West Virginia high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for the state. Teams showcased more of what they’ve got heading into Week 5 of the regular season.
As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s West Virginia Football Player of the Week award from September 19-21, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected.
Dunbar, a strong safety, was making tackles all over the field in Poca’s 46-8 win over Buffalo, tallying 11 takedowns and three went for a loss.
SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. – SBLive Sports
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Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 29th. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
In the state’s highest scoring game of the weekend, Larner led the charge in a 70-63 victory over Hurricane. The running back rushed for 279 yards on 20 carries and scored five touchdowns.
The senior wide receiver was running wild in Washington’s 40-36 win over John Marshall, hauling in 10 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns.
On the losing end was the Hurricane signal caller, who put up some crazy numbers himself. Vellaithambi completed 16-of-26 passes for 413 yards and five touchdowns.
Mossor scored in a number of ways in Princeton’s 62-0 rout of Pulaski, as the junior dynamo returned a punt and kickoff back for touchdowns. Also hauled in four passes for 132 yards and two scores.
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The guard/middle linebacker was everywhere on defense in Doddridge County’s 41-6 win over Ravenswood, notching a team-high 13 tackles.
Moody had his best game of the season in Nitro’s 34-21 victory over Chapmanville Regional as the quarterb ack completed 19-of-31 passes for 266 yards and three scores.
In a 49-0 defeat of Lewis County, Watson carried the rock eight times for 143 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Wack was a touchdown machine in Wheeling Park’s 35-22 victory over University last week, with the junior running back carrying the ball 27 times for 177 yards and four touchdowns.
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.
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The West Virginia Mountaineers (10-3) welcome the Maryland Terrapins (10-5) to Kendrick Family Ballpark Tuesday afternoon the first encounter between the two programs since 2023 and the first meeting in Morgantown since 2018. The first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.
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The Mountaineers captured their fourth consecutive series of the season after taking two of the three games from Columbia over the weekend. West Virginia sophomore Matt Ineich and senior Brodie Kresser both blasted grand slams during the series. Ineich lifted WVU in game two with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th in game two, and Kresser ignited a 16-1 rout, capping a six-run second inning in the series finale.
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Gavin Kelly leads West Virginia at the plate with a .436 batting average with a Big 12 leading nine doubles. Ineich and senior Paul Schoenfeld has raked in a team-leading 16 RBI apiece, while senior Matthew Graveline has clubbed a team-high three home runs.
On the mound, West Virginia is expected to start sophomore David Hagen. The right-hander has made four appearances on the season, including one start. He last started in the home-opener against Ohio where he pitched two scoreless innings and recorded a strikeout to collect his first win of the season. He holds a 1.00 ERA with five strikeouts on the season.
After starting 3-4, Maryland is 7-1 in its last eight games. The Terrapins won two of three at UNC Wilmington in the season opening series, followed by a midweek win against Georgetown before getting swept at Louisiana. The Terps bounced back with a pair of midweek wins versus Delaware and swept a one-win Wagner team.
Junior Brayden Martin is batting a team-best .443 to go with four doubles and 12 RBI. Redshirt freshman Ryan Costello leads the Terps in home runs (9) and RBI (21) and is third in batting average at .328, while freshman Ty Kaunus has a team-high seven doubles and has .269 batting average.
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Maryland is scheduled to start freshman Nic Morlang. The right-hander has four appearances on the season, including four starts. He allowed five earned runs in his appearances, coinciding with his two starts, in six innings of work. In his last two appearances in relief, He’s allowed one earned run on five hits.
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West Virginia leads the all-time series 8-5, including a five-game winning streak over Maryland.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to a series of parties in Morgantown over the weekend.
Morgantown police officers, West Virginia University Police and state police responded to reports of overcrowded parties, underage drinking, physical altercations and multiple injuries.
Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffie said several citations were issued for open containers and underage consumption.
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Two large parties were dispersed and six arrests were made without incident.
None of the reported injuries are believed to be serious or life-threatening.
The Morgantown Fire Department assisted in the operations.
Hancock County, WV — A Weir High School senior has been recognized as the 2026 West Virginia Student Journalist of the Year.
Hailey Hans was selected for the statewide honor after building a journalism portfolio since her freshman year. She also serves as the staff manager of Weir Student Media, where she oversees articles and is in charge of deadlines.
“When I was a freshman I was placed in the journalism one class, and I actually tried to get pulled from the class. But, then after I sat in the class and I learned a little bit, that’s where my love grew and then from there I continued to take classes, I helped pass a law, and I got to these national conventions. Where it just lit a fire inside me,” Hans said.
Hans is planning to attend West Liberty University in the fall to study education with a minor in journalism, with the goal of becoming a journalism teacher. She will now submit her portfolio for the national-level contest.
