ALBRIGHT: Big Red girls’ top my AP preseason Class AAA poll

November 22, 2018

One of the best sports times of the year is right around the corner! Basketball begins within the borders of the Mountain State in the final week of November. The start of the hardwood sport brings my attention to girls' basketball as I vote on the all-state committee. A duty taken seriously as my fellow writers and I attempt insertion of the best players on the three teams deep in the bowels of the Civic Center in early March. I spend a lot of late nights reading stories from around the state to make sure my all-state ballot reads complete as possible before the beginning of the ...

ALBRIGHT: Big Reds made the correct gridiron hire with Mike Byus

November 20, 2018

Mike Byus brought a winning pedigree with him two years ago to a Parkersburg High School football program stuck in a rut. One of the winningest head coaches during his time at East Lincoln High School (including two state titles and a 28-game winning streak) in North Carolina, Byus was used to success. Winning ways weren’t the Big Reds’ normal in the few years before his arrival. PHS struggled to qualify for the playoffs after back-to-back state titles in 2006 and ’07 and when they did they suffered quick exits in ’10, ’11 and ’14. Two of those three games were decided by ...

Kicking the ball

November 18, 2018

I could go into a long diatribe about the importance of field goals, especially concerning West Virginia University’s loss Saturday night at Oklahoma State where head coach Dana Holgorsen opted to not take the three points in the first half and got stuffed on fourth down, but I won’t even bother. Instead, I’d rather focus on what transpired Friday night in Princeton where the Williamstown football team ended Mount View’s season, 23-12, in the Class A state quarterfinals. It truly continues to amaze me, the longer I work here in the sports department, how many teams — ...

ALBRIGHT: Book it! South girls’ hoops headed back to Charleston

November 14, 2018

Parkersburg South girls’ basketball fell short of the ultimate goal of all Patriot teams this century— a state championship — by two wins last season. The bar established during Scott Stephens’ tenure (three state titles) remains unmoved since his departure. Third-year head coach Ed ...

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: WVU creates a spark

November 12, 2018

Coming off a dramatic last second win at Texas the previous week, the major concern of WVU fans heading into last Saturday’s game against TCU was perhaps the Mountaineers would come out a bit flat and with a lack of focus. Those concerns appeared to be justified early in the afternoon, as with six minutes remaining in the first half West Virginia had not yet dented the end zone and found itself in a tight 3-3 game. But once the dam burst it became a Mountaineer train running downhill. Beginning a drive at their own 40, West Virginia went up tempo trying to light up what had been a ...

Good coaches, bad parents?

November 11, 2018

It was almost the perfect Saturday for Magnolia’s Pam Chapman. Earlier last week, I was trying to get in touch with the Blue Eagles’ head volleyball coach to talk about her team and their chances to win a state title in Charleston. Not long after I sent her a text message, she replied back and asked if it was OK for her to buzz me in about a half hour because she and husband Dave — Magnolia’s football coach — were on their way back from Wheeling Jesuit. After some volleyball talk, she informed me her youngest daughter Kelsi — a freshman basketball player for the ...