WHEELING – Half-a-dozen high school football teams from across the Mountain State will try to earn the Wheeling Feeling this weekend as the W.Va. Super Six championships are held at Wheeling Island Stadium. This is the 30th year that the Friendly City has hosted the annual event.

Unfortunately, there will not be any local teams involved for the third consecutive season. Wheeling Central was the last Ohio Valley team in the state finals. The Maroon Knights were the last as they won the last of their dozen Class A crowns in 2019.

“You always hope a local team qualifies, but it hasn’t happened in a few years,” Super Six committee member Chris Daugherty, who is also Wheeling Park’s head football coach and director of athletics, said. “We’ve had our years, though. We’ve had a good representation over the first 29 years here.”

He is right. During the Super Six’s time in Ohio County, a half-a-dozen Ohio Valley schools have claimed state titles on the local artificial surface. They include John Marshall (once), Madonna (twice), Magnolia (twice), Weir (twice), Wheeling Central (12 times) and Wheeling Park (once).

Despite no local favorites, Daugherty still thinks the crowds will be huge, especially Friday night when No. 1 North Marion (12-1) and No. 2 Fairmont Senior (10-2) meet for the Class AA title at 7. The Huskies have three state titles (1980, 1981, 1997). The Polar Bears have eight state crowns (1903, 1907, 1924, 1929, 1946, 2018 and 2021). They were also declared co-champs in the COVID year of 2020, along with Oak Glen.

North Marion defeated Fairmont Senior in 1981 in Charleston, 21-6. This is the first time since 2004 that two schools from the same county will play for a state title, the last being in 2014 when Capital beat South Charleston, 55-15.

“The Ohio Valley has a lot of football-hungry fans. There will be a large number of fans that have no dog in the fight come to watch,” Daugherty added. “They can travel 15-45 minutes to see two teams compete for a state championship.

“I expect a really big crowd for Friday night’s game,” he continued. “Those two schools are rivals inside the same county. It only takes a couple of hours to get here. I expect that county (Marion) to close up Friday night.”

On Saturday, No. 3 Martinsburg (12-0) will seek its 10th title in 15 years when the Bulldogs make their 14th trip to Wheeling Island. They will line up against No. 5 Princeton (12-1) in a noon kickoff.

Highly successful Martinsburg head coach Dave Walker returned to the Bulldogs’ sidelines this season after a three-year stay at Concord University. He has won eight state titles in 10 years. Britt Sherman led the Bulldogs to the 2021 crown. Ironically, when Walker coached at Concord, which is located in Athens, he resided in Princeton.

Walker is one of four first-year coaches among the six schools. The others are Princeton’s Keith Taylor; Williamstown’s Chris Beck and Greenbrier West’s Kelly Vaughan.

Martinsburg is led by running back Koi Fagan who has rushed for 935 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. The quarterback is Murphy Clement who has thrown 17 TD passes and ran for another 16 touchdowns.

The Tigers are making their initial voyage to the Super Six after a wild, 73-70, decision over perennial state power Bridgeport in the semifinals. They led 73-50 before the Indians made it close.

In that contest, Princeton quarterback Chance Barker threw for 457 yards and an eye-popping eight TD passes, with wideout Dom Collins grabbing nine aerials for a whopping 330 yards and four scores. Bradley Mosser, who has been timed at 4.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash by WVU officials, caught four passes for 91 yards and two TDs. Marquel Lowe amassed 175 yards of offense and reached the end zone three times. Hezekiah Burnette returned a fumble 98 yards for another score.

Barker has thrown 46 touchdown passes with only two picks. Collins has caught 77 passes for 1,735 yards and 25 touchdowns. Mosser has landed 46 receptions and six TDs. Lowe has 22 rushing six-pointers. Offensive lineman Eli Campbell is an Air Force recruit.

In the nightcap Saturday, No.3 Williamstown (13-0) and No. 4 Greenbrier West (13-0) will battle in a 7 o’clock kickoff. The Yellowjackets have a trio of state titles on their resume, including last season when they took down James Monroe. They fell in the 2021 finale to Ritchie County. The Cavaliers have never won a state title on the gridiron, but, ironically, have lost in the Class AA title tilt (1991 to Spencer) and in the Class A championship game (2013 to Madonna).

Williamstown is led by senior quarterback Maxwell Molessa who has rushed for 1,642 yards and 30 touchdowns on 151 carries this season, while also passing for 1,165 on 75-of-110. He has tossed 21 TDs and only two INTs.

Junior tailback Lynken Joy has collected 1,295 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on 169 carries. Louis Goodnow has caught 14 TD passes and picked off half-a-dozen passes.

The Yellowjackets have made nine Super Six appearances in Wheeling, losing to Wheeling Central in 2005-2007, 2011 and 2018. They also fell in 2003 to Moorefield. Their state titles have come in 2008 (over Madonna), 2014 (over St. Marys in 3 OTs) and in 2022 (over James Monroe).

Greenbrier West is nursing some injuries to key players, including quarterback Cole Vandall who was hurt during the semifinal win over the Mavericks. Backup Ethan Holliday stepped in and ran for 109 yards and three scores on 17 carries. Junior Isaac Agee had four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown in the semifinals. Starting tailback Tucker Lilly missed the semi and his status is questionable again this week.

The Cavaliers have posted six shutouts and allowed just 27 points in their three playoff games.

Once the final buzzer has sounded, plans will get underway for the 2024 event. However, Wheeling will have to re-bid to serve as host as the contract will have expired. Daugherty said the Wheeling group expects a group from the Bluefield area to submit a bid, and possibly Morgantown and WVU combining for a bid, and, maybe, even a group from the Huntington area.