Wheeling Central’s Kade Koroneos (26) celebrates with teammate Carver Bolon after scoring one of his five touchdowns against Pendleton County last week in a W.Va. Class A state semifinal playoff game. The Maroon Knights play for the state championship Friday against Clay-Battelle in Charleston at 7 p.m.

CHARLESTON — Wheeling Central has been here plenty of times before– but that doesn’t make the moment any less exciting.

The Maroon Knights (9-2) are heading for their 14th state title game appearance Friday at 7 p.m. in their WVSSAC Class A championship against Clay-Battelle (12-1) on Laidley Field in Charleston. Central is looking for their 13th state championship in school history.

“A lot of hype,” Wheeling Central head coach Mike Young said of this week for his team. “A lot of enthusiasm, a lot of energy being expressed on and off the field by our kids, to their families, for our Central community and family of Maroon Knights. It’s a really exciting time for everybody involved.”

While the state championship stage is nothing new to the Wheeling Central program, the Clay-Battelle CeeBees certainly are.

Friday will be the first-ever meeting between the Maroon Knights and the CeeBees, and it will come on the biggest stage in the state.

Clay-Battelle’s offense revolves around junior quarterback Corey Coen, who has accounted for 37 total touchdowns for an offense that has reached 30 points in nine of their 13 games this season. Senior Braden Ponceroff lead the team in touchdown catches with 10 and interceptions with seven.

The CeeBees are enjoying their best season ever as a program, reaching 12 wins for the first time in school history, and approaching their first-ever state title game appearance.

“The first time we’ve played them, they’re definitely senior-oriented,” Young said of Clay-Battelle. “They have a real good coach in [Aaron] LaPoe. He does a great job. They got some athletes, they got some kids that wanna play and they play hard. We’ll be challenged without a doubt, but we’re looking forward to it.

“We’re looking forward to getting up and playing, because with all this, you know, you just want the game to start because of all the excitement.”

Wheeling Central, the top seed in Class A, has ran through the Class A playoffs to this point, defeating Tolsia 51-8, Tucker County 41-8, and pulling away late vs. Pendleton County 43-20.

Senior running back Kade Koroneos has had a sterling season, rushing for 1,320 yards and 26 touchdowns while also coming in as Central’s leading receiver with 27 catches for 440 yards and four scores.

Joey Hall has posted 18 catches for 292 yards and four touchdowns, while Max Olejasz has caught 14 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns.

In command of the Maroon offense, junior quarterback Nico Kusic has been a dual-threat sensation, rushing for 614 yards and five touchdowns while throwing for 1,249 yards and 15 touchdowns against just four picks.

On defense, Trenton McCardle leads the team in tackles with 76. The defensive line senior duo of Troy Mortakis (eight sacks, 58 tackles) and Maddox Stillion (seven sacks, 71 tackles) has given Wheeling Central a bonafide pass rush on the field, a rarity in high school football, while Joey Hall has pulled down five interceptions.

“We’ve been here before,” Young said. “Teams before you have been there. The key is to focus on the 48 minutes that you have to play, and to play hard together. You got to do your job up front. You got to do your job with ball security, you got to catch the ball, throw the ball. Blocking and tackling, those are the keys to the game and you can’t afford any turnovers. On the other side of the ball, you can’t afford to give up the long pass or the explosive plays with the long run. It’s not any different other than the emphasis that’s being put on it, being a State Championship.”

“And that’s huge. To get here is a great thing for Wheeling Central. We’ve been here before and we hope to continue to have a program that causes us to reach the big show and be able to compete.”

The Maroon Knights are shipping out to Charleston on Friday morning. This will be their first state championship appearance since 2019.