Week Eleven Standout Performers: Class AA

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Week eleven has come and gone and there were plenty of standout performers in the second week of the WV high school football season. Here are 17 athletes that stood out during week eleven of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1316693' first='Coltin' last='Lester'] - Westside '25</strong> <strong>RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Westside junior running back makes his debut in our weekly standouts in the final game of the regular season as the Renegades took down Sissonville 49-25. Lester had a big night running the ball and had by far his best game of the season saving his best for last. Lester carried the ball 21 times for 157 yards and four touchdowns as Westside finishes the 2023 season at 5-5. He added a fifth touchdown in the receiving game and totaled 3 catches for 32 yards and a touchdown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='938593' first='K-Juan' last='Pearson'] - Winfield '25</strong> <strong>RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior running back [player_tooltip player_id='938593' first='K-Juan' last='Pearson'] has had a nice junior season for the Winfield Generals and had another big performance in their 35-24 win over Point Pleasant. Pearson tallied 175 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the night after scoring three times the game before. He's now made several of our weekly standouts this season and is a name to watch in the Class AA playoffs beginning this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370479' first='Dane' last='Hatfield'] - Herbert Hoover '25 QB/ATH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Herbert Hoover junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='370479' first='Dane' last='Hatfield'] finished the regular season strong for the Huskies and had another one of his dominant performances as he's done all year. Hatfield scored five rushing touchdowns in the game with 144 rushing yards in a 70-20 win over Logan. Hatfield and the Huskies earned the #9 seed in the playoffs and could be a sleeper pick in Class AA this year. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370356' first='Casey' last='Minor'] - North Marion '24 QB/ATH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='370356' first='Casey' last='Minor'] led the Huskies to the #1 seed in the Class AA playoffs and secured the top spot after a 62-20 win over Liberty-Harrison. Minor capped off a tremendous regular season with a five-touchdown performance. He was big in both the passing and running game as he has been all season. Minor completed 10 of 16 passes for 259 yards and three touchdowns and added two more touchdowns and 77 yards rushing on the ground. Minor and the Huskies will be looking to win their first state championship since 1997 as the top seed. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='877169' first='Brock' last='Martin'] - North Marion '25 WR/DB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='370356' first='Casey' last='Minor']'s favorite target in North Marion's win over Liberty-Harrison was junior receiver [player_tooltip player_id='877169' first='Brock' last='Martin'] who has had a very nice junior season for the Huskies. Martin caught 5 passes for 138 yards and a touchdown in the game along with 5 tackles, 3 pass breakups, and an interception. He's up to 39 catches for 846 yards and 9 touchdowns at the end of the regular season as North Marion looks to go on a run in the playoffs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='450993' first='Brody' last='Whitehair'] - Fairmont Senior '25 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior Fairmont Senior quarterback capped off the regular season with an impressive performance against rival East Fairmont in the East-West game. Whitehair completed 12 of 20 passes for 196 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He also rushed for 69 yards on 8 carries and a fourth touchdown. Whitehair showed off his athleticism on defense as well picking off a pass for a complete performance. He and the Polar Bears earned the #2 seed in the Class AA playoffs and will host Wayne in the first round.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='866502' first='Tyrique' last='Powell'] - Frankfort '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='866502' first='Tyrique' last='Powell'] saved one of his best performances of the season in Frankfort's rivalry matchup with Keyser in the regular season finale. Powell carried the ball 23 times for 189 yards and three touchdowns in the 35-21 win in the Mineral Bowl. This win secured the Falcons a trip to the playoffs and the #12 seed as they'll get to rematch the Weir Red Riders in the first round with revenge on their minds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='934392' first='Drew' last='Cayton'] - Lewis County '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior running back [player_tooltip player_id='934392' first='Drew' last='Cayton'] had a brief but efficient night for the Lewis County Minutemen in their 49-14 win over Grafton. Cayton had just 6 carries but they averaged 18.5 yards per carry for 111 yards in total and two touchdowns. Cayton also grabbed one pass for 44 yards and finished the game with 155 all-purpose yards. He now has 582 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns at the end of the regular season as Lewis County makes the playoffs as the #11 seed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='832676' first='Noah' last='Collins'] - Clay County '25 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although the Clay County Panthers narrowly missed the playoffs at 8-2, junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='832676' first='Noah' last='Collins'] continued his fantastic junior season with a cherry on top. He completed 26 of 35 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns with a 74% completion percentage in a 56-36 win over Braxton County. Collins finishes his junior year with an astounding 3,130 passing yards and 43 touchdowns along with 503 rushing yards and 4 more touchdowns. