5 Big Reds Sign To Play College Football
Stanley Headed For WVU
PARKERSBURG — It’s been a journey for Parkersburg High School senior Casey Stanley, but the 2022 triple-A first team all-state kicker is a West Virginia University Mountaineer following Wednesday’s national signing day.
“The walk-on life at WVU is exactly like the scholarship life except you are paying for school,” quipped Stanley, who was rarely off the field for the Big Reds of head man Matt Kimes and owns records with 72 kicking points in a season, 193 career kicking points and 19 career field goals. “(Ohio) gave me a preferred walk-on. As a kicker that’s what you need to get.
“They are not going to hand out scholarships to kickers they aren’t sure about yet. Kicking is an easy way to get on the field, but you are not going to get money going into college until you are the guy. I’m hoping being from a small town who supports WVU like no other I will be able to get some (NIL) deals here and there. That would be ideal and pretty cool.”
Stanley, who visited the Bobcats in Athens and even took in the Miami of Ohio game, actually missed the WVU kicking camp, but it all turned out for the best.
“Was obviously my place I wanted to go,” admitted the A-student and future business major.
“At first I wasn’t really getting looked at by them and I had kind of given up until this past summer.”
A follow on Twitter from Coastal Carolina’s special teams coordinator gave him another option and eventually set things in motion.
“It was a crazy coincidence because I had already planned to go to that camp over the summer and I hadn’t heard anything from WVU so I had some decision making to do. I got the text from WVU saying they wanted me up there.
“It honestly worked out better because at those camps a bunch of people go to the WVU camp. It’s harder to get looked at and it’s a lot more pressure. When you are in a group of four kids it’s a lot easier for them to see you and notice you and see what you are doing.”
As it turned out there were plenty of watchful eyes.
After getting to Morgantown with three other kickers the Big Red did his thing.
“I got there and they use a thing called a Trackman,” he said. “It’s nuts. I did really good in the kickoff aspect and I did OK in the field goals.

“I was kind of leaving there thinking I didn’t do bad. I gave them what I could. I was satisfied with how it was. I knew I was coming back in a couple days for the 7-on-7 they host.”
Everything picked up after arriving with his teammates for the 7-on-7s.
“I had played our first two games (WR/DB) and I got approached by Neal Brown actually,” Stanley recalled of the WVU head coach. “I was walking off because we had just got done with a game. He has this real nice golf cart he goes around in and he was sitting up against the front of that and I’m like ‘oh, man, that’s Neal Brown’ and we had made eye contact, and he waved me over. I was like ‘oh, is he pointing’ and I looked around. I was like ‘he’s talking to me, OK,’ and I walked over there and he goes ‘hey man you’re Casey Stanley, right?’ And I was like ‘yeah, I am, actually.'”
As it turned out coach Brown proceeded to tell him that “I was watching you guys the other day when you were kicking and I went back through the Trackman stuff and you’ve got the best kickoff numbers I’ve ever seen out of a high school kid. I was like, ‘wow, oh, OK.’ He said at the end of the day we’ll talk a little bit more about what we want from you. We finished the day and he talked to my mom (Susan) and I about coming back for a visit in July to kind of get going to see if I liked it and everything. I tried to contain myself because I was beside myself with excitement.”
One person who is not excited to see Stanley go is coach Kimes.
“He is one of the most athletic kids I’ve ever coached,” Kimes stated. “If he wanted to be a position player in college I’m confident that he could do that as well. I think he made a great decision choosing WVU because we all know how much West Virginia people love one of their own.
“Once he gets a little more consistent with his field goal accuracy he will compete for that spot. I won’t be surprised if he’s kicking off on Saturdays this season for a Top 25 ranked team. He will just continue to get better as he is developed as a specialist only type player.”
Stanley’s former Big Red teammate Quayvon Cyrus just finished his first season with the Mountaineers.
“I’ve got friends up at WVU so I’ve been there on game days,” Stanley added. “I’ve got to see ‘Q’ here and there. He said it’s definitely hard. It’s definitely hard. It’s like a job. He’s telling me to just put your time in. It’s made me feel a lot better talking to him because he’s gone through it.
“I get to kind of hear his side of it and what to expect and everything. Granted, I’m a kicker and he’s a defensive back so it’s a little bit of a difference, but it’s still the same stuff. I kind of got an idea of what I’m getting myself into and it’s nice to have him there to tell me that.”

Stanley is trying to look at the next chapter of his life along the same lines as when he arrived at PHS.
“I’m a little nervous because that’s Power 5 and it’s a business up there,” he said. “Like between class and having to be at the facility for eight hours a day it’s definitely going to be something different I’m not used to. I’m thinking if I just do everything right and keep my head on straight I’ll be alright. It’s all about putting your time in.
“Trying to build the trust with the program and just buy in as much as you can and that’s what I’m going to do my best at is just try to buy in and show them that I want to be there. That’s what I did coming in as a freshman at PHS, granted I was the only kicker whenever I got there so they had no choice but to play me.”
Despite being tempted to run track this spring, the Big Red is going to concentrate on getting his leg stronger, spend time with family and prep for WVU.
“I think I just want to take a couple months to myself and work on things I need to work on before I go up there,” continued Stanley, who replied when asked about his upcoming change of scenery “Morgantown, it’s definitely a place. It’s a place. I love Morgantown. I’ve been there quite a bit and I’ve just grown to love Morgantown. Everybody in the community is just backing WVU. It’s a big college town. It’s a fun place.
“It’s easy to get sidetracked on what your goals are there and fall into the wrong crowd. If you keep your head on straight I feel like it’s nothing but up for you from there because it’s a great place. I do love Morgantown a lot. I love Parkersburg. I’ve been here my whole life. Grown up to be a Big Red. Grown up to hate South. Whenever you’ve grown up in a community you love it no matter what. There’s nothing to do here, but you just love it.”
One record Stanley wasn’t able to surpass was the career long field goal of 50 yards owned by Tyler Warner.
The opportunity never really presented itself and Stanley’s longest career boot was 46 yards.
“It’s OK. I’ve got a couple records in,” he said. “I’ll let Tyler Warner keep the record, but it wasn’t that big of a deal to me to be honest.”
Stanley, who said he felt more than comfortable inside 55 yards, gave props to his holder and heir apparent to David Parsons at quarterback in junior Cooper Cancade.
“I was proud of that kid. He really stepped up,” Stanley said of Cancade. “He had just started doing it last year. He really stepped up.”
As a team, the Big Reds also stepped up and advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
“A lot of things. Mainly just playing for your town,” Stanley responded when asked what he’ll remember about PHS when he’s old. “Playing with the Big Reds across your chest. That’s just an unreal feeling and running out of the helmet on Fridays and look up in the stands and see your town right there cheering you on. High school you are playing with dudes you’re brothers with. Like you’ve grown up with. That’s the best part is you’re a family.
“I think this year we kind of emphasized that a lot because we knew it was our last year and we were kind of not wanting it to end so we were making the best of every situation. We really loved each other a lot this year. The one thing I’ll remember most about PHS football is the brotherhood and the family that was with it whenever we were playing. We were playing for each other. Nobody was playing for themselves.”
Stanley will have the chance to win the kickoff job and start for the Mountaineers this fall.
“If I’m not it’s no problem because usually freshmen don’t start their first year there,” Stanley said while adding he couldn’t have done it without the support of his father Steve. “A year in the program would do me good. The opportunity is there.
“I would like to thank my dad a lot. He’s put just as much work as me into this to be kicking in college. It was pretty exciting to see his reaction whenever I got the call. It was a good day. We hugged it out and everything because we were in it together.”
Parsons Headed For Morehead State
PARKERSBURG — The process is ongoing for Parkersburg High School record-setting signal-caller David Parsons, but after Wednesday’s national signing day he’ll continue to work on his craft for Division I FCS Morehead State University first-year head coach Jason Woodman.
“I’ve been to Morehead,” said the 6-foot-3 Parsons, who holds eight red and white records, had a 4.1 GPA last term and plans to major in business. “I went down for a camp this past summer and then I went down for a game day visit this fall and I just went back down again this past weekend. I committed on the fourth.
“I’m not paying a dollar. I’ve had a lot of talks with the head coach. He’s prone to playing freshmen. He’s not against it at all. If I’m the better player then he’s going to play me. Going into it I’m looking at it like it’s my spot until they tell me it’s not. That’s how I’m looking at it moving forward.”
The first team Class AAA all-state quarterback led the Big Reds to the state quarterfinals. His 2,731 yards and 33 touchdown strikes set single-season marks.

“It was never really planned for me to do that,” Parsons admitted of his records that also include career total offense (6,592), passing yards (6,108), touchdowns (67) and completions (428) along with total offense (506 vs. South) and completion percentage in a game (9 of 10 vs. Capital).
“I guess Marc Kimes is the GOAT of PHS people say. He won two championships. I think that’s the advantage he’s got on me. I’m not really too prone to the records. I mean I love it. Don’t get it twisted, but it’s more I’d rather have won a championship at the end of the day. My favorite one has probably got to be the all-time yards. That’s special.”
Parsons admitted everything involved with trying to figure out where to go to school was taxing.
“Recruiting, it’s tough because it’s a lot of coaches just telling you the same thing,” he said. “I didn’t get my first Division I offer until December, just a couple months ago. I was kind of worried about where I’m going to go and then a couple schools rolled in. VMI was first and then Morehead State and then Bucknell, and then WVU gave me a preferred walk-on. I was still in contact with some other FCS schools.
“I was kind of like I don’t know where I’m going to go. I went down to my official visit at Morehead State and it just felt like the right place. It felt like it was somewhere I could strive and somewhere I could be successful at, and especially with Anthony (Ice) getting the scholarship offer. I was like why not? Me and my parents sat down, talked it over and I felt like it was the best place for me.”
Ice, who was Parsons’ slot receiver, also signed with the Eagles on Wednesday.
“We’ve been playing together since peewee,” Parsons added. “It was kind of like why not, but at the same time it wasn’t like we had to do this together. It wasn’t really a plan, but once we got the offers it was like why not do it.”
Although away from home, MSU isn’t too far as Parsons said he can make it to campus in sub three hours.
“It’s cool to get away, but at the same time I’m still close enough to home where I don’t feel like nobody can come to my games,” said the Big Red. “My family will still be able to come and watch me. It will be cool just to be close to everybody.
“I really liked the campus. The campus is nice. It’s a little smaller. It’s not like one of these big, big schools. It’s kind of a more rural area I would say. It’s nice though. It kind of felt like home away from home.”
While Parsons’ days of competing at Stadium Field are over, PHS head coach Matt Kimes enjoyed the two seasons he had the signal-caller.

“He was a kid that has always had all the physical tools to be a college player,” noted coach Kimes. “He bought into the things that we needed from him to be a leader of our team.
“He matured so much physically and mentally over the last year which has prepared him to take this next step in his career. I’m confident that he is ready for this next chapter in his life and I can’t wait to watch him compete at the next level.”
Making the adjustment to the student-athlete life in college is something Parsons knows he has to be prepared for.
“I’m ready to embrace it and I’m excited, but I’m also nervous,” Parsons admitted. “I’m going to be on my own a little bit. With Anthony I think that gives me more of a shoulder to lean on coming from the same high school knowing that we are going to do it together.
“That makes me feel more comfortable about it looking forward. It’s a big difference. I’m just trying to soak in these last couple months of what I got in high school and move on with the rest of my life and hopefully be successful.”
The all-stater continued “high school was cool and it was fun and everything, but it’s always been a setup to get to the Division I level. I think coach Woodman and his staff can offer me things my high school staff couldn’t teach me. It was a build up for me really. It was more of a stepping stone to a longer thing.
“Coach Kimes and coach (Alex) Ash and the other people I worked with the most, coach (Sean) Smith. They taught me a lot of things and that’s how I got to the level I wanted to be, but there’s only so much they can teach me and so much that they know compared to what these guys know at the college level.”
Parsons said if MSU would’ve been a run first program he wouldn’t have entertained the idea to go there.
“He likes to throw the ball around and get creative with it. That’s one thing I’ll like about playing for him and I’m looking forward to,” said Parsons, who replied when asked to describe himself as a quarterback “I put myself first as a leader. I think I have a certain persona and I carry myself a certain way to people, you know, kind of look at me like I want to be like him. I want to follow him as far as football goes.
“I think that’s a big part of playing quarterback because if you can’t communicate and have a relationship with all your players you’re not going to be on the same page come Friday night or Saturday for a football game. I think that’s the first thing, but secondly I think of myself as a big playmaker. I get my guys the ball in space and I let them make plays. I’m a winner, I think. You know, I try to win. That’s first and foremost, for sure. Those three things I think make me up as a quarterback the most.”

Always willing to do whatever is best for the team, Parsons said he has no issues running with the pigskin if his number is called.
“Really, I’d rather sit in the pocket and throw the ball,” he said. “I’m a pass-first pro-style type, but I don’t mind running the ball either. I made a lot of plays this year with my legs. I had five rushing touchdowns and I ran for a couple hundred yards. I’d rather sit back there and deliver, but at the same time if I need to get on the ground I’ll run.”
Parsons said a redshirt had been discussed with coach Woodman.
“If you redshirt now in college football I think you can still play four games,” Parsons continued. “If I’m not the day one starter I think he’s kind of giving me the option on what I want to do.
“I want to play football for as long as I can and redshirt is a possibility if I’m not the day one guy then maybe redshirt is the route I go.”
The quarterback said he was “ready to go” and wouldn’t be shedding any tears upon leaving PHS, but his time as a Big Red has etched a place into his heart.
“Looking back on it, it’s the relationships,” Parsons said of what he’ll remember the most. “We were 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-years old at the time and it’s the best time of your life everybody always says. I created a lot of bonds and a lot of friendships. Even my teachers and just the people I talk to in my everyday life.
“You know, it’s just something I’ll never forget. I think looking back on it I already miss it. I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like here soon. The biggest thing is just the relationships and the bonds that I’ve built and the people I’ve connected with.”
Hopefully, that also includes younger gridiron players because Parsons has a message for them.
“I just want people to see that and be like, if he can do it why can’t I,” he added. “I just want everybody to know that college is right there.
“You just got to go take it. Everybody has the same opportunity. What are you going to do with it?”
Ice Joins Parsons At Morehead State
PARKERSBURG — Slot receiver and return man Anthony Ice of Parkersburg High School announced Wednesday on national signing day he’s going to continue his career on the gridiron for Division I FCS Morehead State University.
The 5-foot-8 Ice, who despite missing four games finished with 37 catches for 750 yards and 11 touchdown receptions along with returning a kickoff for a score, will play for first-year head man Jason Woodman after he came from Fairmont State.

