ÌÇÐÄVlog

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: WVU’s missed chances

November 26, 2018

For the average college football fan it may have been the most entertaining game of the year. Two of the best quarterbacks in America. Points galore. Excitement to the finish. But for Mountaineer fans it was a roller coaster of emotions, from euphoria to dread and back and forth again several times. And as we have become far too accustomed, the roller coaster crashed at the bottom. It was a fun ride for some, but not so much for us. If you are reading this column you most likely watched the game, and to review all the ebbs and flows and the stats would take more space than we have ...

ALBRIGHT: Crusaderette, ’Jacket girls ranked in my pre-season Class A AP poll

November 24, 2018

Perhaps no team possessed a better nickname suited for Class A dragon-slaying last season as Wheeling Central. Penn Kurtz’ Maroon Knights toppled a fire-breathing Huntington St. Joe squad, conquerors of eventual Class AAA champion Parkersburg High and Class AA runner-up Wyoming East (twice) ...

ALBRIGHT: Big Red girls’ top my AP preseason Class AAA poll

November 22, 2018

One of the best sports times of the year is right around the corner! Basketball begins within the borders of the Mountain State in the final week of November. The start of the hardwood sport brings my attention to girls' basketball as I vote on the all-state committee. A duty taken seriously as my fellow writers and I attempt insertion of the best players on the three teams deep in the bowels of the Civic Center in early March. I spend a lot of late nights reading stories from around the state to make sure my all-state ballot reads complete as possible before the beginning of the ...

ALBRIGHT: Big Reds made the correct gridiron hire with Mike Byus

November 20, 2018

Mike Byus brought a winning pedigree with him two years ago to a Parkersburg High School football program stuck in a rut. One of the winningest head coaches during his time at East Lincoln High School (including two state titles and a 28-game winning streak) in North Carolina, Byus was used to success. Winning ways weren’t the Big Reds’ normal in the few years before his arrival. PHS struggled to qualify for the playoffs after back-to-back state titles in 2006 and ’07 and when they did they suffered quick exits in ’10, ’11 and ’14. Two of those three games were decided by ...

Kicking the ball

November 18, 2018

I could go into a long diatribe about the importance of field goals, especially concerning West Virginia University’s loss Saturday night at Oklahoma State where head coach Dana Holgorsen opted to not take the three points in the first half and got stuffed on fourth down, but I won’t even bother. Instead, I’d rather focus on what transpired Friday night in Princeton where the Williamstown football team ended Mount View’s season, 23-12, in the Class A state quarterfinals. It truly continues to amaze me, the longer I work here in the sports department, how many teams — ...

ALBRIGHT: Book it! South girls’ hoops headed back to Charleston

November 14, 2018

Parkersburg South girls’ basketball fell short of the ultimate goal of all Patriot teams this century— a state championship — by two wins last season. The bar established during Scott Stephens’ tenure (three state titles) remains unmoved since his departure. Third-year head coach Ed ...