Fayette gridders to kick off 2022 campaign

Aug. 25—Late summer is just about to get a lot more enjoyable for many folks.

High school football in West Virginia kicks off this week, and the three Fayette County teams are ready to see their first action of 2022 on Friday.

One — Midland Trail — will open at home at 7:30 p.m. against a formidable Class AA foe, Clay County.

The other two squads — Oak Hill and Meadow Bridge — will hit the road for their first encounters. Oak Hill will visit Nicholas County at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26, while Meadow Bridge will travel to Van at 7:30 p.m. that evening.

In eastern Kanawha County, Riverside will seek to improve on a 3-7 report card in 2021 when it hosts 2021 playoff participant Woodrow Wilson at 7:30 p.m. to initiate the season.

"I want to make the playoffs, obviously," Oak Hill senior Ethan Vargo-Thomas, a multi-use standout, said Monday. "I think that we've been working really hard. I've been out (from recent practices) but I'm getting back now, and I'll be ready for the first game.

"I think we're really coming together as a team. We're a lot stronger than last year, but we're smaller. We've got a lot of good skill players. Practice has been good, and it's been intense. As the season goes, I think we'll be ready, and I think we can make the playoffs."

He said the Red Devils didn't do themselves any favors in the 2021 opener against the Grizzlies. "Last year's game slipped away from us (a 27-25 Nicholas County win). We had a ton of penalties; I think we had close to 10 penalties on offense. We had two touchdowns called back. That's really big; it can decide a game."

Special teams play was one of the shortcomings. "We were down by two touchdowns, and we scored one touchdown. The extra point got blocked, and we were down by eight. We scored a touchdown, and we go for two, we don't get it," Vargo-Thomas said. "Capitalizing on any opportunities and minimizing our mistakes" is a key if another such situation arises, he stressed.

About his summer activities, Vargo-Thomas, who kicks and punts for Oak Hill, said, "I've been working on consistency more than anything. I just want to be able to put points on the board any way I can. I've been working on being consistent, hitting targets, just being more accurate overall."

OHHS head coach David Moneypenny said his team is making some progress as kickoff looms. "I think we have (taken some positive strides)," he said Monday. "Our numbers are down, but in an interesting way, we're getting more kids taught things."

Smaller groups allow for more practice repetitions for players and more interaction with coaches, he said. "You're limited with the kind of kids that you have, but there's a trade-off there. I think the kids are making the best of it."

"We lost a couple kids last week, but you just keep moving forward," Moneypenny added. "I think the nucleus of the team that we've had is still here, and that's one of the reasons we're making those strides."

"I'm telling you, they're well-coached," the coach said of this week's foe. "They've got everybody back. They've got all the coaches back, and they've got a lot of players back, and you can tell.

"They're very clean. Everything rolls pretty smooth with their offense. Defensively, there's really no chinks in their armor. They're a good football team. I think they're a playoff football team."

In Hico, first-year head coach Jeremy Moore will lead his charges against the Panthers Friday. Trail dropped a 22-21 thriller to Clay in 2021.

Moore said that, in the absence of a second scrimmage last week, the Patriots "have been trying to get a little more physical" in practice, leaving them a little banged up.

Overall, Moore said, he is "pretty pleased with where we're at."

He expects his team — in search of its sixth straight playoff berth — will have a stiff challenge when Clay County arrives at Roger Eades Field Friday. "They're a really good team," said Moore. "They've got a good quarterback and some good receivers, and they've got a defensive lineman that's hard to beat. He's a high-motor guy, and he causes a lot of issues."

Moore and his team are ready to go. "I'm excited for our kids. It's a different role for me but you still do it for the kids."

Patriot senior Cody Harrell says he's looking forward to playing "with Coach Moore stepping in. It's going to be a real good season this year.

"We've definitely got a lot of younger kids coming up in the spots that need to be filled and a lot of older talent that will help those younger people grow."

"Last year was just a really big learning point for everybody, I feel like," said Harrell. "Like we had a really good season, but there is still a lot more we can learn and take further than last year."

A wide receiver/quarterback and defensive back, Harrell said he's not concerned about individual stats this fall. "I'm more concerned about the team; I really don't worry about myself. It's my last year (so he wants to play well).

"If I can do the best at my position, I feel like there are kids that will do the best at their positions, and we'll go as far as we possibly can."

Senior wide receiver Conner Mullins, who also plays linebacker and some at safety for the Meadow Bridge defense, says he expects "big things" for the Wildcats this fall. "We've got big shoes to fill after last year making playoffs. I always expect a lot out of my teammates, and I expect them to expect the same thing out of me."

Team members "always give our best," he stressed. "With Meadow Bridge football, we always find a way."

The 2022 Meadow Bridge squad lacks the experience the playoff team had in 2021, but that doesn't mean Mullins is expecting a down year. "We've got a couple of freshmen coming in and they don't have a bunch of experience as I'd like for them to have," he said. "But we've also got, like, receivers who have played previous years, previous downs, so they understand the game and know what's going on."

Meadow Bridge vanquished Van 26-14 last fall to launch a season that placed the Wildcats in the Class A postseason after a five-year absence.

"It was a lot to us (to get back to the playoffs)," Mullins said. To make it two in a row, the team has "got to buckle down and get mean and fight through. We've got a pretty decent schedule, so it's buckle down and do everything we can." A playoff return is possible, he said. "We've just got to put in the work. I always think it's possible; there's never a doubt in my mind."

Mullins says he's having fun as his senior year commences. "Oh yeah, I love it. The offseason I kind of just enjoyed myself and focused on the things I needed to get right, and here we are. I feel good about it. We're ready to get on the field and get in action and see what the future holds for us."

Email: skeenan@register-herald.com or follow on Twitter @gb_scribe