“It’s a blessing for sure,” admitted Ice, who will be joined in Kentucky by quarterback David Parsons. “I made an official visit there. I had UC (Charleston) and Fairmont heavily considered. I loved the campus and the people there. I got to meet with the players and things.
“That was pretty cool. They have one guy up there (Ryan Upp), he’s a senior this year and he kind of plays the same position I do. He’s really good at what he does. He led the (Ohio Valley) conference in like receiving yards and receptions so it’s a guy I can look up to.”
The Big Red, who carries a 3.5 GPA and is looking into sports business as a major, was a three-year starter at PHS and once again will run track this spring.
“I can really see myself doing that,” Ice said of sports business. “I can see myself doing something like physical therapy, too, because as an athlete you’re always getting hurt.
“Working with people who are hurt and helping people is what I want to do in my future. I still want to be around sports.”
Ice knows all about the injury bug.
“My junior year I was like hurt most of the year, the whole year really,” admitted Ice.
“I could still push through it and play, but I was never 100 percent. That always hurt me and I was just like ‘man, what would happen if I was 100 percent’ and through the offseason I really worked on staying healthy and being a better athlete and be better at football and try to stay out of the weight room.
“I got to my senior year and I felt like I was the best athlete on the field. I could move way better. I was way faster. I could jump higher and it helped me with my injuries, too. It’s a blessing man. I got to give all glory to God. It’s just crazy that I came this far. I haven’t even processed it. It’s not even real. I’m just ready to work. I can’t wait to work.”
One person who was pleased with Ice’s dedication was PHS second-year head coach Matt Kimes.
“The college level of commitment won’t be too much for him,” admitted coach Kimes. “The kid is a football junkie. He loves everything about the sport. We were a different team when Anthony was on the field this past season.
“I’m excited that David and him will have each other to help them through the transition from high school to college. He has always been a super talented kid, but his work ethic is what has provided him this opportunity to play at the next level. He will be a guy that I talk a lot about to returning players for years to come about what it takes to be a great player.
When asked about his favorite memory as a Big Red, the wideout was quick to point to this year’s victory against rival Parkersburg South.
“That was the best feeling ever,” he said. “That was great. I had a pretty good game that game and the rest of the team had a phenomenal game. That was definitely it for me.”
Ice said he prefers kickoff returns to punt returns and he expects to have an opportunity to show what he can do. He also isn’t expected to redshirt.
“I was up for a visit and he (Woodman) said he didn’t want me to redshirt and I want to play next year,” added the Big Red.
“It’s exciting to hear. I’m not going in there with the mindset that I’m not going to go take that spot.”
His injury this season didn’t end up being an overall negative, but it was a tough time for him when it happened.
“At the beginning of the year I had a few coaches,” Ice said of his early contacts. “WVU was looking at me. EKU (Eastern Kentucky) was looking at me and I had a few Division I schools looking at me. I sent them my film and things and then I got hurt in like the fifth week and that just took everything down.
“I didn’t get a text or a call for those weeks I was out. It hurt my pride and it hurt everything. I didn’t know if I was going to make it to the Division I level. I was thinking I was going to have to settle for D2, which is completely fine, then I was talking to coach Woodman and we had a good connection. They stayed after me and I had to take it. It’s great.”
When asked how he would describe his game on the field the Big Red thought for a split second and said, “fast. Fast and I have a bunch of energy out there. I definitely deliver some hits, field my blocks and I’m going to catch the ball and score every time. I got to work. That’s the biggest thing.
“I’m not 6-3 and I don’t have the best physique. I’m not that guy. I’m not that 5-star guy. I’m humble enough to know that, but I’m also humble enough I know I have to work. I have to work all the time everyday. Three times a day. Four times a day. Whatever I have to do to get to where I need to be and I’m going to do it.”
The Big Red said he hopes to get to MSU as early into the summer as possible.
“I got to thank God. I got to thank God for getting me here and helping my family,” Ice added. “My mom especially. My mom has been my rock ever since I was a little boy, and my grandparents.
“My papaw has done a lot for me. He’s really done a lot for me and I have to thank my friends for being there. I also have to say long live Chris Michael Walker. This is what I’m doing it for, for sure.”
Stalnaker Twins To Play at Charleston
PARKERSBURG — The dynamic twin brother duo of Matthew and Andrew Stalnaker have yet to scratch the surface of their talents in the mind of Parkersburg High School head football coach Matt Kimes.
On Wednesday afternoon, the elder twin Matthew — by a single minute — and his younger brother Andrew committed to the University of Charleston to continue their football careers in the Mountain East Conference for head coach Quinn Sanders.
The two-way players were key contributors on both sides of the ball for the Big Reds, who advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
“These guys haven’t even come close to reaching their full potential as football players,” admitted coach Kimes. “Charleston is getting a steal with these two.
“I’m interested to see what position they will end up playing in college because they have such a great frame and skill set to work with.”
As it currently stands, the twins only will be competing on the offensive side of the ball.
“We had a couple other offers from Fairmont State and Glenville State and Bluefield State, but other than that not really much,” said Matthew.
“UC just always stood out to Andrew and I. Every time we went up there it just felt like the place we wanted to be.”
Andrew, who led the team with 103 tackles to go along with five picks as well as 30 catches for 578 yards with 10 touchdowns and a punt return for a score, will join his brother as an exercise science major with an eye set on becoming physical therapists.
“Starting junior year we went to some camps there and then leading into senior year we got up there for a game day visit,” Andrew said. “A couple weeks ago in January we went up for an official visit. We went up for three visits in total and it’s just beautiful. They have a great campus right by the capitol.
“There’s a bunch of things to do in Charleston, all different kinds of entertainment and places to eat. We’ve grown up in Parkersburg and we thought Charleston would be a great place for us and a great place for us to play the sport we love for the next four years.”
When asked if it was a package deal the whole way Andrew replied, “it was always going to be both of us. Since we were young playing peewee, up through middle school and through high school we just thought you can’t separate us. We just have that bond to where we just got to play together.
“We decided to play college football together. Initially, they (UC) reached out to us and sent us a camp invite. We considered different places, but they’ve been talking with us for the longest and that’s the place we felt wanted. That’s a big thing is the program has to want you and we felt wanted there. We always felt like home there so that’s why we made our decision.”
Matthew finished his senior year with 100 tackles, which included six sacks and 23.5 TFL. He had two picks, a pair of fumble recoveries and hauled in 34 passes for 590 yards and five scores.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding in the end and up at UC they have a lot of hospitals around there so it’s easier to get an internship around there,” Matthew said of their major.
“It’s a lot of opportunities that will come out of going to UC. It’s (recruiting) such a stressful and long process, but now that we have a school picked out we’re just ready to go and ready to work.”
Matthew said that although he was recruited as a wideout his role could vary.
“They had talked about moving me to a tight end or an H-back, kind of what I played here at Parkersburg, but no defense” said the elder Stalnaker. “Maybe I could try it out a little bit at UC. I don’t know.
“I am willing 100 percent. I will be willing if I need to if that’s something that helps out the team. I’m going to miss it, but it definitely won’t be as tiring just playing on one side of the ball.”
Andrew concurred.
“Yeah, I’ll miss it, you know, flying around and hitting people,” said the younger Stalnaker. “Maybe if receiver doesn’t work out I might get moved to DB. You never know.”
Coach Kimes has little doubt they will be successful wherever they end up on the field.
“They have such a great frame and skill set to work with,” admitted the PHS boss. “I know that they will do whatever is best for the team and do it to the best of their abilities.
“I was very fortunate to get to coach such high quality kids that cared as much as anyone about the success of our program. Watching them develop over the last couple years, you could tell that they were motivated to play at the next level. They are a testament to hard work and commitment being rewarded.”
The younger Stalnaker also was more than happy to have signing day behind them.
“I loved playing with the guys. We worked really hard in the offseason and that’s why I think we all got the exposure, and the people who looked at us looking at us,” Andrew admitted.
“The recruitment process was really hard. It’s a really stressful process, but coming down and making a decision takes a lot of weight off your shoulders and it’s a great feeling knowing where you are going.”
Matthew knows that he and his brother have to get bigger, faster and stronger.
“I definitely got to put weight on and put muscle on before I go to college,” Matthew said. “That’s a big thing. Definitely with the tight end position because you are going to be on the O-line and you got to be able to put weight on and block these big 300-pound dudes on the D-line.”
The elder Stalnaker added of being a Big Red, “I’ll remember so much from this school. The great teammates we had, the great coaches and the great tradition that’s around Parkersburg High School. Running out that helmet is just something.
“Unless you play Parkersburg football that’s something nobody will ever get to experience. That pure joy of just running out of that helmet and seeing, especially the game versus Parkersburg South, the huge crowd just sitting there and cheering you on wanting you to win that one big game.”
Andrew admitted his plan was to focus on becoming a special teams starter and then try to move into the rotation at wide receiver.
“I think the strong suit is the catch rate. It’s the long arms, big hands, just a big physical guy,” Andrew said of his best attributes on the gridiron. “I think I’m good at blocking.
“You can always work on blocking, but I think that’s a big thing I have. Just have to work on speed and agility.”
When asked what he’ll remember years from now about being a Big Red Andrew replied, “I’m going to think about all the great memories I had, especially my senior year, but from freshman year and on all the friendships that you make and just the hard work and hours you put in with all your best friends and making those core memories you are never going to forget for the rest of your life.”
Like his younger brother, Matthew definitely isn’t taking anything for granted being a student-athlete at the Division II level.
“It’s definitely going to be a big change,” Matthew said. “Just got to stay on top of work is the main thing.”
Of course, Matthew is glad to have his little brother alongside him for the ride.
“I love it,” he said. “Me and my brother, we fight sometimes and we have our disagreements, but him being by my side this whole way just means so much to me. Having someone that’s going to be by my side going through this whole college thing, going through this whole change is going to mean a lot to me because maybe there’s going to be times I want to quit, but he’s going to be going through the same workouts that I am and the same pain. Having him by my side is definitely going to help a lot.”

Parsons Earns First Team All-State QB Honors; Other Big Reds Are Second Team Selections

        Parkersburg quarterback David Parsons has added another honor to his already impressive list of awards and record-setting accomplishments by being named first team Class AAA all-state quarterback as chosen by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
.....Three other Big Red seniors were named to the second team including record-setting kicker Casey Stanley and the twins, Matthew and Andrew Stalnaker. Matthew was selected as a linebacker and Andrew was named as a defensive back.
.....Anthony Ice and Jason Williams were named honorable mention.
.....The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Parsons was selected after setting an amazing eight school records during his three-year career. He was also the first Big Red player since 1991 to be selected as first team quarterback and only the fifth player in PHS history to be named first team quarterback. Others were Wayne Funk (1921), Rich Duggan (1974), Dave Manzo (1976) and Eric Ranson (1991). Marc Kimes (2001) was selected as a utility player.
.....The list of records set by Parsons includes:
Game Total Offense – 506 vs. P. South (410 pass, 96 rush)
Career Total Offense – 6,592
Season Passing Yards – 2,731
Career Passing Yards – 6,108
Season Touchdown Passes – 33 (27 regular season)
Career Touchdown Passes – 67 (6 in playoffs)
Game Completion Percentage – 90.0 (9 of 10 vs. Capital)
Career Completions – 428
.....Among the second team selections, Stanley kicked seven of eight field goals and had 51 of 57 extra points to go with 41 touchbacks among his 74 kickoffs. He set school records with 72 season kicking points, 193 career kicking points and 19 career field goals.
.....Matthew Stalnaker had 100 tackles on defense with 23.5 being for lost yardage and added six sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries while also catching 34 passes for 590 yards and five touchdowns on offense.
.....Andrew Stalnaker led the team with 103 tackles (3 more than his twin brother) while getting eight tackles for loss and coming up with five interceptions while on offense he caught 30 passes for 578 yards and 10 touchdowns and returning a punt for another score.
.....Ice missed four games but was the team’s leading receiver with 37 receptions for 750 yards and 11 touchdowns plus a kickoff return score while Williams was the team’s leading rusher despite also missing four games as he ran for eight touchdowns and 476 yards while coming up with 11 sacks and 16 tackles for loss on defense.

........David Parsons...................... Anthony Ice................... Matthew Stalnaker................ Andrew Stalnaker

Four Big Red Seniors Earn First Team All-MSAC Recognition

         Four Parkersburg Big Red seniors have been named to the first team of the 2023 All-Mountain State Athletic Conference football team as selected by the coaches.
          Leading the way for the PHS contingent was quarterback David Parsons, who set a ton of Big Red single season and career records while leading the team to a 7-5 record and within four points of the state semifinals. Also named to the first team were the Stalnaker twins, Matthew as a tight end and Andrew as a defensive back. Wide receiver Anthony Ice rounded out the list of first team honorees from PHS.
          Parsons finished his senior year with 2,731 passing yards and 33 touchdowns – both school records. Among his other records were: career TDs accounted for (74), single game total offense (506 vs. Parkersburg South), career total offense (6,592), career passing yards 6,108), career TD passes (67) and career pass completions (428)

........Matthew Stalnaker caught 34 passes for 590 yards and five touchdowns while ranking second on the team with 100 tackles, including six sacks and 23.5 tackles for loss. Andrew Stalnaker led the team with 103 tackles and five interceptions while also catching 30 passes with 10 going for touchdowns (plus a punt return touchdown).
........Ice led the team in touchdowns with 12 despite missing four games with an injury. He caught 37 passes for 750 yards (20.3 average) and 10 touchdowns while returning 11 kickoffs for an average of 22.9 yards per return. He had an 86 yard pass reception touchdown and a 94 yard kickoff return score.
........Named to the second team were two PHS seniors and a junior. Casey Stanley was named as the second team kicker while senior Jason Williams was named as a second team defensive lineman and junior Zane Lewis made it as a second team linebacker.  
........Stanley led PHS in scoring with 114 points as he made seven touchdowns, kicked seven field goals and 51 extra points. He set school records for season kicking points (72), career field goals (19) and career kicking points (193). Williams led the team with 11 sacks among his 16 tackles for loss despite missing four games. Lewis was the team’s third-leading tackler with 94 stops, led the team with three blocked kicks and also had three interceptions.
........Special Honorable Mention Big Reds were Jake Bauman and Jakel Shelton while Carter Watts and Adam Elder earned Honorable Mention honors.
Player of the year was Wayne Harris of Huntington while Luke Salmons of league champion Cabell Midland earned Coach of the Year honors.

2024 Football Schedule Revealed
.....The 2024 Parkersburg football schedule has two changes from this year and continues to be one of the toughest, if not the toughest, in the state with no less than seven teams that qualified for the 2023 playoffs.
.....While Spring Valley and Riverside are gone from the Big Reds’ schedule, two playoff teams take their place – north central power Morgantown and a very strong Hurricane team. Morgantown was ranked 15th this year and won seven games while Hurricane finished fourth in the final ratings with eight wins but fell to PHS 47-23 in the first round of the playoffs.
.....Still on the PHS schedule is top ranked Cabell Midland, second-ranked Huntington, ninth-ranked George Washington, 14th ranked Parkersburg South and 16th ranked Musselman.
.....Rounding out the list of opponents are long-time rivals St. Albans, Capital and South Charleston.
2024 Parkersburg Football Schedule
Date (Site) Opponent (2023 ranking & record)
8/30 (H)   Morgantown #15 (7-4)
9/06 (A)  South Charleston (0-10)
9/13 (H)  Hurricane #4 (8-3)
9/20 (A)  Parkersburg South #14 (6-5)
9/27 (A)   Capital (3-7)
10/04       Open
10/11 (A) George Washington #9 (6-5)
10/18 (A) Cabell Midland #1 (10-2)
10/25 (H) St. Albans (1-9)
11/01 (H) Huntington #2 (11-1)
11/08 (H) Musselman #16 (4-7)

