Wheeling Central Set To Take on Poca on Saturday
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WHEELING -- Wheeling Central has been on top of the West Virginia Class A football world for the past three seasons. After winning the state title for three consecutive years, the Maroon Knights come into the 2020 seasons with some big shoes to fill including Curtis McGhee, Adam Murray and Jalen Creighton.
The road to a four-peat will start off with a difficult task as Poca travels to the friendly city. The Dots, advanced to the Class AA quarterfinals a season ago and reigning Kennedy Award winner Ethan Payne returns to the backfield.
The Dots' season came to an end with a 25-20 loss to Oak Glen.
"We got our work cut out for us," Wheeling Central coach Mike Young said. "This is a very good Poca team. They got the Kennedy Award winner coming into town and we have to find a way to stop him. It should be a great high school football game. They're a power in (Class) AA and a contender for sure for the playoffs and possibly a state championship. It's going to be a heckuva game."
Virtually, no team was able to contain Payne last season. He finished his junior campaign with 2,845 rushing yards and 49 touchdowns. His 276 points during the regular season broke the state record previous held by Pineville's Curt Warner, which he set in 1978.
He finished the season with 52 total touchdowns.
On defense for the Dots, there will be another Payne, ready to roll after a successful 2019 outing.
Ethan's younger brother, Toby Payne will return at defensive back. He finished his sophomore season with 91 tackles and seven interceptions and was named first team all-state.
"We got to tackle and react to their tendencies that they've shown us from last year's films," Young said on stopping Payne. "Neither one of us had a scrimmage to be able to see a whole lot."
Although, the Maroon Knights will have significant new look on offense, they do return Jordan Waterhouse. A senior now, Waterhouse rushed for 655 yards on 91 attempts during the regular season and found the end zone seven times.
Up front, the Knights will also replace three starters in Michael Horan, Kyle Brown and Hayden Manns. However, Spencer Helms and Andrew Burkle return up front.
"We definitely have to try and control the ball and keep it away from them and make use of every possession we have," Young said. "We have to get to the ball, be aggressive, gang tackle and show a lot of intensity on both sides of the ball.
"We're anxious to play some football and that's what we've been work for since last year. I'm excited for our kids and our program."