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St. Marys’ duo leads by example

St. Marys’ quarterback Will Billeter takes off on a 16-yard scamper to the end zone against Williamstown during the Blue Devils’ 21-7 win over the Yellowjackets earlier this season. Billeter, who contributed on all three St. Marys scores in the game, has led by example all season long to help lead the Blue Devils to a 10-0 season and a No. 2 seed in the Class A playoffs. Photo by Michael Uhl.

ST. MARYS — When St. Marys football players Will Billeter and Jacob Northrop take the field against Buffalo in a West Virginia Class A playoff battle Friday night, the two seniors will have one goal left to accomplish after a successful 10-0 campaign – winning a state championship.

“It (winning a state championship) is something I have thought about since first or second grade,” said Billeter, the Blue Devils quarterback. “I daydreamed about it. It started in third grade when my class won the championship then continued in sixth and eighth when we won again. This class of juniors and seniors knows nothing but winning and we are driven to make our town proud of us and bring home a championship for each other.”

“Winning a state title would mean everything,” said Northrop. “In 100 some years of school history no one has done it and to be the senior class that finally gets the job done would be fantastic.”

Both are captains on this year’s Blue Devils squad and have worked hard to lead by example and be a figure the younger members of the squad can look up to.

The pair’s desire has certainly shown in their effort on the field this year especially in some of the biggest games of the Blue Devils seasons.

Against Marietta, Billeter (who plays defense back) was tasked with defending the Tigers’ Travis Moore and he did a standup job shutting down the potent offensive weapon.

Two weeks later against Williamstown, the senior captain was again tasked with shutting down a team’s top receiving threat in the Yellowjackets’ tight end Trevor Hoosier.

The 6-2, 176 lbs. defensive back performed the unenviable task with much aplomb. Limiting Hoosier’s touches and frustrating Williamstown’s game plan much of the night during his team’s 21-7 win.

Perhaps his best defensive play of the night happened when Billeter was all alone guarding Hoosier on a post route into the end zone. Williamstown quarterback Trenton Tallman lofted a well thrown ball 30 yards toward the pair of dueling players and Billeter managed to get his hands on it to deflect it out of the arms of the Yellowjackets’ senior.

His offensive prowess also was on display against the Yellowjackets, where Billeter had a hand in all three of the Blue Devils’ scores. The senior tallied points on runs of 1 and 19 yards for the Blue Devils and connected with Braden Barnhart on a game -sealing 44-yard flat route touchdown.

“He isn’t one who is concerned with his stats or getting the ball in his hands,” said St. Marys head coach Jodi Mote. “He understands our only focus is putting points on the board and we have plenty of talent to do that with. He does a great job of managing our offense for us.”

His willingness to put the team first surfaced again when the Pleasants County team faced South Harrison in Lost Creek. During the Blue Devils’ 47-6 crushing defeat of the Hawks, Billeter moved to wide receiver while Braden Barnhart took over at quarterback. The multi-skilled athlete caught several passes including a 33-yard bomb for a score.

Off the field, Billeter can often be seen in Mote’s classroom helping to tutor other students during school time.

As for Northrop, the defensive lineman played one of his best games of the year against heated rival Williamstown. The senior swarmed to the ball on almost every play and spent a lot of time in the Yellowjackets backfield. When he was chasing after Trenton Tallman he made his impact felt in the tackling department especially late in the game.

Northrop delivered a crushing blow to the Yellowjackets’ Donathan Taylor after the latter caught the ball in space on a fourth down play with under a minute left in the contest to send the Blue Devils to 5-0.

“Helping my team out like that in such a big game was definitely a great moment for me,” said Northrop. “The tackle and stop has definitely boosted me a lot and helped carry me through this season. We talk up the team aspect a lot around here and being able to do something to help the team was huge.”

“He has had an outstanding season,” said St. Marys’ defensive coordinator Jay Powell. “Jacob was a good football player last season but this year he has become a great football player. He worked hard in the offseason and obviously it is paying off. He along with the rest of the defense is one of the highest football IQ units we have had here since I started helping Jodi.”

Like Billeter, Northrop also can be seen helping in ways around the school which often can go unnoticed. Several times he senior has been spotted cleaning up trash from the lunch room that isn’t his to take care of the building and make sure the school is around for a long time.

When asked about their coach, the duo had nothing but good things to say about Mote, who they have played under for three years now. Billeter may have summed it up best when he described his head coach.

“He is good at motivating us,” says Billeter. “He has a good soul and a great heart. He brings a lot of energy to whatever he does and keeps our heads in the game during practice. He really brings a competitive edge to whatever he does and isn’t afraid of anything.”

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