Princeton Rallies To Beat Big Reds 41-37

   Game Statistics

    PRINCETON – Fifth-ranked Princeton came from nine points down in the final quarter to end another upset bid by 13th-ranked Parkersburg here Friday night at a rainy Hunnicut Field in the Class AAA playoff quarterfinals as the Tigers pulled out a 41-37 victory.
The win for the 11-1 Tigers advanced them into next week’s semifinals against Bridgeport, which upset number one ranked Cabell Midland 41-21. Princeton will host the game at a date and time to be determined Sunday.
The PHS versus PHS game figured to be a shootout and it was just that as everyone expected the game to come down to whomever had the last possession and it nearly had that ending.
After giving up the lead on a 30-yard pass from Chance Barker to Wyatt Cline with 4:57 remaining, Parkersburg actually had two last chances but could not capitalize on either.
Following the go-ahead score and a personal foul penalty that allowed the home team to kickoff from the visitors 45, the Tigers tried their second onside kick but Eli Bauman grabbed the ball in the air and returned it 54 yards to the Princeton nine yard line.
But two runs and two incomplete passes netted just one yard and Parkersburg turned the ball over with 3:12 left to play. The Tigers got out of the shadow of their own goal posts with a 44 yard run by Marquel Lowe on the very next play. Lowe, who ran for 170 yards on 22 carries, picked up 18 yards on the following play to take the ball to the Big Reds’ 30 yard line.
The Parkersburg defense was able to hold the Tigers on downs and take the ball over on its own 27 with 1:55 left to play but no timeouts remaining. A pass from David Parsons to Jason Williams netted six yards but on the next play Parsons scrambled but lost the ball with Princeton recovering on the visitors 37 yard line and the Tigers were able to runout the last 1:39 to secure the victory.
The game saw 11 touchdowns, a field goal and nearly 900 yards in total offense, 451 by Princeton and 405 by Parkersburg.
The difference in the contest was 212 yards in kickoff returns, including a 99-yard run back by Dominick Collins for Princeton.
Collins also scored on a seven yard run and caught nine passes for 124 yards for the winners while quarterback Chance Barker completed 20 of 26 passes for 241 yards and the final two touchdowns of the game.
Princeton started the game in a hurry as Collins returned the opening kickoff 56 yards and three plays later Lowe ran in from 13 yards out for a 7-0 lead.
Parkersburg immediately answered with a six-play, 60-yard drive that started with a 32 yard completion to Anthony Ice and ended when Williams ran in from the one with 7:17 left in the first period.
The Big Reds took the lead on the second play of the second quarter on a 12 yard pass from Parsons to Andrew Stalnaker to cap a 12-play, 91-yard drive as the visitors were able to overcome a holding penalty which wiped out an apparent 39 yard scoring pass to Ice. Casey Stanley’s extra point kick hit the upright and bounced away to make the score 13-7.
On the next series, Parkersburg held and forced a punt which was blocked by Zane Lewis with the Big Reds taking over on the nine yard line. This time the visitors had to settle for a 26 yard field goal by Stanley to up the margin to 16-7.
Princeton answered with an 80-yard drive that was capped by a 17 yard scoring run by Barker, who went back to pass the decided to run when he found an open field ahead of him.
After forcing a Big Red punt the Tigers went 92 yards in nine plays with Collins scoring on an end-around play. The extra point kick gave the home team a 21-16 advantage.
Parkersburg got the ball to start the second half and promptly went 67 yards in just five plays with Parsons hitting Stanley over the middle at the five yard line and the senior end stretched out to reach the end zone to complete the 36 yard play and then kicked the extra point for a 23-21 lead.
But that lead didn’t last long as the speedy Collins returning the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown and a 28-23 lead.
Again Parkersburg answered with a 12-play, 71-yard drive to regain the advantage on a 21 yard scoring pass to Ice, who made the reception in a crowd with 5:41 left in the third period. Stanley’s kick made it 30-28.
After forcing a punt, the Big Reds went up by nine points by engineering a 71-yard, eight-play drive with Williams setting up the touchdown with a 28 yard run. Sylas Cheuvront got the TD over left guard just 12 seconds into the final period. Stanley’s kick made it 37-28.
Princeton responded with a two-point scoring drive highlighted by passes of 13 and 26 yards to Collins which set up the eight yard TD toss to Michael Diacomo. The extra point kick made it a two-point game, 37-35, with 9:40 left to play.
The Tigers then tried an onside kick and successfully recovered the ball on the Big Reds’ 44 yard line. Although the Big Reds held on downs at their own 41, Parkersburg had to punt four plays later and Princeton had the ball with 7:24 left on their own 33.
The running of Lowe and passing of Barker took the ball to the 30 and Princeton went ahead for good by four points on the pass to Cline and ensuing PAT kick with 4:57 remaining.
Following the big return by Bauman to the Tigers’ nine yard line and Parkersburg offense failed to capitalize and the big runs by Lowe all but sewed up the victory thanks to the fumble with 1:55 remaining.

#13 Parkersburg vs #5 Princeton (Nov 17, 2023 at Princeton)
Score by Quarters 1  2   3  4 - Total
Parkersburg          7   9 14  7 - 37
Princeton               7 14  7 13 - 41
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 10:38 TIGERS - Marquel Lowe 13 yd run (Saeed Aboulhosn kick), 3-41 1:22
07:17 BIGREDS - Jason Williams 1 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 6-60 3:15
2nd 11:49 BIGREDS - Andrew Stalnaker 12 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 12-91 3:33
08:37 BIGREDS - Casey Stanley 26 yd field goal, 4-0 1:53
04:59 TIGERS - Chance Barker 17 yd run (Saeed Aboulhosn kick), 8-80 3:38
00:44 TIGERS - Dominick Collins 7 yd run (Saeed Aboulhosn kick), 9-92 3:06
3rd 09:40 BIGREDS - Casey Stanley 36 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 5-67 2:16
09:20 TIGERS - Dominick Collins 99 yd kickoff return (Saeed Aboulhosn kick)
05:41 BIGREDS - Anthony Ice 21 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 12-71 3:37
4th 11:48 BIGREDS - Sylas Cheuvront 4 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 8-71 3:18
09:40 TIGERS - Michael Diacomo 8 yd pass from Chance Barker (Saeed Aboulhosn kick), 6-68 2:01
04:57 TIGERS - Wyatt Cline 30 yd pass from Chance Barker (Chance Barker rush failed), 5-67 2:27
.....................................................BIGREDS TIGERS
FIRST DOWNS                              19            22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)               31-175     33-210
PASSING YDS (NET)                   230          241
Passes Att-Comp-Int                       30-14-0   26-20-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 61-405 59-451
Fumble Returns-Yards                    0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                        2-17         0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                   6-92         4-212
Interception Returns-Yards            0-0           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                      3-47.3      3-23.0
Fumbles-Lost                                  2-1           0-0
Penalties-Yards                               8-60         4-28
Possession Time                             22:54       23:27
Third-Down Conversions               5 of 12     4 of 10
Fourth-Down Conversions             2 of 3       0 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances             5-6           4-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards               2-3           0-0
RUSHING: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 16-87; David Parsons 10-61; Sylas Cheuvront 4-29; Anthony Ice 1-minus 2. Princeton-Marquel Lowe 22-170; Chance Barker 10-33; Dominick Collins 1-7.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 13-29-0-223; Cooper Cancade 1-1-0-7. Princeton-Chance Barker 20-26-0-241.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 4-76; Casey Stanley 3-72; Matthew Stalnaker 3-40; Andrew Stalnaker 2-24; Braxton Kupfner 1-12; Jason Williams 1-6. Princeton-Dominick Collins 9-124; Michael
Diacomo 4-54; Wyatt Cline 3-52; Bradley Mosser 2-12; Marquel Lowe 2-minus 1.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-None. Princeton-None.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 1-0; David Parsons 1-1. Princeton-None.
Parkersburg (7-5) vs. Princeton (11-1)
Date: Nov 17, 2023 • Site: Princeton • Stadium: Hunnicut
Attendance: 1500
Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 10:23 • Total elapsed time: 2:53

Princeton Stands In Path of PHS Semifinal Football Playoff Spot   

PRINCETON – Parkersburg looks to advance past the second round of the state football playoffs for the first time since 2007 in a game which could be another shootout for the Big Reds as they travel to Princeton Friday night at 7:30 to meet the once-beaten Tigers.
Fresh from a 47-23 upset of Hurricane the 13th ranked Big Reds are 7-4 and will face a 10-1 Princeton team which is ranked number five. The winner will face the victor of the No. 8 Bridgeport (10-1) vs. No. 1 Cabell Midland (10-1) in the semifinals.
The nearly three-hour trip for PHS will mark just the sixth meeting in history between the two teams with the Big Reds having won all five previous games. But it will be the first time in 34 years that the two teams have played since the last time they met was 1989 in the second of a two-year contract. Prior to that the teams met in 1979 and 1980 and before that there was a single meeting in 1928 with PHS winning 13-6.
Princeton’s only loss this year was to the same Hurricane team that PHS defeated on Friday. The Tigers dropped that high-scoring affair 56-42. Princeton, coached by first-year mentor Keith Taylor, advanced with a 37-7 win over Oak Hill, the second time this year the Tigers have beaten their near-by rivals having posted a 42-28 win in the season’s third game. Oak Hill is one of only three teams on the Princeton schedule that have a winning record this season the others being Tazewell (Va), a team they beat 42-0, and Parkersburg South which the Tigers defeated 48-27 in the last regular season contest.
Other Princeton wins were Lincoln County (49-0), Bluefield (27-6), Pulaski (49-40), Greenbrier East (56-7 and 55-0, they played each other twice) and Woodrow Wilson (56-20).
Princeton is averaging 50.2 points per game thanks to big trio of Dominick Collins, Marquel Lowe and Chance Barker. The Big Reds enter game with a 38.4 point per game scoring average. Both teams have quarterbacks with over 2,500 yards and 30 touchdowns passing.
Collins is a 5-foot10, 165-pound senior speedster who has scored 132 points with 21 touchdown receptions among his 1,274 yards receiving. He has three TD runs for a total of 24.
Lowe is a 5-11, 185-pound junior running back with 1,427 rushing yards and 108 points scored with 20 rushing touchdowns and four receiving scores.
The quarterback is sophomore Barker (6-2, 170) with 2,540 yards and 36 touchdowns through the air of 134 completions out of 187 attempts and only two interceptions. He has also run for one touchdown. Another of his favorite targets is Brad Mosser (5-11, 165 soph.) with 664 yards and six TD catches.
Out to stop that offensive output will be a Big Red defense led by the Stalnaker twins who have put up identical numbers to lead the PHS big-play prevent unit. Both seniors with 92 total tackles each, Andrew Stalnaker has five interceptions while Matthew Stalnaker has 22.5 tackles for loss including four sacks and two interceptions.
Zane Lewis has 86 tackles for PHS while Adam Elder has 66 including six sacks. Jason Williams is tied for the state lead with 11 sacks among his 42 tackles.  Cyrus Backus has four of the team’s 17 interceptions. Overall the Big Red defense has blocked six kicks and recovered nine fumbles.
Offensively the Big Reds are led by senior David Parsons with a school record 30 touchdown passes and 2,508 yards through the air on 150 completions of 242 attempts with seven interceptions. He has also run for five touchdowns.
The PHS receiving corps centers around the quartet of Anthony Ice (33-674-10), Matthew Stalnaker (31-550-5), Andrew Stalnaker (28-554-9) and Casey Stanley (25-408-6). Stanley is the team’s leading scorer with 101 points thanks to six (of seven) field goals and 47 (of 51) extra points and those six touchdowns. Ice also has a kickoff return touchdown.
On the ground the Big Reds got a season-best 131-yard effort from Williams against Hurricane as he carried the brunt of the rushing with Jakel Shelton out with an injury. Shelton leads the team with 416 yards on the ground while Williams now has 389. Both have rushed for seven touchdowns.

Parsons Leads PHS Upset of Hurricane

  Game Statistics

  HURRICANE – David Parsons threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more as Parkersburg stunned fourth-ranked Hurricane 47-23 here Friday night in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.
Sparked by a blocked punt from Andrew Stalnaker on the game’s fourth play the 13th ranked Big Reds dominated the highly regarded Redskins to win just their second playoff game since 2007 and notched their seventh victory of the season. PHS will play the winner of Saturday’s Princeton-Oak Hill game on the road again at a date and time to be determined Sunday.
Parsons set another school record with the three TD tosses, giving him 30 on the season, as he completed 14 of 22 passes for 192 yards while adding 37 yards on the ground with eight rushes. He broke Jake Johnson’s record of 27 touchdown passes accomplished in 2004 in 13 games.
Other standouts for PHS included Andrew Stalnaker who not only caught two touchdown passes but blocked the early punt that gave the Big Reds the momentum they needed for the blowout. Playing without an injured Jakel Shelton, the team’s leading rusher, Jason Williams picked up the slack with 121 yards rushing on 16 carries, scored one touchdown on a 28 yard run and came up with a state-leading 11th sack of the season (and has only played six games so far).
The Big Reds got off to a quick start thanks to their defense as Andrew Stalnaker came up the middle to smother a Hurricane punt attempt and Tytan Parsons recovered on the two yard line. Three plays later Parsons faked a handoff and went around left end for the touchdown with 9:12 still showing on the first quarter clock. Casey Stanley kicked the first of his six extra points.
Hurricane, which came into the game averaging 52.5 points per game (second best in the state), went four-and-out again on its second possession and PHS drove inside the home team 20 yard line only to fumble the ball away.
The teams traded punts before Hurricane got on the scoreboard thanks to an 82-yard catch-and-run by Redskins speedster Tyshawn Dues to the PHS five yard line. Three plays later Dues scored and Grayson Maddox extra point tied the game at 7-all with 1:10 left in the first quarter.
But it took PHS less than a minute to go ahead for good as Williams broke off a 43 yard run on the first play to the Hurricane 11 and two plays later Parsons found Andrew Stalnaker  for the touchdown from eight yards out.
The start of the second quarter saw the Big Reds continue their strong defense and forced a quick punt from the Hurricane 33. A high snap caused punter Maddox to pick the ball up inside his 15 and he promptly kicked the ball intentionally out the back of the end zone, giving PHS a safety and a penalty for illegal touching. Hurricane was offside on the ensuing free kick and finally kicked the ball to Williams who returned it 13 yards into Redskin territory at the 49.
A great 34-yard reception in a crowd by Stanley took the ball to the Hurricane 15 and on fourth down he kicked a 24-yard field goal to make it 19-7.
Just before the end of the half PHS put more points on the board Parsons hit Stalnaker again the Big Red senior shook off a tackler to complete a 37-yard scoring play with 14 seconds on the clock to make the score 26-7 at the intermission.
The second half was more of the same as PHS took the kickoff and drove 70 yards in seven plays with Matt Stalnaker doing the honors this time on a 22 yard reception to make it 33-7 with less than four minutes gone in the third quarter.
Hurricane switched 1,000 yard rusher Noah Vellaithambi to quarterback but he threw an interception (by Matt Stalnaker) near midfield and PHS responded with another quick score on a 28 yard run by Williams with four minutes left in the period to run the lead to 40-7.
The Redskins got their second touchdown with 49 seconds left in the third period on a six yard run by Kylan Grace and then recovered an onside kick but could not score as the PHS defense came up with a goal-line stand at the 10-minute mark.
PHS got a couple of first downs but punted and Hurricane was able to score after a 34 yard run by Vellaithambi, who dropped the snap from center but weaved his way through the defense to the PHS six yard line. From there he hit Tyshawn Dues for the TD to make it 40-23 with 3:28 left in the game.
Hurricane tried another onside kick but Matthew Stalnaker picked the ball up on a bounce and returned it 41 yards to set up back-to-back seven yard runs to the end zone with just 2:25 remaining to make it 47-23.
An interception by Andrew Stalnaker sealed the victory four plays later.

#13 Parkersburg vs #4 Hurricane (Nov 10, 2023 at Hurricane)
Score by Quarters   1      2      3      4      -       Total
Parkersburg          14    12    14    7      -       47
Hurricane              7      0      8      8      -       23
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 09:12 PHS - David Parsons 2 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 3-2 1:18
01:10 HURR - Tyshawn Dues 2 yd run (Grayson Maddox kick), 3-79 0:47
00:06 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 8 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-54 0:55
2nd 10:46 PHS - TEAM safety
07:48 PHS - Casey Stanley 24 yd field goal, 6-42 2:49
00:14 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 37 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 6-74 1:46
3rd 08:11 PHS - Matthew Stalnaker 22 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 7-70 3:41
04:00 PHS - Jason Williams 28 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 3-46 0:59
00:49 HURR - Kylan Grace 6 yd run (Noah Vellaithambi rush), 9-80 3:11
4th 03:28 HURR - Tyshawn Dues 6 yd pass from Noah Vellaithambi (Michael Terrell pass from N. Vellaithambi),
02:25 PHS - David Parsons 7 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 2-14 0:52
...............................................................PHS         HURR
FIRST DOWNS                                      17            24
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                        30-151     35-132
PASSING YDS (NET)                            192          313
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               22-14-0   44-22-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     52-343     79-445
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                1-16         0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           4-119       4-89
Interception Returns-Yards                    2-15         0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                              3-39.0      4-26.8
Fumbles-Lost                                          1-1           1-1
Penalties-Yards                                       4-37         14-154
Possession Time                                      23:52       23:02
Third-Down Conversions                        4 of 8       5 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions                      0 of 0       3 of 5
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                      4-5           3-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       1-4           1-5
RUSHING: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 17-121; David Parsons 9-37;  TEAM 2-minus 2; Sylas Cheuvront 3-minus 5. Hurricane-Noah Vellaithambi 15-89; Kylan Grace 12-64; Tyshawn Dues 4-15; Jacqai Long 3-minus 3; Grayson Maddox 1-minus 33.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 14-22-0-192. Hurricane-Noah Vellaithambi 13-29-2-141; Jacqai Long 9-15-0-172.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 3-46; Matthew Stalnaker 3-23; Casey Stanley 2-54; Jason Williams 2-26; Anthony Ice 2-21; Braxton Kupfner 1-15; Sylas Cheuvront 1-7. Hurricane-Tyshawn Dues 8-158; Michael Terrell 6-62; Rhett Mcgrew 4-63; Jai'den Smith 3-17; Laron Dues 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 1-15; Andrew Stalnaker 1-0. Hurricane-None.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-David Parsons 1-1. Hurricane-Noah Vellaithambi 1-1.

