Week Five Standout Performers: Class A

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week five has come and gone and there were plenty of standout performers in the second week of the WV high school football season. Here are 9 athletes that stood out during week five of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370424' first='Joey' last='Baker'] - Paden City '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paden City's [player_tooltip player_id='370424' first='Joey' last='Baker'] had another incredible game in their 49-7 beatdown of Belpre (OH). The senior running back had 258 rushing yards and three touchdowns in the game on just 16 carries. That's an average of 16.1 yards per carry and Baker now has 617 yards rushing in four games while averaging an unheard of 14 yards per carry on the year. Baker also had one catch for 45 yards and was all over the field on defense too with 14 total tackles and two TFLs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370426' first='Sean' last='Winfrey'] - Tyler Consolidated '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='370426' first='Sean' last='Winfrey'] is having a senior season that you often only see in video games. Winfrey is a regular in our weekly standouts and had yet another monster game in a big 34-30 win over Wirt County. The senior had 292 rushing yards and three touchdowns willing the Silver Knights to an important victory. Winfrey also added 6.5 tackles on defense and is currently the leading rusher in Class A through the first five weeks of the season with 796 yards. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='867726' first='Brysen' last='Dixon'] - Doddridge County '26 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Doddridge County sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='867726' first='Brysen' last='Dixon'] is coming into his own in his first year starting on varsity and had a very nice game in a 39-0 shutout win over Ritchie County. Dixon was a very efficient 7 of 9 for 187 yards and three touchdowns and averaged 26.7 yards per completion. After a shaky first two games of the season against two undefeated foes, Dixon has put three weeks in a row of quality play and the youngster has now completed 46 of 71 passes for 720 yards and seven touchdowns in the first five games of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154698' first='Robert' last='Evans'] - Tolsia '27 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Freshman Tolsia quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1154698' first='Robert' last='Evans'] had another big game and makes his second appearance in our Class A weekly standouts. The 2027 prospect scored four total touchdowns in the Rebels' 36-0 shutout victory over Phelps (KY). Evans threw for 107 yards and had three passing touchdowns while adding another score with his legs to bring his total to four on the night. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1104858' first='Parker' last='Watts'] - Tolsia '25 WR</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025 Tolsia wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1104858' first='Parker' last='Watts'] was [player_tooltip player_id='1154698' first='Robert' last='Evans']' favorite target in their win over Phelps (KY). Watts snagged three passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in the game. The 6'2 160 receiver is also a standout basketball player and makes his football debut this season for the Rebels. He picked up a basketball offer from Kentucky Christian two weeks ago showing just how much athleticism the junior has.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1229726' first='Maverick' last='Gum'] - Clay-Battelle '25 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another new name to our Class A weekly standouts is junior Clay-Battelle running back [player_tooltip player_id='1229726' first='Maverick' last='Gum']. Gum rushed for 107 yards and three touchdowns in a 40-7 win over Tygarts Valley, the first win of the season for the Cee Bees. All three scores for Gum occurred in the first half as Clay-Battelle jumped out to a 34-0 lead at halftime and his services weren't as needed in the second half. Gum got the scoring started with a 7-yard run in the first quarter and added two more short TD runs of 3 yards to give him his total of three on the night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='894275' first='Cooper' last='Ridgeway'] - James Monroe '24 RB/LB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>James Monroe running back [player_tooltip player_id='894275' first='Cooper' last='Ridgeway'] had another great game in a 21-6 win over previously unbeaten Narrows (VA). Ridgeway was the Mavericks' bell cow this game carrying the ball 24 times for 165 yards and a 40-yard touchdown run. Ridgeway and the James Monroe Mavericks are now 4-0 at the halfway point of the season and appear to be on their way to another state championship game appearance. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='907235' first='Braden' last='McWreath'] - Wheeling Central '25 ATH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're a broken record at this point but Wheeling Central Catholic junior RB/WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='907235' first='Braden' last='McWreath'] was at it again in a tough loss against a talented Obama Academy (PA) team. The Maroon Knights are having a tough season for their standards with a very young team but McWreath has been as bright of a spot as you can have. Thankfully for his coaches, he still has one more year to go as they will be another year older and better next season. McWreath had 159 yards rushing on 20 carries including a 62-yard gallop for a touchdown. He had 182 total yards and five total tackles in a 36-17 loss. Watch out for McWreath and the Maroon Knights come playoff time after a very battle-tested regular season schedule. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1092726' first='Jared' last='Reall'] - Tucker County '25 RB/LB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tucker County junior running back and linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1092726' first='Jared' last='Reall'] had a phenomenal night on defense against previously unbeaten Eastern (OH) as the Mountain Lions reached the 5-0 mark after a 28-22 overtime victory. Reall made an impact on offense too carrying the ball 14 times for 67 yards and a touchdown averaging 4.8 yards per carry but it was on defense where he went crazy. The junior totaled 19 tackles in the contest with 12 of them being solos and two going for a loss. Reall is currently in the Top 10 for tackles in the state and is still just a junior.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->