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='370425' first='BJ' last='Williams'] - Clay County '24 ATH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The [player_tooltip player_id='832676' first='Noah' last='Collins'] to [player_tooltip player_id='370425' first='BJ' last='Williams'] connection unfortunately had to come to an end as Clay County missed the playoffs but the dynamic duo went out with a bang. Williams hauled in 13 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns while adding a fumble recovery on defense. Williams finished his senior year with 78 catches for 1,053 yards and 17 touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='946682' first='Jaxson' last='Morriston'] - Nicholas County '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='946682' first='Jaxson' last='Morriston'] had a nice end to the season for Nicholas County in their 42-0 shutout of PikeView. The senior running back carried the ball 16 times for 127 yards and three touchdowns. He added 7 tackles on defense and finished his senior season with 667 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns along with 129 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Morriston also added 76 tackles on defense from his safety position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='907153' first='Kadien' last='Vance'] - Westside '25 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Westside Renegades' season came to an end this past Friday after finishing the year at 5-5 but junior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='907153' first='Kadien' last='Vance'] went out with a bang. Vance threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns while adding 111 rushing yards and a 68-yard pick-six in a 49-25 win over Sissonville. He broke his head coach's records for single-season passing yards with 1,703 and single-season passing touchdowns with 23 on the year and one more season to go.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bryson Redmond - Bluefield '24 QB/ATH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bluefield quarterback Bryson Redmond nearly willed his team to a victory over the #1-seeded team in Class A James Monroe. The senior stepped into the QB1 role at the midway point and had a big night in his final high school football game. Redmond threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns in the 35-32 loss to James Monroe and the Beavers' season has come to an end after missing the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='933118' first='Nate' last='Hulver'] - Philip Barbour '24 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The welcomed addition of Tygarts Valley transfer [player_tooltip player_id='933118' first='Nate' last='Hulver'] has been a huge plus for Philip Barbour this season. Hulver eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark for the second time this season as the Colts took down Class AAA Preston 46-20. The senior running back carried the ball 24 times for 213 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Hulver added 15 total tackles on defense from his linebacker spot where he now has 104 on the year before heading to the playoffs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='865701' first='Josh' last='Moody'] - Nitro '25 QB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior Nitro quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='865701' first='Josh' last='Moody'] has finally done it. He broke former Nitro quarterback J.R. House's state record for passing touchdowns in a regular season with 49 touchdown passes. Moody and the Wildcats got a monumentally big win over former #1 and previously undefeated Scott in the regular season finale which catapulted Nitro into the playoffs where they will rematch Scott in the first round. Moody finished the game with 273 yards passing and four touchdowns to set the record. He's also the state leader in passing yards with 3,465 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Colton Tolliver - Liberty-Raleigh '26 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Liberty-Raleigh Raiders had a pair of running backs go off in their season finale in their 36-15 win over Wyoming East. Sophomore Colton Tolliver led the way for the Raiders with 207 yards rushing and a touchdown to clinch the second win of the season for Liberty-Raleigh. The Raiders have something to build around with Tolliver for the next two years and hopefully get their program turned around.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kris Bowman - Liberty-Raleigh '25 RB</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other half of Liberty-Raleigh's dynamic rushing duo in their game against Wyoming East is junior running back Kris Bowman. Bowman had fewer yards than Tolliver with 141 but scored three times in the Raiders' victory. With the tandem of Tolliver and Bowman next season the Raiders have a nice one-two punch to work with after another year in the weight room and development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->