High-Scoring Hurricane Hosts PHS In First Round of Playoffs Friday

      HURRICANE – Parkersburg’s return to the playoffs features a first-round game on the home field of one of the state’s highest scoring teams, the Hurricane Redskins, here Friday night at 7:30.
The Big Reds finished the regular season ranked 13th with a 6-4 record with all four losses coming against teams which finished in the top 10 in the ranking. Hurricane wound up fourth in the final overall ratings with an 8-2 record, losing to ninth ranked George Washington 17-14 and second-ranked Huntington 28-6 (last week). The Redskins finished as the state’s second-highest scoring team to Huntington, 52.5 to 53.8 points per game.
While Hurricane is coming off a loss to Huntington in which the Redskins failed to score any points three times inside Huntington’s 10 yard line, the Big Reds are fresh from an impressive 41-10 victory over 16th ranked Musselman, which made the playoffs with a losing record (4-6). Huntington (9-1) used a pair of goal-line stands and made another stop at their own 6 in defeating Hurricane.
Three times this season Hurricane has lit up the scoreboard for more than 80 points in a game, beating Capital 93-7, St. Albans 81-0 and South Charleston 89-7. The Redskins of former South Charleston state championship coach Donnie Mays also beat Winfield 63-0, Spring Valley 48-35, Princeton 56-42, Cabell Midland 31-28 and Riverside 44-7.
Meanwhile the Big Reds have played eight common opponents with the Redskins, having beaten St. Albans 56-0, Riverside 47-0, South Charleston 63-0 and Capital 56-14 while losing to Cabell Midland 42-16, George Washington 22-11, Huntington 49-21 and Spring Valley 27-21.
It will be the 11th meeting overall between Parkersburg and Hurricane with PHS holding a 7-3 advantage despite losing the last two meetings to the Redskins (42-30 in 2021 and 60-36 in 2020).
Hurricane is led by junior Noah Vellaithambi (6-0, 200), a converted quarterback who has rushed for 1,353 yards on 191 carries and 19 touchdowns while adding another TD on a pass reception. He carried the ball 43 times for 206 yards against Huntington but did not score.
Redskin quarterback Jacqai Long (6-2, 210 sr.) scored the lone touchdown against Huntington on a 20-yard scamper and has rushed for 394 yards on 56 carries with six touchdowns. In the air Long has completed 119 of 169 passes for 1,618 yards with 19 touchdowns and just two interceptions.
Long has a large group of receivers with six of them having TD catches. Top target is Tyshawn Dues (5-11, 170 jr.) with 39 receptions for 724 yards and nine touchdowns while little brother Laron Dues (5-9, 170 soph.) has caught 23 passes for 305 yards and two scores. Michel Terrell (5-8, 170 sr.) has caught 27 passes for 464 yards and six touchdowns.
The Redskins play opportunistic defense with 20 total interceptions led by La’Ron Dues leading the way with four picks. They also have 32 quarterback sacks with Aaron Clark (6-2, 280 sr.) leading the way with 9.5. Hurricane is led in tackles by linebacker Joey Quijano (5-10, 205 jr.) with 63 and tackle Nate McKay (6-1, 265 sr.) with 50.
Hurricane senior kicker Will Mitchell has made 61 of 67 extra points and kicked four of five field goals with a long of 39 yards.
Parkersburg counters with record-setting quarterback David Parsons who has completed 136 of 220 passes (61.8 completion percentage) for 2,316 yards with 27 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He has also run for three scores and even caught his own pass against Musselman for 13 yards.
The Big Reds have four receivers with more than 20 receptions each. Anthony Ice leads the way with 31 catches in just six games while scoring 10 times through the air and gaining 659 yards. Matthew Stalnaker has 28 receptions for 527 yards and four touchdowns while twin brother Andrew Stalnaker has 25 catches for 508 yards and seven scores. Casey Stanley has caught 23 for 354 yards and six touchdowns and has even thrown a touchdown himself.
On the ground Jakel Shelton has 416 yards (4.7 average per carry) with seven touchdowns while Jason Williams has 258 yards (5.6) and six scores in just six games.
Stanley has kicked 41 of 45 extra points and five of six field goals (long of 32) to go with his six touchdowns for a total of 92 points scored. He has also put 34 of 59 kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks.
Defensively, Williams has 10 quarterback sacks in just six games while the Stalnaker brothers each have 81 tackles to lead the team. Andrew Stalnaker has four interceptions while Matthew Stalnaker has a team-high 20 tackles for loss. Zane Lewis is right behind with 80 tackles and Adam Elder has 57 including six sacks.
The winner of the Parkersburg-Hurricane game will play the winner of the Princeton versus Oak Hill contest.

Big Reds Peel Applemen 41-10
To Earn 13th Playoff Position
Game Statistics

INWOOD – In a game with lots of playoff implications, Parkersburg spotted Musselman an early field goal then ripped off 41 unanswered points to defeat the Applemen 41-10 here Friday and earn the 13th spot in the final ratings.
The 6-4 Big Reds got a big return to the lineup effort from senior Anthony Ice with three touchdowns and will unofficially play third seeded Hurricane in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs. Official final ratings as well as the date and time of the game will be decided Sunday at the playoff meeting at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission office.
Ice came back with a flourish in a hurry as he returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown just three minutes into the game after the Big Reds had fallen behind by a field goal thanks to a fumbled on Parkersburg’s first play from scrimmage. He later caught scoring passes of eight and 18 yards from David Parsons and finished with 68 receiving yards on four catches while Parsons completed 10 of 16 passes for 162 yards and three more touchdowns to add to his already record-setting total. Parsons has set the regular season record of 27 TD passes and that ties the overall season record including playoffs.
While Ice & Co. provided lots of offensive fireworks it was a fired-up Big Red defense that came up with the big plays that enabled the visitors to shut down the 15th ranked Applemen. Those plays included a blocked punt and recovery for a touchdown as well as three interceptions and fumble recovery. Andrew Stalnaker had the blocked punt and 12 yard return for a touchdown.
Jason Williams ran for 67 yards on just eight carries and a touchdown while Casey Stanley had the other TD reception, a 37-yard play as part of a 21-point first quarter.
The game begin the fourth quarter as part of the 35-point, mercy rule protocol that included a running clock. It was the fifth time this season the Big Reds have won a mercy-rule game.
Musselman took the 3-0 lead after recovering a fumble on the PHS six yard line but the defense, led by Andrew Stalnaker, held the home team on downs and Wilson Bonham had to kick a 31 yard field goal.
Ice answered that with a scintillating kickoff return for a touchdown and the rout had begun.
The second PHS possession resulted in a seven-play, 54-yard scoring drive with Williams breaking off a 24 yard run along the way and Parsons hitting Ice for the final eight yard with 4:58 on the first quarter clock.
The PHS defense came through again as Andrew Stalnaker recovered a Musselman fumble on the home team’s 40 yard line and it took three plays for Parsons to hit Stanley with a 37-yard scoring pass. Stanley’s third extra point kick made it 21-3 with 2:48 left in the first quarter.
On the Big Reds first possession of the second quarter, they were able to put together a 90-yard drive that took eight plays to reach the end zone again. Williams did the honors this time with a great second effort, tackle-breaking run covering 38 yards.
PHS continued its onslaught in the third quarter, driving from its own 10 to the Musselman 17 only to fumble the ball away. But once again the defense held on downs and this time Andrew Stalnaker broke through the block the punt attempt and then picked the ball up and rambled into the end zone to make it 35-3 midway through the period.
Connor Petty tipped a pass on the next series that Andrew Stalnaker intercepted and returned to the Musselman 21. Once again the Big Reds capitalized as Parsons found Ice with the sixth TD of the night and a 41-3 lead.
With the clock running in the fourth quarter Musselman was able to complete a 10-plau, 80-yard scoring drive thanks to some workhorse running by Brayden Miller.

#15 Parkersburg vs Musselman (Nov. 3, 2023 at Inwood, WV)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Total
Parkersburg                          21     7    13    0  - 41
Musselman                            3     0      0    7  - 10
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 09:36 MUSS - Wilson Bonham 31 yd field goal, 4-0 2:14
09:22 PHS - Anthony Ice 94 yd kickoff return (Casey Stanley kick)
04:58 PHS - Anthony Ice 8 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 7-54 3:18
02:48 PHS - Casey Stanley 37 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 4-40 1:27
2nd 07:25 PHS - Jason Williams 38 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 8-90 4:05
3rd 05:52 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 12 yd punt return (Casey Stanley kick)
00:51 PHS - Anthony Ice 18 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 5-21 3:16
4th 07:45 MUSS - Brayden Miller 2 yd run (Wilson Bonham kick), 10-80 5:06
......................................................................PHS           MUSS
FIRST DOWNS                                                 15               10
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                                 31-139       24-43
PASSING YDS (NET)                                      162             83
Passes Att-Comp-Int                                       16-10-0     20-13-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS              47-301       44-126
Fumble Returns-Yards                                      0-0             0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                           1-12           0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                                      2-94           4-105
Interception Returns-Yards                               3-19           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                                         1-19.0        4-25.0
Fumbles-Lost                                                     3-3             1-1
Penalties-Yards                                                  4-40           3-44
Possession Time                                                 20:39         19:36
Third-Down Conversions                                 4 of 9         2 of 9
Fourth-Down Conversions                               3 of 3         0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                                2-3             2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards                                  2-17           0-0
RUSHING: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 8-67; Jakel Shelton 13-45; Sylas Cheuvront 2-18; David Parsons 5-9; Anthony Ice 2-1; TEAM 1-minus 1. Musselman-Brayden Miller 11-46; Logan Shelton 7-13; Blake Sanders 1-minus 1; Eli Fleming 3-minus 3; Michael Thompson 2-minus 12.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 10-16-0-162. Musselman-Eli Fleming 9-14-3-56; Michael Thompson 4-6-0-27.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 4-68; Matthew Stalnaker 3-43; Casey Stanley 2-45; Jakel Shelton 1-6. Musselman-Brayden Miller 5-49; Logan Shelton 3-13; Isaah Beard 2-13; Blake Sanders 2-6; Eli Fleming 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 2-19; Cyrus Backus 1-0. Musselman-None.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-David Parsons 2-2; Cyrus Backus 1-1. Musselman-Brayden Miller 1-1.

Everyone Can Expect Wild Affair

When PHS Travels To Musselman   

 INWOOD – It should be another wild affair as the Parkersburg Big Reds close their regular season schedule here Friday night at 7 o’clock against the Applemen of Musselman.
It will be the fifth meeting between the two teams from opposite sides of the state and the two teams have split those previous four encounters with the winning team scoring points to the tune of 54, 28, 56 and 69 in each game.
The first ever meeting took place in 1999 in the playoffs with the Big Reds winning 54-14. The second confrontation was not until 2019 when Musselman won that playoff meeting 48-29. Two years ago it was a regular season contest and the Big Reds won a wild 56-52 slugfest. The return meeting last year at Stadium Field saw Ray Adames run wild for the Applemen with four long touchdowns to overshadow a 208-yard, three touchdown passing effort by PHS quarterback David Parsons.
This year should be more of the same as the Big Reds are clinging to a spot at the bottom of the playoff qualifiers (16th) with a 5-4 record after last week’s 27-21loss at Spring Valley.
Meanwhile, Musselman comes into the game with a 4-5 record and is currently ranked one spot above PHS at number 15. The Applemen have lost those five games to teams which have a combined 38-7 record. After opening with a 44-34 win over Handley (Va.) and a 22-15 victory over Loudoun Valley (Va.), the eastern panhandle squad dropped a 10-6 decision at Morgantown then fell to Spring Mills 26-3, lost to undefeated Martinsburg 42-0 and dropped a 42-14 decision at Cabell Midland.  Then came a 6-0 win at Hedgesville before falling at Jefferson 33-14. Last week the Applemen got three receiving touchdowns and 145 yards through the air by returning wide receiver starter Isaah Beard, who missed several games in the middle of the season with an injury.
The Big Reds should get back one of their starters this week as Anthony Ice is expected to dress for the final regular season game. Ice has missed three games with a foot injury. In five games this year he has caught 26 passes for 594 yards, a 22.8 average, and eight touchdowns.
He joins Andrew Stalnaker ((25-508-7), Matthew Stalnaker (25-484-4) and Casey Stanley (20-308-5) to give the Big Reds the most formidable group of receivers in the state.
Parsons has taken advantage of that group to throw for a school record 24 regular season touchdowns and 2,143 yards while completing 123 of 201 passes (61% completion). He has also run for three touchdowns.
Defensively PHS is led by Zane Lewis with 74 tackles, three interceptions and two blocked kicks. The Stalnaker twins are next in line with 71 stops each with Matthew getting 18.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Adam Elder has 54 tackles including six sacks while Jason Williams has made his presence felt over the last half of the season with 12 tackles for loss and a team-high eight sacks.
Musselman’s quarterback is Eli Fleming who was completing just fewer than 50% of his passes through six games with five touchdowns, four interceptions and 89 yards passing per game.
The Appleman’s leading rusher is Blake Sanders who had 369 yards and four touchdowns through seven games while Beard has five touchdown receptions in five games and Logan Shelton had three scoring catches in seven games while Brayden Miller was the top receiver in total passes caught. Colton Shelton was Musselman’s leading tackler through seven games with 59 stops, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

Turnovers Cost Big Reds In 27-21 Tough Loss To Spring Valley

Game Statistics

     HUNTINGTON – Four turnovers, two of which became immediate touchdowns, and another which halted a potential go-ahead score, proved the difference here Friday night as Parkersburg dropped a 27-21 decision to Spring Valley in a battle of top 15 ranked teams.
Spring Valley, rated 15th coming into the game, won its fifth straight contest after opening the season with four straight losses, got two interception return touchdowns en route to a 27-7 lead at one point mid-way through the third quarter.
Parkersburg, rated 13th, dropped to 5-4 on the year but nearly pulled off a great comeback by scoring twice in the third quarter and got the ball back with 2:53 left in the game after holding the Timberwolves on fourth down at the visitor’s 24 yard line to finally halt a 12-play Spring Valley drive.
A five-yard run by Jakel Shelton was followed by an 11-yard pass to Shelton and then quarterback David Parsons hit Zane Lewis to the 50 yard line with over 90 seconds to play. But the Big Reds lost their chance to go for the victory on a lost fumble that Spring Valley recovered at the Parkersburg 46. The Wolves ran the ball twice and pulled a surprise completion for nine yards and a first down to end the Big Red hopes.
The Big Reds played the Timberwolves even from start to finish with a 282-267 advantage in total yards but the two interceptions and two lost fumbles proved the difference against a Spring Valley team which did not commit a turnover.
Parsons completed just 10 of 27 passes for 185 yards while Spring Valley’s rotating quarterbacks hit 11 of 19 passes for 158 yards. Casey Stanley caught three passes for 78 yards for PHS while Bryce Fuller had three receptions for 65 yards for the winners.
The first Big Red mistake came with 2:12 left in the first quarter when a bad snap wound up in the arms of a Timberwolf player near midfield.
Holding Spring Valley on downs at the PHS 25, the Big Reds then gave the home team the lead when Tucker Hammond stepped in front of a Parsons pass at the Big Red 27 and he took it to the end zone.
The Big Reds answered that with a seven-play, 71-yard drive that included a 32-yard completion to Stanley to the 12 yard line. Shelton carries to the five and Jason Williams then went over right guard for the touchdown. Stanley’s extra point gave PHS the lead at 7-6.
After forcing a punt, Spring Valley regained the lead on a 35-yard pass-and-run play to Jalyn Abercrombie with 1:31 left in the half and Cole Ferguson ran for the two-point conversion to give the Wolves a 14-7 lead.
PHS nearly pulled off an answer to that score as Stanley got behind the defense at the goal line but the pass was overthrown on third down. On fourth down near midfield, Parsons had his second pass picked off by Garrett Wagoner who weaved his way 60 yards for the touchdown with just 53 seconds left in the half. The extra point kick failed again but it was now 20-7.
A 27-yard kickoff return by Williams and a 35-yard completion to Matt Stalnaker put PHS on the Spring Valley but the visitors ran out of time and downs.
Spring Valley was able to put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive to start the second half and capped it with a two-yard run by quarterback Liam McGuire, who gained 29 yard on six carries in the drive that ran the score to 27-7 with 6:49 on the third quarter clock.
PHS responded with two touchdowns in the next five minutes to close the gap to 27-21.
First Parsons found Andrew Stalnaker in the end zone from 21 yards away to cap a 66-yard, seven-play drive and then the PHS defense came up with a blocked punt by Sylas Cheuvront that Shelton returned 15 yards to the Timberwolf five yard line. Shelton got the touchdown on the next play and Stanley’s kick made it a six-point margin.
Spring Valley tried to run the clock out in the fourth quarter after an exchange of possessions but after 12 plays the Big Red defense came up with a stop on its own 24 on a fourth down play. McGuire’s running accounted for most of the yardage on the 41-play drive that ended when Williams pressured McGuire on a fourth-and-nine play.
However the momentum shift only lasted three plays before the critical lost fumble which Hammond recovered and enabled the hosts to run out the clock thanks to the third down pass play.

