’s the best player in the state,” Martinsburg coach David Walker said, who became the state’s winningest coach during the Bulldogs’ postseason run.

“Grant is a great player and very deserving of the accolades he gets. He works hard and has done a great job for us throughout his high school career.”

In the state championship game, a third straight finals victory by Martinsburg over Spring Valley, Harman threw for one touchdown and ran for two, hitting 123 yards as a rusher and delivering 71 passing yards. He added eight tackles to lead the Bulldogs in their 31-7 victory.

It all added up to a most valuable player award in the championship game for Harman.

Harman and his defensive teammates had to be on their toes in the first quarter of the championship game as Spring Valley possessed the ball deep in Martinsburg territory on each of its three possessions.

The Timberwolves didn’t score, however.

“It just shows how dominant we were on defense,” Harman said. “We showed them that they could be all over the field, but we’re going to stop them. We dared them to run the football, and we stopped them.”

Martinsburg limited Spring Valley to 3.3 yards per play in the championship game.

“His consistency (is his biggest attribute),” Walker said. “He’s very dependable. You know what you are going to get from him. He’s a student of the game, he watches film, he’s very coachable. He’s a team-first kind of guy. There’s not a selfish bone in him when it comes to team. You can’t say enough good things about him.

“In the ‘me’ society, where everything is ‘me, me, me,’ he’s a throwback to the purest way the game was played. He’s a breath of fresh air for a coach.”

Harman truly is a throwback, a three-sport athlete who claims his favorite is the particular one he’s playing at the moment.

He also plays basketball on a Martinsburg squad that finished as the state runner-up last season and baseball on a Bulldogs team, at shortstop, that pushed state champion Hurricane into extra innings of their semifinal clash.

He stands out in three sports.

“He gives 100 percent in all of them,” Walker said. “I wouldn’t say he’s better at one. He’s a really good basketball player and a really good baseball player as well. He’s been fortunate in football, where he’s been pretty good, too.

“You don’t see many three-sport guys anymore. Guys who are specializing these days should look at Grant and say, ‘I might be better if I played more than one sport.'”

Anthony Robbins of Class A state champion Wheeling Central finished as the runner-up for the award, and Brenton Strange of Parkersburg was third.

Harman said he won’t decide his college future until after his baseball season ends. A 4.5 student, Harman has said he could forgo sports all together to concentrate on academics.

“As far as I’m concerned, his future is bright, and he can be what he wants to be,” Walker said.

Harman will be honored during sports writers group’s 73rd annual Victory Awards Dinner May 5 at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.

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