#13 Parkersburg vs #15 Spring Valley (Oct 27, 2023 at Huntington)
Score by Quarters        1       2       3       4       -        Total
Parkersburg                0        7      14     0       -        21
Spring Valley               0       20      7      0       -        27
Qtr Time Scoring play
2nd 09:29 SV - Will McClure 27 yd interception return (Makiath Riddle kick failed)
06:42 PHS - Jason Williams 5 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 7-71 2:42
01:31 SV - Jalyn Abercrombie 35 yd pass from Liam McGuire (Cole Ferguson rush), 3-57 1:05
00:38 SV - Garrett Wagoner 60 yd interception return (Makiath Riddle kick failed)
3rd 06:49 SV - Liam McGuire 2 yd run (Makiath Riddle kick), 10-80 5:11
03:56 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 21 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 7-66 2:48
01:41 PHS - Jakel Shelton 5 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 1-5 0:06
............................................................PHS               SV
FIRST DOWNS                                       14               14
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       25-97         40-109
PASSING YDS (NET)                            185             158
Passes Att-Comp-Int                                27-10-2     19-11-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS   52-282        59-267
Fumble Returns-Yards                             0-0             0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                  1-26           0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                            4-47           1-43
Interception Returns-Yards                     0-0             2-87
Punts (Number-Avg)                               3-35.3        4-28.2
Fumbles-Lost                                            2-2             0-0
Penalties-Yards                                         3-20           5-39
Possession Time                                       17:12         29:29
Third-Down Conversions                       2 of 11       3 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions                     0 of 2         1 of 4
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                      2-2             1-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards                        2-11           0-0
RUSHING: Parkersburg-Jakel Shelton 8-35; Jason Williams 10-32; David Parsons 5-29; TEAM 1-1; Andrew Stalnaker 1-0.  Spring Valley-Liam McGuire 18-44; Miguel Cain 8-42; Camrin Perdue 2-12; Braeden Booth 1-7; Jamison Smith 3-4; Garrett Wagoner 1-2; Garryk McFeeley 1-0; TEAM 1-minus 1; Jalyn Abercrombie
5-minus 1.
PASSING: Parkersburg-David Parsons 10-26-2-185; TEAM 0-1-0-0. Spring Valley-Liam McGuire 8-13-0-137; Jamison Smith 3-6-0-21.
RECEIVING: Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 4-51; Casey Stanley 3-78; Matthew Stalnaker 1-35; Jakel Shelton 1-11; Zane Lewis 1-10. Spring Valley-Bryce Fuller 3-65; Jalyn Abercrombie 3-44; Cole Ferguson 3-32; Tate Adkins 2-17.
INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg-None. Spring Valley-Garrett Wagoner 1-60; Will McClure 1-27.
FUMBLES: Parkersburg-Jason Williams 1-1; David Parsons 1-1. Spring Valley-None.

Spring Valley Will Be Stiff Test For Home Playoff Seeking PHS

  HUNTINGTON – While Parkersburg hopes to continue its new mini-win streak, Spring Valley has made a huge turn-around and will be a stiff test for the Big Reds here Friday night.
Spring Valley started its season with four straight losses but has since won four in a row, including a 17-14 victory last Friday over a George Washington team that beat the Big Reds 22-11 just three games ago. The Big Reds are ranked 13th in the state in Class AAA and Spring Valley is just two notches below at number 15.
Against GW the Timberwolves ran the ball 52 times and played a tough defense, especially in the first half. Junior quarterback Liam McGuire threw one touchdown pass and ran for another for Spring Valley while junior wide receiver Cole Ferguson (5-10, 158) caught six passes for 92 yards and a score.
The early losses for Spring Valley came at the hands of Huntington (42-7), Cabell Midland (28-20), Jefferson (42-20) and Hurricane (48-35) before the Timberwolves turned things around with wins over Riverside (49-12), South Charleston (63-0), Capital (62-0) and George Washington. So Spring Valley has given up just four touchdowns total in the last four games.
The two teams have had an unusual series, beginning in 2000. The teams met for five straight years with PHS winning three meetings and losing two with four of them being low-scoring affairs. The teams did not meet again until 2020 and have played each of the last three years with Spring Valley winning each time, last year by a 26-10 score.
Last year the Timberwolves took advantage of penalties and a 100-yard interception return touchdown to post the win despite being out-gained 333-275. Spring Valley only attempted four passes the entire game, completing one for a 44-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
Jalyn Abercrombie scored twice for the Wolves a year ago versus PHS and leads the team in rushing this year with 486 yards on 67 carries with eight touchdowns while also catching 15 passes for 242yards and two scores. McGuire has completed 25 of 42 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions while rushing for 145 yards on 45 carries and collecting one touchdown. Tate Adkins is the leading receiver with seven receptions for 199 yards and five touchdowns.
The Big Reds are coming off a 56-14 victory over Capital, scoring all its points in the first three quarters. The victory has apparently clinched a playoff berth for PHS and two more wins could give the Big Reds a first-round home playoff game.
PHS quarterback David Parsons, who threw a touchdown pass to Anthony Ice in last year’s Spring Valley game, is now just 42 yards away from 2,000 passing yards. He has completed 113 of 175 passes for 1,958 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has also run for three touchdowns. His total of TD passes thrown is a record for regular season and the all-time record is 27 including playoffs.
Although Ice is not expected to play Friday while recovering from an ankle injury, the Big Reds still have Matthew Stalnaker with 24 receptions for 449 yards and four score, Andrew Stalnaker with 21 catches for 457 yards and six touchdowns and Casey Stanley with 17 receptions for 230 yards and five scores.
Jakel Shelton has 342 yards rushing and six touchdowns while also catching 17 passes for another score. Jason Williams has come on strong lately and now had four touchdowns rushing.
Defensively, Zane Lewis is the top tackler with 63 stops to go with three interceptions and two blocked kicks. Matthew and Andrew Stalnaker come in with 62 and 59 tackles respectively with 18 of Matthew’s stops being tackles for loss (including four sacks). Williams and Adam Elder have six sacks each.

Big Reds End Slide, Clinch Playoff Spot

    Game Statistics

   Parkersburg ended its three-game losing streak and apparently clinched a playoff berth with a 56-14 victory over old rival Capital Friday during Senior Night at Stadium Field.
Still playing without top receiver and touchdown maker Anthony Ice (out with an ankle injury), the 13th ranked Big Reds overcame four turnovers to produce three touchdowns in each of the middle quarters en route to their fifth victory in eight outings.
Showing off a running game for the first time this season the Big Reds rumbled for 203 yards on the ground as Jason Williams picked up 93 yards on just six carries, scoring three times, while Jakel Shelton added 84 on 11 attempts and also scored three times although one was on a pass reception from David Parsons.
Parsons only threw 10 passes but completed nine for two touchdowns while one of his favorite receivers, Casey Stanley also threw a touchdown. The Stalnaker twins, Andrew and Matthew, each caught a TD pass from Parsons and each had four receptions. Overall, PHS had 239 yards passing for a 442 total yardage total on just 37 plays.
The Big Reds took just 90 seconds to score as Williams broke off a 16 yard run on the first play from scrimmage and a facemask penalty was followed by an 18 yard scoring strike to Andrew Stalnaker with 10:30 on the first period clock.
A short punt gave PHS the ball back four plays later on the Capital 41 and four plays later Shelton went around right end from four yards out to make it 14-0 after Stanley’s kick.
Turnovers halted the Big Red offense on the next two tries, an interception in the end zone and a fumble on the Capital 25 but the onslaught continued early in the second period when Matthew Stalnaker sacked the Capital quarterback on a fourth down play on the Cougar 38. After a one yard run, Parsons threw a backward pass to Stanley who then threw a bomb across the field to a wide-open Shelton for an easy 29 yard touchdown play just 92 seconds into the second stanza to make it 21-0.
Capital, now 2-6, got on the board just 36 seconds later thanks to a 64 yard pass and run play from Fernado Valdivia to Jermer Smith. Stanley ran Smith down at the two yard line but two plays later Valdivia scored after a nice fake handoff and keeper around end.
A 58-yard punt return by Williams set up Parkersburg’s fourth touchdown, a slant over right guard with 5:57 left in the half.
A short punt gave PHS the ball back on the Capital 31 with 3:05 on the clock and on the first play Williams turned in a touchdown run that include some second and third effort to up the score to 35-7.
The Big Reds scored on their first and fourth plays in the second half. Parsons hit Matthew Stalnaker with a 59 yard pass and after another strong defensive effort got the ball back four plays later and it took Shelton and Williams four plays to cover 43 yards and make it 49-7.
The final Big Red points came with Shelton capping a five play, 40-yard drive with a one yard run. The speedy back gained 23 of the yards on four carries.
With a running black and 10-minute fourth quarter, Capital was able to score on an 80-yard drive against the PHS reserves when Valdivia broke off a 40-yard run to the end zone.
Williams had two of the three Big Red sacks and sparked a defense which held Capital to just 56 yards rushing and 86 passing and just six first downs. The Cougars attempted just three passes in the second half, completing none, to finish 4-of-11 through the air with 104 of their 142 total yards coming on just two plays and 56 minus yards on the night.

Capital vs #13 Parkersburg (Oct 20, 2023 at Parkersburg)
Score by Quarters  1      2      3      4 -    Total
Capital                 0      7      0      7 -    14
Parkersburg       14     21    21     0 -    56
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 10:30 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 18 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-62 1:30
06:01 PHS - Jakel Shelton 4 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 4-41 2:05
2nd 10:28 PHS - Jakel Shelton 29 yd pass from Casey Stanley (Casey Stanley kick), 2-30 0:37
09:52 CAP - Fernado Valdivia 1 yd run (Jayson Lee kick), 2-66 0:27
05:57 PHS - Jason Williams 5 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 3-25 0:55
02:54 PHS - Jason Williams 31 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 1-31 0:11
3rd 09:24 PHS - Matthew Stalnaker 59 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 1-59 0:12
06:24 PHS - Jason Williams 1 yd run (Conner Gribble kick), 3-43 0:00
03:07 PHS - Jakel Shelton 1 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 5-40 2:39
4th 08:15 CAP - Fernado Valdivia 40 yd run (Jayson Lee kick), 8-80 6:52
............................................................CAP        PHS
FIRST DOWNS                                      6              17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       37-56       22-203
PASSING YDS (NET)                           86            239
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               11-4-0     15-13-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     48-142     37-442
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                0-0           3-73
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           3-56         2-36
Interception Returns-Yards                    1-0           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                              9-28.4      1-28.0
Fumbles-Lost                                          3-1           3-3
Penalties-Yards                                       13-114     9-72
Possession Time                                     27:50       17:35
Third-Down Conversions                       3 of 13     1 of 3
Fourth-Down Conversions                     0 of 1       1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     1-1           4-5
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       0-0           3-25
RUSHING: Capital-Fernado Valdivia 15-26; Camdyn Harris 9-17; David Robinson 6-8; Damian Johnson 7-5. Parkersburg-Jason Williams 6-93; Jakel Shelton 11-84; Ethan Jones 1-19; David Parsons 1-6; Cooper
Cancade 2-1; Allen Bradlee 1-0.
PASSING: Capital-Fernado Valdivia 4-11-0-86. Parkersburg-David Parsons 9-10-1-172; Cooper Cancade 3-4-0-38; Casey Stanley 1-1-0-29.
RECEIVING: Capital-Jermer Smith 1-64; Jamari Smith 1-12; Trisdon Ciampanella 1-7; Camdyn Harris 1-3. Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 4-117; Jakel Shelton 4-49; Andrew Stalnaker 1-18; Eli Bauman 1-17;
Jason Williams 1-17; Braxton Kupfner 1-13; Ethan Jones 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS: Capital-Damian Johnson 1-0. Parkersburg-None.
FUMBLES: Capital-Fernado Valdivia 2-1; David Robinson 1-0. Parkersburg-Cooper Cancade 1-1; Jakel Shelton 1-1; Jason Williams 1-1.
Capital (2-6) vs. Parkersburg (5-3)
Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 10:00 • Total elapsed time: 2:30

Big Reds Hoping To Begin Turn-Around Against Capital On Senior Night
After a rugged stretch of four games against outstanding opposition the Big Reds hope to celebrate senior night by ending a three-game skid against long-time rival Capital Friday night at Stadium Field.
Parkersburg is coming off a five-week period where the opponents included three top four ranked teams and another that had just scored a school record 98 points the week before. This week the Big Reds face a Capital team which has won just two of seven games but owns a 16-15 advantage in the overall series between the two Mountain State Conference opponents.
Having won the last two meetings with Capital, including a 44-14 victory a year ago, the Big Reds need to bounce back from last week’s loss to top ranked and undefeated Huntington. Even though PHS scored more points last week than all six previous opponents had managed to score against the Highlanders (21-20), the Big Reds have been hurt by turnovers and big plays in recent weeks. A fumble recovery touchdown and an 85 yard punt return TD were the back-breaking plays last week by Huntington.
Capital has been up and down this year with problems of its own especially on defense. The Cougars of coach Mark Mason opened the season by giving up 176 points in their first two games in losses to Parkersburg South (83-26) and Hurricane (93-7). The rebounded with a 48-18 win over St. Albans before having offensive troubles in losses to Huntington (58-0) and Cabell Midland (66-6) But Capital turned things around with a win over Riverside (27-23). Last week Spring Valley ran over the Cougars 62-0.
Capital is led by sophomore quarterback Fernado Valdivia who had a good game a year ago against the Big Reds as a freshman as he threw for 113 yards by completing eight of 18 passes for one touchdown and suffered two interceptions. He also ran for the other Cougar touchdown last year against PHS. This year’s Capital team has just three seniors listed on its roster.
The Big Reds got 250 yards passing a year ago against the Cougars as David Parsons completed 16 of 23 passes for three touchdowns. PHS scored six TDs against Capital, two each by underclassmen Anthony Ice, Casey Stanley and Andrew Stalnaker. Ice and Stalnaker each returned interceptions against the Cougars and Stanley had a blocked punt return score.
This year the Big Reds have returned four interceptions for touchdowns as well as a fumble return for a score. They have a total of 12 interceptions and six fumble recoveries while coming up with 15 sacks.
Adam Elder leads the way for PHS with six sacks and also has nine tackles for loss while Zane Lewis and Cyrus Backus have three interceptions each. Andrew Stalnaker and Lewis have 57 tackles each while Matthew Stalnaker has 54 stops. Lewis has two blocked kicks.
Offensively for the Big Reds, Ice leads the team with eight touchdowns despite missing two games with injuries including the Huntington game a week ago. Ice has 26 receptions for 594 yards (22.8 average) and eight scores.
Stanley and Andrew Stalnaker each have five touchdowns while Jakel Shelton and Matthew Stalnaker have reached the end zone four times each. Each Stalnaker twin has caught 20 passes this year while Stanley has 17 receptions.
Parsons has now completed 104 of 165 passes (63%) for 1,786 yards and 21 touchdowns with four interceptions. The senior signal caller is on track to become just the fourth 2,000 yard passer in school history. He has 1,938 yards in total offense.

Kick Returner Extraordinaire Wenzel Named To Big Red Hall of Fame
A long kickoff return for a touchdown just might be the most exciting thing that happens in a football game.
If that is the case, then Derek Wenzel may have provided the most excitement of any player in the history of Big Red football and will be inducted into the Parkersburg High School Football Hall of Fame Friday night prior to the Capital game.

As a junior in 2008, despite a knee injury, he returned four kickoffs for touchdowns (99, 91, 85, and 84 yards), had one touchdown return called back because of a penalty, and had two other returns of 70 yards or more which were stopped short of the end zone. He also returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
The following year as a senior he added another kickoff return (88 yards), giving him a career total of five touchdown returns. His one-season total of four is a West Virginia state record, and was ranked fourth nationally for career kickoff return TDs. He currently is ranks ninth nationally in that category.
Wenzel wasn’t just an extraordinary kickoff returner. Coach Bernie Buttrey called him “one of the most talented individuals ever to wear a Big Red uniform.” In the course of his PHS career he was a two-way starter for two years, playing quarterback, wingback, cornerback, and safety. He was also an excellent punter, making all-state at that position as a junior, and holds the sixth longest season punting average in PHS history at 39.0 yards, including one of 73 yards. He had eight career interceptions including four in 2007 as a sophomore. He amassed 1600 yards in total offense rushing and passing in 2008. He was voted first team Mountain State Athletic conference in 2007 and 2008, and was awarded the Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year for 2008-9.  He was a Big Red team captain as a junior and senior.
The son of Angie (Roach) and father Dave, he played all sports as a youth and once held the county track record in the 100 meters as a ninth grader at Jackson. He advanced to the Punt, Pass, and Kick Nationals in 2005 at Steelers’ Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
In part because of his injury, he did not play organized sports after high school. He attended WVUP for a short time, and soon became employed by Monongahela Power. With its support through its Power Systems Institute program, he graduated from Fairmont State University with an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Electrical Utility Technology and an Associates of Applied Science in Marketing and Management. He continues his ten-year employment with Mon Power as  a substation electrician. He is also the owner of Wenzel Property Group, LLC. 
He cherishes time everywhere with his two sons Ryker (9) and Lane (4) as well as his girlfriend Tara Gerber, His other passions include hunting and food plotting , fishing, and boating, and his favorite vacation destination is Lake Norman, NC.

#1 Huntington Uses Big Plays to Beat PHS

Game Statistics

       A fumble recovery in the end zone and an 85 yard punt return broke open a close game in the second quarter and powered number one ranked defending state champion Huntington to a 49-21 win over 12th ranked Parkersburg Friday night at Stadium Field.
The big plays enabled the Highlanders to win their school record 20th straight game and raise their season’s record to 7-0 while dropping the Big Reds to 4-3 with their third straight loss heading into next week’s game against visiting Capital.
Although failing on the scoreboard, PHS managed to win the statistic battle in first downs (18-14), rushing yardage (134-93) and time of possession (28:40-18:57) against the quick-striking visitors. Huntington got three touchdown passes from Avonte Crawford as he completed 12 of 16 passes for 227 yards. Overall the Highlanders held a 315-250 advantage in total yards.
After a 1-for-6 start, Big Red quarterback David Parsons finished 12 of 23 for 116 yards with Andrew Stalnaker caching four for 63 yards and two touchdowns. On the ground Jakel Shelton ran for 54 yards on 13 attempts while Jason Williams had a touchdown among his 12 carries for 47 yards. PHS played without leading receiver Anthony Ice who was injured two weeks ago.
A 26 yard punt return by Zah Jackson, who returned three punts for 122 yards including the big TD run, set up Huntington’s initial touchdown, a one yard run by Jackson. The visitors only had to go 37 yards on its first scoring drive.
Huntington made it 14-0 late in the first quarter on a 46 yard pass to Michael Johnson but PHS answered with a 73-yard, 12-play drive that ended on a seven yard TD pass to Stalnaker with 6:37 left in the second quarter.
PHS got pinned deep in its own territory on the 22 yard line after a Highlander punt. On the first play following the kick Parsons was flagged for his second intentional grounding penalty and the Big Reds were back on their own eight yard line. A false start penalty followed that and things got even worse when the Big Reds fumbled into their own end zone and Huntington recovered to make it 21-7.
The Big Reds moved into Huntington territory on its next possession to the 43 but a holding penalty killed that drive and forced a PHS punt that Jackson picked up on his 15, reversed field and raced 85 yards for a touchdown that made it 28-7.
At the half PHS held a 105-92 edge in total yards and a 10-3 margin in first downs while running twice as many plays (34-16) but still trailed by three touchdowns on the scoreboard.
Huntington came out throwing in the third quarter, hitting passes for 17, 20 and 30 yards to set up Crawford’s one yard run untouched around right end to run the score to 35-7.
PHS responded with a 40 yard TD toss to Stalnaker just 1:40 later to make it 35-14 but Huntington got another big pass play of 45 yards to Jamari Tubbs to set up a short pass from Tyrone McNeely which made it 42-14 with 5:02 left in the third quarter.
A 35 yard completion to McNeely set up Huntington’s seventh touchdown and made the fourth quarter a running clock situation.
PHS got its final touchdown after a 44 yard kickoff return by Williams, who also got the touchdown from two yards out with a second effort run over the left side with 22.1 seconds left in the game.

#1 Huntington vs #12 Parkersburg (Oct 13, 2023 at Parkersburg)
Score by Quarters   1      2      3      4  -Total
Huntington            14  14    21     0   -  49
Parkersburg          0     7      7      7   -  21
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 05:46 HUNT - Zah Jackson 1 yd run (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick), 7-37 4:08
01:04 HUNT - Michael Johnson 46 yd pass from Avonte Crawford (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick), 3-55 1:28
2nd 06:37 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 7 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 12-72 6:21
04:51 HUNT - Cameron Veazey 0 yd fumble recovery (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick)
00:34 HUNT - Zah Jackson 85 yd punt return (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick)
3rd 10:34 HUNT - Avonte Crawford 1 yd run (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick), 5-80 1:26
08:48 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 40 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 4-56 1:40
05:02 HUNT - Tyrone McNeely 7 yd pass from Avonte Crawford (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick), 7-80 3:46
00:10 HUNT - Jamari Tubbs 2 yd pass from Avonte Crawford (Jonathan Aya-Ay kick), 6-51 2:27
4th 00:23 PHS - Jason Williams 2 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 5-40 2:50
..............................................................HUNT PHS
FIRST DOWNS                                      14            18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       20-93       34-134
PASSING YDS (NET)                           222          116
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               18-13-0   23-12-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     38-315     57-250
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                3-122       2-44
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           1-8           6-85
Interception Returns-Yards                    0-0           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                              3-39.0      5-33.6
Fumbles-Lost                                          1-0           4-2
Penalties-Yards                                       10-106     10-109
Possession Time                                     18:57       28:40
Third-Down Conversions                       1 of 5       5 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions                     1 of 1       1 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     4-4           2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       1-19         1-5
RUSHING: Huntington-Zah Jackson 8-47; DEdrick Graves 7-44; Avonte Crawford 4-7; TEAM 1-minus 5.
Parkersburg-Jakel Shelton 13-54; Jason Williams 12-47; Andrew Stalnaker 1-26; David Parsons 7-8; TEAM 1-minus 1.
PASSING: Huntington-Avonte Crawford 12-16-0-227; Jaxon Hatfield 1-2-0-minus 5. Parkersburg-David Parsons 12-23-0-116.
RECEIVING: Huntington-Tyrone McNeely 6-81; Tayveon Wilson 3-49; Jamari Tubbs 2-47; Michael Johnson 1-46; Zah Jackson 1-minus 1. Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 4-63; Jason Williams 3-24; Matthew
Stalnaker 3-17; Casey Stanley 1-16; Jakel Shelton 1-minus 4.
FUMBLES: Huntington-Avonte Crawford 1-0. Parkersburg-David Parsons 2-2; Jason Williams 1-0; Sylas Cheuvront 1-0.
Huntington (7-0) vs. Parkersburg (4-3)
Date: Oct 13, 2023 • Site: Parkersburg • Stadium: Stadium Field
Attendance: 1000
Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 9:57 • Total elapsed time: 2:27
SACKS (UA-A): Huntington-Max Bohren 1-0. Parkersburg-Adam Elder 0-1; Jason Williams 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Unofficial Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 5-1; Jakel Shelton 3-2; Andrew Stalnaker 1-4; Jason Williams 1-3; Zane Lewis 3-0; Adam Elder 0-3; Tytan Parsons 1-1; Chris Cox 1-1; Eli Bauman 1-1; Jake Bauman 1-0; Austin Jones 1-0; Allen Bradlee 1-0; Casey Stanley 1-0.

Undefeated, Defending Champ Huntington Invades

      The task just keeps getting tougher for the Parkersburg Big Red football team this Friday night at Stadium Field.
And a daunting task it is as PHS faces its third top four ranked team in a row. The Big Reds host a Huntington team which is not only the defending state champion with two of its top players returning from a year ago but a team which has put up the most impressive numbers of anyone in West Virginia this season.
And PHS must try to bounce back from a disheartening 22-11 loss to George Washington. A loss which dropped the Big Reds’ record to 4-2. Meanwhile, Huntington will enter the game with a spotless 6-0 record and should be ranked number one in the latest Class AAA rankings after being number two prior to last week’s 49-0 win over Beckley Woodrow Wilson.
Coach Billy Seals and his Highlanders have outscored the opposition 354-20 in six games for an average of almost 60 points scored per game and have given up just three touchdowns. In the first half of their games the Highlanders have a 291-7 advantage on the scoreboard. Their other wins have come by scores of 42-7 versus Spring Valley, 86-0 over South Charleston, 42-13 against George Washington, 58-0 over Capital, 77-0 versus Riverside and Beckley.
The Big Reds will also be trying to avenge a 41-20 loss a year ago at Huntington. In that game Zah Jackson scored four touchdowns on runs of 76, 19 and 56 yards and returned an interception 13 yards for another score. He had 183 yards rushing on just seven carries and caught two passes for 19 more. Duane Harris, the all-state transfer from South Charleston, scored one touchdown and caught six passes for 120 yards.
Huntington did graduate all-state quarterback Gavin Lochow but have replaced him with 6-foot-3, 180 pound junior Avonte Crawford. All Crawford has done so far is complete 51 of 77 passes for 838 yards with 13 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He has also rushed 11 times for 53 yards and one score.
Jackson, a 5-11, 180 junior, has only carried the ball 50 times this year since he has sat out most of the second halves of just about every game. He has gained 385 yards to lead the team and had eight rushing touchdowns. D’Edrick Graves (6-1, 220 jr.) is second on the team with 198 yards on 14 carries and five scores. Harris, a 5-10, 175 sr., has caught 17 passes for 291 yards and six touchdowns. Other top receivers are Tayveon Wilson (6-3, 205 soph.) with 233 yards and three touchdowns among his seven catches, Jamari Tubbs (6-0, 175 jr.) with six catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Taviun Chandler (6-3, 170 jr.) with three touchdowns on his four receptions.
Harris leads the Highlander with 10 touchdowns while Jackson has nine and Wilson eight. Jonny Aya-Ay has kicked 49 out of 49 extra points.
Coming off a bye week the Big Reds should be better rested after two tough games in a row. Quarterback David Parsons and his elite receiving corps continue to lead the way on offense for PHS with an average of 285 yards through the air per game.
Parsons has completed 92 of 142 passes for 1,670 yards and 19 touchdowns while being intercepted four times. Anthony Ice has caught 26 passes for 594 yards (22.8 average) and eight touchdowns while the Stalnaker twins have combined for 33 catches, 691 yards and have split six touchdowns with Matthew grabbing 17 for 315 and Andrew 16 for 376. Casey Stanley has caught 16 for 214 and five touchdowns.
Stanley leads the team with 68 points on five touchdowns, 23 of 26 extra points and five field goals (in five attempts).
The Big Reds have returned four of their 12 interceptions for touchdowns as well as one fumble for a score. Zane Lewis leads the team with 51 tackles while Matthew Stalnaker has 49 stops and Andrew Stalnaker 47. Matthew Stalnaker has 13.5 tackles for loss including four sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception while Lewis has three interceptions, two blocked kicks and a safety.

Uhl, Hawk To Enter PHS Hall of Fame

        One of the strongest Big Reds ever and one of the best centers of all time and will enter the Parkersburg High School Football Hall of Fame this Friday prior to the Huntington game at Stadium Field.
        Judd Uhl, a two-way, three-year starter at tackle in the late 1990s, and Clayton Hawk, a two-time all-state selection as a center in 1935 and 1936, and will enter the hall prior to the all-important game against the number one ranked Highlanders.
Cracking the starting lineup as a sophomore, Uhl played alongside all-staters Nathan Kirby, Leigh Barbour, Steve Haught and current PHS head coach Matt Kimes on teams which won 29 games in three years, making it all the way to the state finals in 1997 before losing to North Marion by a 16-6 score in frigid conditions.
Uhl was called by coach Marshall Burdette as the best offensive lineman at PHS since Rick Phillips and was praised for his unusual strength in the weight room for his ability to bench press over 375 pound. “He’s the strongest kid I’ve had here,” said Burdette. “In fact, he’s the only kid we’ve had to go over 350 pounds.”
The 1997 team captain, Uhl was first team all-state as well as being a Hunt Award nominee and earned the Buddy James Award.
Residing in Parkersburg with his wife of 18 years, Rebecca, and their three children, Von, Evelyn and Annalise, Uhl has been employed with CSX for the last 23 years as a freight conductor. He is a board member and coach for the North Parkersburg Ramblers and assists with the Parkersburg Cougars wrestling program and Vienna Rec programs. He hopes to see the day when his son can put on a PHS jersey and play on the same field he enjoyed for three years.
        Clayton Hawk, better known as Bus, was an outstanding three-sport athlete at PHS, graduating in 1937. He was born in Ravenswood in 1915 but played his football career for Ross McHenry and Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder.
Although weighing just 158 pounds he anchored both lines at PHS earning all-state honors second team as a junior and first team as a senior center. The Big Reds won 15 of 20 games those two years, posting 10 shutouts. Among his teammates was Walter “Piggy” Barnes. He also played basketball and golf and was president of the Big Red council.
Following graduation Hawk married Mary Estelle Taylor of
Parkersburg in 1940 in Paducah, Kentucky, moving to Chattanooga, Tennessee sometime later. He served in the Navy in World War II. They moved to Florida in the early 1950s and lived in the Gainesville area for the rest of his life. He became a chiropractor and continued to play highly competitive amateur golf and participated in Florida state tournaments on a regular basis through the early 1960s.
Hawk and his wife had three children, three grandchildren,
and three great-grandchildren. Granddaughter Kelly May of Florida emphasized that he had a wonderful sense of humor, was a huge Gator fan, and adored his three grandchildren. He died In 1986 at age 70.

Turnovers Costly As PHS Falls To GW, 22-11

Game Statistics

Turnovers are not something you want if you are trying to turn things around after your first loss.
The Parkersburg Big Reds turned the ball over three times against visiting George Washington Friday night at Stadium Field and the result was a 22-11 loss to the Patriots despite out-gaining their Kanawha county visitors by over 100 yards.
Suffering two interceptions, one on a trick play, and fumbling the ball away after a pass completion to the GW 27 yard line proved costly as PHS could not finish a couple of scoring drives. The Big Reds had to settle for a field goal on one drive and came away with no points after getting a first and goal at the six yard line in the fourth quarter.
The Big Reds out-gained the winners 368-257 in total yards as David Parsons passed for 339 by completing 23 of 42 passes but had one interception to go with one touchdown.
Hunter Giacomo proved to be the difference for the winners, catching a 60 yard scoring pass from quarterback Abe Fenwick just 3:34 into the game and then coming up with an interception return of 68 yards for another touchdown in the third quarter.
Following the first GW touchdown, Matthew Stalnaker blocked the extra point kick and then caught a 40 yard pass to set up Casey Stanley’s 20 yard field goal with 5:56 left in the first quarter to make it a 6-3 game. The Big Reds drove for a first and goal at the GW 10 but could get no closer than the two and had to settle for Stanley’s kick.
The visitors tacked on a 29 yard field goal with 1:31 left in the second quarter to make it 9-3 at the half.
The Big Reds took the second half kickoff and drove to the GW 27 on a pass to Matt Stalnaker but a fumble ended that opportunity. PHS got the ball back on a punt only to give up a touchdown on Giacomo’s big pick-six return of 68 yards.
PHS pulled to within six at 15-9 when Parsons hit Anthony Ice over the middle and the speedy senior out-ran the secondary to complete a 64 yard touchdown play with 50 seconds left in the third quarter. The extra point kick was blocked.
Zane Lewis made it interesting with a blocked punt on the following series and then tackled the GW player who recovered the ball in the end zone for a safety to make it 15-11 heading into the fourth quarter.
A 50-yard kickoff return by Jason Williams following the safety put PHS in GW territory at the 30 yard line but four plays lost a net of three yards and GW took over.
The Patriots gambled on fourth down on their own 41 yards line and got PHS to jump offside for a first down near midfield. The visitors moved to a first and goal at the PHS five before Fenwick scored on a fourth down sneak from the one yard line to make it 22-11 after the extra point with 3:10 left in the game.
PHS tried to rally by moving the ball to the GW six yard line mainly on a 69 yard catch and run by Ice but three incomplete passes and one rush ended the threat with 51 seconds left in the contest.
Ice finished with seven receptions for 149 yards while Matthew Stalnaker caught eight passes for 123 yards.

George Washington vs Parkersburg (Sep 29, 2023 at Parkersburg)
Score by Quarters      1       2       3       4 -     Total
George Washington   6       3       6       7-      22
Parkersburg               3       0       8       0-      11
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 08:26 GW - Hunter Giacomo 60 yd pass from Abe Fenwick (Jordan Price kick blockd), 6-76 3:34
05:56 PHS - Casey Stanley 20 yd field goal, 7-62 2:30
2nd 01:31 GW - Jordan Price 29 yd field goal, 13-80 6:08
3rd 02:51 GW - Hunter Giacomo 68 yd interception return (Abe Fenwick pass failed)
00:50 PHS - Anthony Ice 64 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick blockd), 4-80 2:01
00:00 PHS - Zane Lewis safety tackled GW player in end zone
4th 03:10 GW - Abe Fenwick 1 yd run (Jordan Price kick), 14-67 6:58
...........................................................GW           PHS
FIRST DOWNS                                   12               16
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                     32-51         15-29
PASSING YDS (NET)                          206             339
Passes Att-Comp-Int                             18-12-0     44-23-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS   50-257       59-368
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0             0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                 0-0             1-25
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           1-17           3-81
Interception Returns-Yards                     2-68           0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)                            4-30.2        1-42.0
Fumbles-Lost                                        0-0             1-1
Penalties-Yards                                     6-60           5-38
Possession Time                                   25:24         21:42
Third-Down Conversions                      4 of 10       4 of 12
Fourth-Down Conversions                     1 of 1         2 of 6
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     2-2             1-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards                      1-9             4-39
RUSHING: George Washington-Keegan Sack 10-46; Anthony Valentine 11-10; Abe Fenwick 11-minus 5. Parkersburg-Jakel Shelton 4-17; Ethan Jones 1-7; Anthony Ice 1-3; Jason Williams 4-1; David Parsons 5-1.
PASSING: George Washington-Abe Fenwick 12-18-0-206. Parkersburg-David Parsons 23-42-1-339; Casey Stanley 0-1-1-0; Cooper Cancade 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: George Washington-Hunter Giacomo 3-89; Bryson Sowards 3-63; Anthony Valentine 3-34; Keegan Sack 2-12; Guner Flores 1-8. Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 8-123; Anthony Ice 7-149; Casey Stanley 3-24; Jakel Shelton 2-28; Tytan Parsons 1-10; Jason Williams 1-4; Andrew Stalnaker 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS: George Washington-Hunter Giacomo 1-68; Anthony Valentine 1-0. Parkersburg-None.
FUMBLES: George Washington-None. Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 1-1.
George Washington (3-3) vs. Parkersburg (4-2)
Attendance: 2500
Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 10:04 • Total elapsed time: 2:34
SACKS (UA-A): George Washington-None. Parkersburg-Jason Williams 2-0; Ethan Jones 1-0; Matthew Stalnaker 1-0.
TACKLES Unofficial (UA-A): George Washington-None. Parkersburg-Jake Bauman 2-7; Jason Williams 6-2; AndrewStalnaker 2-5; Zane Lewis 1-4; Adam Elder 1-4; Matthew Stalnaker 2-2; Chris Cox 1-3; Anthony Ice 2-1; Jakel Shelton 2-0; Tytan Parsons 0-2; Conner Petty 1-0; Casey Stanley 1-0; Ethan Jones 1-0; Allen Bradlee 1-0; Eli Bauman 0-1; Carter Watts 0-1.

After Scoring 98 Points, GW Meets PHS Friday Night At Stadium Field

   How do you prepare for a team which just scored 98 points in their last game?
That’s what the Parkersburg defense will have to work on as they get ready to host George Washington Friday night at Stadium Field.
The Big Reds are coming off their first loss of the season and will face a GW Patriot team that rolled up a 98-7 winning score last Friday against South Charleston. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Stadium Field.
The Big Reds, who are now 4-1 and ranked sixth in the state after Friday’s 42-16 defeat at the hands of a still undefeated Cabell Midland team, will try to bounce back against a team which set a school record by 10 points against a still winless South Charleston team.
Midland beat George Washington 49-21 in the season opener. The Patriots followed that with a 42-21 loss to Ashland (Ky.) Blazer before coming up with a big 17-14 upset win over Hurricane. Two weeks ago GW dropped a 42-13 decision to Huntington before rebounding with a record offensive output that broke the school record by 10 points.
Against South Charleston, GW scored six touchdowns in the first quarter, five of them on passes, and tacked on five more in the second period for a 77-0 halftime lead. South Charleston elected to play full 12-minute quarters in the second half and gave up three more touchdowns before finally scoring its first touchdown of the season in a running clock fourth quarter.
Now 2-3 under veteran coach Steve Edwards, GW is led by quarterback Abe Fenwick, who has completed 52 of 108 passes (8 interceptions) for 8 touchdowns (6 of them last week) and 707 yards (200 of them last week). He is a 6-3, 205 pound senior who leads the team with four rushing touchdowns.
Last year Fenwick completed 28 of 35 passes for 316 yards and five touchdowns in a career day to lead his team to a 42-10 victory, the third straight GW win over PHS. That victory gave the Patriots a 15-11 advantage in the series between the two Mt. State Athletic Conference schools. The last Big Red win over GW was in 2018 (32-7).
Also in that game a year ago returning players Keegan Sack (5-10, 195 jr.) and Anthony Valentine (5-10, 195 sr.) contributed with two receiving and one rushing touchdowns. This year Sack is the leading receiver with 17 catches for 184 and one touchdown while rushing for 210 yards (6.6 avcrage per carry) and three touchdowns. Valentine has rushed for 305 yards (6.9 average) with two touchdowns while catching 16 passes for 180 yards and one score.
The Patriot defense is led by Sai’vyon Brown (5-11, 155 jr.) with four interceptions and linebacker Hunter Giacomo (6-0, 185 jr.) with 55 tackles.
The Big Reds defense will try to bring back the effort that produced shutouts in its first three games and is led by the Stalnaker twins, Matthew and Andrew. Matthew had 45 tackles (11 for loss) with three sacks, one interception and two fumble recoveries while Andrew is third on the team with 36 tackles and two interceptions. Zane Lewis has 44 tackles and three interceptions.
Offensively, record-setting quarterback David Parsons will try to add to his already impressive numbers of 1,331 yards passing with 18 touchdowns. He has completed 69 percent of his 100 passing attempts. With his next passing touchdown he will become the all-time PHS career TD leader through the air, breaking the record set in 2001 by Kennedy Award winner Marc Kimes, the brother of Big Red head coach Matt Kimes.
His four top receivers have put up big numbers as Anthony Ice has 19 catches for 445 yards (23.4 average) and seven touchdowns while Andrew Stalnaker has 15 receptions for 375 yards (25.0) and three scores. Matthew Stalnaker has nine receptions for 192 yards (19.2) and three touchdowns while Casey Stanley has 13 passes caught for 190 yards (14.6) and five touchdowns.
Stanley leads the team with 65 points on five touchdowns, four field goals and 23 extra points.

Unbeaten Showdown Sees Midland Defense Lift Knights Over PHS, 42-16

 Game Statistics

       Cabell Midland came up with four goal-line stands and four take-aways to defeat Parkersburg 42-16 Friday night at Stadium Field in a battle of top five ranked, unbeaten teams.
Two times in each half PHS came up with first-and-goal situations but failed to capitalize and the Big Reds suffered an un-characteristic four turnovers, including the first three interceptions of the entire season.
The win put Midland at 5-0 and should improve their number five ranking while the loss drops PHS, which came into the game ranked second in Class AAA, to 4-1 going into next Friday’s home game with George Washington. George Washington defeated South Charleston 98-7 Friday to raise its record to 2-3.    
Midland broke open a tight game with three third quarter scores and finished the contest with 426 yards rushing as former Parkersburg South quarterback Robert Shockey scored three times and Curtis Jones added a pair of short touchdown runs. Shockey ran for 117 yards on 21 carries and passed for 118 yards although suffering three interceptions. Jones ran for 207 yards on 23 carries.
PHS went to the air 42 times with David Parsons completing 27 for 343 yards and two touchdowns but experienced his first, second and third interceptions of the year. His two scoring passes enabled him to tie the all-time school record of 52 career TD passes held by head coach Matt Kimes’ brother Marc.
Midland finished with 544 yards in total offense while PHS had 359 yards as the Big Reds could manage just 16 yards on 18 rushing attempts against a swarming Knight defense.
The Knights took the opening kickoff and drove 54 yards in 16 plays to the PHS 11 yard line but Jason Williams came up with a fourth down sack.
The Big Reds followed that with a 14-play, 81yard drive but could not push the ball into the end zone after getting a first down on the four yard line, turning it over on downs at the one on the first play of the second quarter.
An interception by Zane Lewis set the Big Reds up to take the lead when Casey Stanley kicked a 32-yard field goal with 7:59 left in the half. But Cabell answered with an 80-yard drive that took 10 plays with Shockey putting his team ahead on a one yard run.
The Big Reds almost answered that touchdown themselves, driving 68 yards to the Midland one yard line for a first down after a 27-yard reception by Matthew Stalnaker. Two runs gained nothing and on third down Parsons was picked off in the end zone by Miles Meadors with just 21 seconds left before intermission to preserve a 7-3 lead.
So, instead of being up 17-7, the Big Reds suffered a 3-and-out to start the second half and Midland churned out a 65 yard scoring drive capped by Jones’ two yard run.
Another Parsons interception two plays later put the visitors back in business and Jones ripped off a 22 yard run to set up a 19 yard scoring play when Shockey faked to Jones and kept the ball up the middle to score with 5:33 and the Knights were up 21-3.
The bad luck continued for PHS as a fumble on the ensuing kickoff put Midland on the Big Red 36 yard line. Shockey’s touchdown run of 19 yards came on an option play as he faked the pitch to Jones and kept up the middle to make it 28-3.
The Big Reds finally reached the end zone with 1:26 left in the third quarter as a 36 yard pass to Matthew Stalnaker set up a 28 yard TD toss to Andrew Stalnaker to cut the lead to 28-10.
With less than a minute to play in the third quarter Matthew Stalnaker came up with an interception and 18 yard return to the Knights’ five yard line. But once again PHS was turned away when two runs gained only two yards and two passes fell incomplete.
Midland then went 97 yards to score again thanks mainly to a 58 yard run by Jones, who was being tackled just five yards downfield only to be spun around and stay on his feet before taking the ball to the 10 yard line. Two plays later he scored to make it 35-10.
The Big Reds reached the end zone again on a 45 yard pass to Anthony Ice with 9:18 left in the game, cutting the margin to 35-16.
Midland put the game out of reach thanks mainly to a 31 yard run by Jayden Branch followed by a two yard TD run by Logan Hobbs.
The game ended after PHS drove 80 yards to a first and goal at the four but a pass to Jakel Shelton was stopped at the one yard line.
Ice, Andrew Stalnaker and Shelton all caught six passes in the game with Matthew Stalnaker catching four for 101 yards. Unofficially, Andrew Stalnaker had 11 tackles while Casey Stanley and Jake Bauman had nine stops each. Lewis had two interceptions while Matthew Stalnaker had one.  

#5 Cabell Midland vs #2 Parkersburg (Sep 22, 2023 at Parkersburg)
Score by Quarters 1      2      3      4      - Total
Cabell Midland     0      7      21    14    - 42
Parkersburg          0      3      7      6      - 16
Qtr Time Scoring play
2nd 07:59 PHS - Casey Stanley 32 yd field goal, 6-22 1:09
04:36 CM - Robert Shockey 1 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 10-80 3:23
3rd 07:31 CM - Curtis Jones 2 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 7-65 2:10
05:33 CM - Robert Shockey 6 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 4-44 1:21
02:46 CM - Robert Shockey 19 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 6-36 2:40
01:26 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 28 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-67 1:18
4th 09:40 CM - Curtis Jones 1 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 6-97 2:15
09:18 PHS - Anthony Ice 45 yd pass from David Parsons (David Parsons pass failed), 2-55 0:16
05:16 CM - Logan Hobbs 2 yd run (Tony Hornbuckle kick), 8-80 4:02
.............................................................CM         PHS
FIRST DOWNS                                      27            20
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       55-426     18-16
PASSING YDS (NET)                           118          343
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               15-9-3     42-27-3
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     70-544     60-359
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                0-0           0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           1-26         7-82
Interception Returns-Yards                    3-21         3-31
Punts (Number-Avg)                              0-0.0        1-33.0
Fumbles-Lost                                          0-0           1-1
Penalties-Yards                                       10-87       7-46
Possession Time                                     27:09       17:20
Third-Down Conversions                       6 of 9       4 of 11
Fourth-Down Conversions                     2 of 3       2 of 4
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     6-8           1-4
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       2-16         2-9
RUSHING: Cabell Midland-Curtis Jones 23-207; Robert Shockey 21-117; Jayden Branch 4-57; Landon Nida 3-20; Logan Hobbs 2-13; Cannon Lewis 2-12. Parkersburg-Jason Williams 5-12; Jakel Shelton 6-12;
David Parsons 7-minus 8.
PASSING: Cabell Midland-Robert Shockey 9-15-3-118. Parkersburg-David Parsons 27-42-3-343.
RECEIVING: Cabell Midland-Miles Meadors 3-50; Curtis Jones 2-21; Michael Lunsford 1-20; Jayden Branch 1-18; Caden Bowen 1-7; Landon Nida 1-2. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 6-83; Andrew Stalnaker 6-82; Jakel
Shelton 6-48; Matthew Stalnaker 4-101; Casey Stanley 4-23; Jason Williams 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Cabell Midland-Miles Meadors 1-20; Elijah Pratt 1-1; Jayden Branch 1-0. Parkersburg-Zane Lewis 2-13; Matthew Stalnaker 1-18.
FUMBLES: Cabell Midland-None. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 1-1.
Cabell Midland (5-0) vs. Parkersburg (4-1)
Attendance: 2500 Total elapsed time: 2:54
SACKS (UA-A): Cabell Midland-Logan Hobbs 2-0. Parkersburg-Jason Williams 1-0; Casey Stanley 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): Cabell Midland-Logan Hobbs 2-0; Cannon Lewis 1-0. Parkersburg-Andrew Stalnaker 7-4; Casey Stanley 6-3; Jake Bauman 3-6; Zane Lewis 4-3; Adam Elder 3-3; Cyrus Backus 5-0; Jason Williams
3-2; Jakel Shelton 2-3; Anthony Ice 4-0; Allen Bradlee 3-1; Matthew Stalnaker 2-2; Carter Watts 0-2; Ethan Jones 1-0; Eli Bauman 0-1.

Unbeaten Midland Invades Friday In Another Test For 2nd Ranked PHS

........Out of the frying pan and right back into the fire.
        Fresh from a win over previously second ranked and undefeated Parkersburg South, the Parkersburg Big Reds will face now fifth ranked and undefeated Cabell Midland Friday night at Stadium Field. PHS has now replaced South as the state’s second-ranked team according to the latest Secondary School Activities Commission ratings.
        Morgantown is currently the state’s top-ranked team with PHS followed by Huntington, Princeton and Midland. South dropped to sixth overall.
        In fact the Big Reds will not only face another unbeaten squad but after beating Parkersburg South last week they will face a team led by former Parkersburg South quarterback Robert Shockey and his all-state running back teammate Curtis Jones.
        Now 4-0 Midland beat the Big Reds 31-10 a year ago on its home turf and returns several key players from a year ago when Jones rushed for 125 yards as part of a Knight offense that piled up 473 yards on the ground. And in the off-season coach Luke Salmons added transfer quarterback Shockey who has given Midland a passing attack to go with its ground game.
        Shockey, a 6-foot-2, 195 pounder, threw four touchdown passes in the first quarter last week as Midland set a school scoring record with a 75-0 win over South Charleston. The Knights were ahead 41-0 after a quarter and 69-0 at the half. In his last two games Shockey has completed 16 of 21 passes for 217 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 76 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown. Six different receivers have been his target.
        Jones, a 6-2, 210 pound 1,000 yard rusher a year ago, scored three touchdowns in a big 34-21 win over highly regarded Ironton two weeks ago and in week two scored the game-winning touchdown on a 75-yard fourth quarter run as Midland rallied for a 28-20 win over Spring Valley. Jones ran the ball one time last Friday for 32 yards and caught two scoring passes for a total of 54 yards before watching the shortened second half against the Black Eagles. In handing Ironton its only loss of the year, he ran for 141 yards on 30 attempts.
        The other Midland victory was a 49-21 triumph over George Washington. The Knights were ranked third last week in the WVSSAC ratings and are anchored on the line by 6-foot-2, 245 pound tight end/defensive end Michael Lunsford, a first team all-state selection a year ago when Midland lost in the first round of the playoffs by a 41-13 score to Bridgeport.
        Meanwhile the Big Reds have out-scored their four opponents so far 209-35 while forcing 15 turnovers, nine interceptions and six fumbles. PHS has just two turnovers (both fumbles) and has scored 14 of 15 times in the red zone.
        PHS quarterback David Parsons shattered the school single record for total offense with 496 total yards against South and nearly set an all-time passing yardage mark with 410 yards through the air and 86 yards rushing. He has now thrown for 988 yards and 16 touchdowns while playing only 10 quarters. He has completed 42 of 58 passes (72.4%) with no interceptions while rushing for 151 yards (8.4 average) and three touchdowns.
        His group of receivers is second to none in the state as Anthony Ice, Casey Stanley and the Stalnaker twins, Andrew and Matthew, have put up impressive numbers. Ice has 13 catches for 362 yards (27.8) and six touchdowns while Stanley has nine catches for 167 yards (18.6) and five scores. Andrew Stalnaker has nine catches for 293 yards (32.6) and two scores while Matthew Stalnaker has five receptions for 91 yards (18.2) and three touchdowns.
        Jakel Shelton leads the Big Red ground game with 176 yards (5.2 average) and four touchdowns.
        Stanley leads the team with 61 points on five touchdowns, three field goals and 22 extra points. He has also put 15 of 29 kickoffs into the end zone.
        Defensively, Matthew Stalnaker leads PHS with 38 tackles, 10 of them for loss (2 sacks) along with two fumble recoveries. Brother Andrew Stalnaker has 24 tackles and two interceptions while Zane Lewis has 32 stops along with an interception, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt. Cyrus Backus has three interceptions and Adam Elder leads the team with four sacks.
        Midland leads the all-time series with PHS 17-14 and the Big Reds have not beaten the Knights since 2011.

Parsons Shatters Single-Game Record

        If you are going to set a record you might as well shatter the old record to pieces while you are accomplishing the feat.
That’s exactly was senior quarterback David Parsons did Friday night against arch-rival Parkersburg South when he amassed 496 yards in total offense to break the old record by a whopping 60 yards.
Parsons nearly broke the single-game passing yardage record of 429 with his 410 yard effort but when his 86 rushing yards were added to that total his record of 496 figures to stand for some time. The previous record was 436 yards of total offense accomplished just three years ago by Bryson Singer, who ran for 217 yards and passed for 219 yards against John Marshall.
The passing yardage mark of 429 was set by Jake Johnson in 2018 versus Wheeling Park but the Big Red quarterback suffered 24 yards in lost rushing yardage to give him a total offense mark of 405 (currently 5th best on the list). Rick Marshall is now third with 414 yards in total offense (accomplished against Parkersburg South in 1988 with a 343 yard passing and 71 yard rushing effort) while Singer is also fourth on the list with 412 yards against Hurricane in 2019.
In 10 quarters of action this year he has already thrown for 988 yards and 16 touchdowns. In case you were wondering the record for season passing yardage is 2,718 by Johnson in 1988 and the record for touchdowns in 27 in 2004 by Chance Litton, whose grandfather Keith was inducted into the PHS Football Hall of Fame on Friday. Parsons tied the regular season record of 22 touchdown passes last year. 

PHS Wins Wild One From South, 43-35

  Game Statistics

 It was certainly a game that lived up to his hype.
In a contest between two heavyweight fighters trading punches for four quarters, Parkersburg earned some respect from around the state by coming from behind to defeat second-ranked Parkersburg South 43-35 Friday night before 5,000 fans at Stadium Field.
The fourth-ranked Big Reds, who were only ranked 11th in state media polls, won the battle of attrition by coming up with five turnovers and getting a near-record 410-yard passing performance from David Parsons to win its fourth straight game and hand the Patriots their first loss in four outings.
PHS won despite giving up nearly 700 yards in total offense to a South team which came into the contest averaging 70 points per game and gave up its first touchdown of the year on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
The Big Reds won by making key defensive plays when they had to make them and by getting a huge game from Parsons, who threw for five touchdowns and scored a sixth himself on a 50 yard run. Although he came up nine yards shy of tying the all-time single game passing yardage record, Parsons was able to complete 18 of 25 passes with no interceptions while rushing for 86 yards on 12 attempts to account for all but 10 yards of his team’s total offense for the night.
His Big Four receiving corps put up some gaudy numbers themselves as Casey Stanley and Anthony Ice each scored twice and Andrew Stalnaker once on plays covering 29, 42, 38, 82 and 69 yards. Stanley caught four passes for 85 yards, Ice seven passes for 147 yards, Andrew Stalnaker four passes for 122 yards and twin brother Matt Stalnaker had two receptions for 54 yards.
The South offense put up an amazing 451 yards rushing thanks to another incredible performance by Gage Wright. The Patriot senior came into the game with 16 touchdowns and tacked on four more to his total on plays that covered 15 yards (on a pass), 80 yards, 30 yards and 12 yards while finishing the game with 292 yards rushing on 24 attempts and the one pass reception.
Patriot quarterback Turner Garretson completed 14 of 26 passes for 221 yards but suffered three interceptions and lost one of his team’s two fumbles. He ran for 106 yards on 19 carries.
The two teams combined for 44 first downs and 1,178 yards in total offense. South finished with 672 yards total on 79 plays with 451 coming on the ground while PHS had 96 rushing for a total of 506.
The Big Reds trailed 35-33 heading into the fourth quarter but went up for good on the first play of the period when Parsons found Andrew Stalnaker over the middle and the PHS senior sped to the goal line barely ahead of South’s Tristan Walker. Stanley’s extra point kick put PHS up by five.
South tried to regain the lead as it had done three times before but came up short on a fourth down play when Matt Stalnaker broke through and tackled Wright for a three-yard loss on the Big Red 18 yard line.
PHS then ran six minutes off the clock with a 10-play drive that ended when Big Red coach Matt Kimes elected to go for a field goal with 2:06 remaining on a four-and-one situation from the South 14 yard line. The kick was good and PHS was up by eight with 2:01 remaining in the game.
South’s offense went to the air on all but two of its last 11 plays and moved to the Big Red 34 yard line before Jake Bauman and Adam Elder sacked Garretson for a one yard line as time appeared to expire. After a lengthy delay, it was decided to put nine-tenths of a second back on the clock and Garretson’s end zone heave was picked off by Andrew Stalnaker to end the game.
The game lasted nearly four hours (3:42) thanks to 26 accepted penalties for 193 yards (12 on South and 14 on PHS).
South scored on the game’s first offensive play when Devon Forshey found himself all alone behind the PHS secondary and went 80 yards to the end zone. After a penalty, Wright ran for the two-point conversion.
The Big Reds answered with a 29 yard scoring toss to Stanley but the extra point kick was blocked and PHS found itself down by two points.
South moved to the PHS 16 yard line but fumbled the ball away at that point and PHS had to punt on its next possession. South fumbled again near midfield but PHS couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-one at the 40 and South increased its lead to 14-6 on the scoring pass to Wright with just 26 seconds left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed and on the last play of the period, Parsons faked a handoff at midfield and went up the left sideline for a touchdown. Stanley’s PAT kick made it 14-13 heading into the second stanza.
On the first play of the second quarter, Wright went 80 yards to the end zone, shaking off tacklers all along the way. The extra point kick made it 21-13.
The Big Reds cut it back to one point on a 42 yard scoring toss to Stanley, who found his way past the South secondary.
An interception by Ice set up PHS to take the lead 27-21 on a 38 yard pass to Ice, who got a clearing downfield block by Andrew Stalnaker.
South drove all the way to the Big Red three yard line on its next possession but first Stanley stopped Wright for no gain then two plays later Matt Stalnaker sacked Garretson for a nine yard loss and on fourth down the pass was overthrown in the end zone.
South regained the lead when Wright went 30 yard around end untouched and the extra point made it 28-27 only to see the Big Reds answer with an 82-yard scoring pass to Ice, who got open across the middle and beat the Patriot defender to the goal line. After four penalties (two each way), Stanley missed his first extra point of the season and PHS had a 33-28 advantage.
The Patriots retaliated in quick fashion, going 80 yards in 2:10 to score on a 12 run by Wright, who had earlier in the series broke one for 34 yards.
That set up the Parsons toss to Andrew Stalnaker to push PHS back on top by five, 40-35, and set up the wild finish.
Unofficially on defense the Big Reds were led by Matthew Stalnaker with 14 tackles while brother Andrew added 11 and Stanley and Zane Lewis had 10 tackles each.

#2 South Parkersburg vs #4 Parkersburg
(Sep 15, 2023 at Parkersburg HS)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Total
Parkersburg South 14   7 14   0 -  35
Parkersburg            13 14   6 10 -  43
Qtr Time Scoring play
1st 11:45 SP - Devon Forshey 80 yd pass from Turner Garretson (Gage Wright rush), 1-80 0:15
09:04 PHS - Casey Stanley 29 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick blockd), 5-63 2:40
00:26 SP - Gage Wright 15 yd pass from Turner Garretson (Collin Hayes pass failed), 6-60 2:31
00:11 PHS - David Parsons 50 yd run (Casey Stanley kick), 2-55 0:15
2nd 11:40 SP - Gage Wright 80 yd run (James Thompson kick), 2-80 0:25
09:13 PHS - Casey Stanley 42 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 6-74 2:20
06:50 PHS - Anthony Ice 38 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 3-48 1:11
3rd 06:53 SP - Gage Wright 30 yd run (James Thompson kick), 8-80 3:12
03:14 PHS - Anthony Ice 82 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick failed), 1-82 0:17
01:14 SP - Gage Wright 12 yd run (James Thompson kick), 7-80 2:00
4th 11:49 PHS - Andrew Stalnaker 69 yd pass from David Parsons (Casey Stanley kick), 2-66 1:15
02:06 PHS - Casey Stanley 32 yd field goal, 10-68 5:59
.............................................................PS           PHS
FIRST DOWNS                                      27            17
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)                       53-451     24-96
PASSING YDS (NET)                           221          410
Passes Att-Comp-Int                               26-14-3   26-18-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS     79-672     50-506
Fumble Returns-Yards                            0-0           0-0
Punt Returns-Yards                                2-0           0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards                           3-52         4-47
Interception Returns-Yards                    0-0           3-23
Punts (Number-Avg)                              1-27.0      4-37.5
Fumbles-Lost                                          2-2           0-0
Penalties-Yards                                       12-86       14-107
Possession Time                                     25:06       22:54
Third-Down Conversions                       6 of 13     2 of 8
Fourth-Down Conversions                     2 of 4       0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances                     2-5           1-1
Sacks By: Number-Yards                       0-0           3-11
RUSHING: South Parkersburg-Gage Wright 24-292; Turner Garretson 19-106; Eli Bartley 10-53. Parkersburg-David Parsons 12-86; Jakel Shelton 9-22; Sylas Cheuvront 1-minus 3; Cooper Cancade
2-minus 9.
PASSING: South Parkersburg-Turner Garretson 14-26-3-221. Parkersburg-David Parsons 18-25-0-410; Cooper Cancade 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: South Parkersburg-Devon Forshey 6-142; Eli Bartley 4-41; Triston Walker 3-23; Gage Wright 1-15. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 7-147; Andrew Stalnaker 4-122; Casey Stanley 4-85; Matthew Stalnaker
2-54; Jakel Shelton 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: South Parkersburg-None. Parkersburg-Anthony Ice 1-23; Andrew Stalnaker 1-0; Cyrus Backus 1-0.
FUMBLES: South Parkersburg-Gage Wright 1-1; Turner Garretson 1-1. Parkersburg-None.
South Parkersburg (3-1) vs. Parkersburg (4-0)
Site: Parkersburg HS • Stadium: Stadium Field
Attendance: 5000
Kickoff time: 7:30 • End of Game: 11:12 • Total elapsed time: 3:42
SACKS (UA-A): South Parkersburg-None. Parkersburg-Jake Bauman 0-2; Matthew Stalnaker 1-1; Adam Elder 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): South Parkersburg-Tyson Wagoner 7-0; Gage Wright 4-2; Turner Garretson 3-3; Cole Middleton 3-1; Eli Bartley 3-0; Triston Walker 3-0; Collin Hayes 2-0; Taj Joyce 2-0; Devon Forshey
2-0; Logan Middleton 0-2; Kyle Perkins 1-0; Preston Ceglar 1-0; Derek Sandy 1-0; Aeneas Lauderman 0-1. Parkersburg-Matthew Stalnaker 8-6; Andrew Stalnaker 6-5; Casey Stanley 7-3; Zane Lewis 4-6; Jake Bauman 3-5; Jakel Shelton 2-5; Cyrus Backus 3-3; Adam Elder 2-3; Chris Cox 0-5; Anthony Ice 3-0; Conner Petty 1-2; Caleb Norman 1-2; Carter Watts 0-1; Eli Bauman 0-1; Jacob Bohone 0-1; Tom Finnicum 0-1.