Prep football: East Bank, DuPont members reflect on 1993 state finals

Football was still football in 1993, and it was good in the Upper Kanawha Valley. Two of the three state champions resided there -- DuPont and East Bank.

The two combined for six state titles before '93, including the Panthers winning it all in 1992 over Brooke, 36-7.

Another change: in the early 1990s, and all the way until this year, the Secondary School Activities Commission had three classes, and six teams competed in three title games. Now, eight teams in four classes will compete for the state crown in their respective classes.

The 2024 state championships will commence on Friday, with the Class A game kicking off the weekend on Friday at noon.

Panthers plan to repeat

DuPont captured its first state title in program history in 1992 with a 29-point victory over the Bruins in the Class AAA final.

The Panthers finished 11-3, with their losses coming to Ironton (Ohio), Barboursville and Capital.

They had five players crack the Class AAA all-state list in 1992, including wideout Randy Moss.

DuPont, ahead of the 1993 season, was trying to find ways to secure back-to-back titles, with a large target on its back and a plethora of talent.

The Panthers were hungry to clash and defend their title in 1993.

"Any time you win a state championship and you go into the next season with the same players, yeah, you're definitely going to have a target on your back. We knew that," DuPont defensive coach Harry Wallace said. "We lost some key linemen from the '92 team, but we had a lot of backups that were ready to step in. They did a good job in the '93 season."

DuPont coach Dick Whitman and his staff were trying to keep the players focused on the goal of repeating again.

Players felt that they had the talent and confidence to do something that hadn't been done in a decade -- repeat as Class AAA champions.

"We were ready for it," DuPont's Will Wolfe said. "Everybody had confidence."

Pioneers searching for answers

The 1992 season didn't end the way the East Bank Pioneers had intended.

The Pioneers finished their season at 10-3 but fell short in the Class AA state semifinals to Buffalo Wayne, 6-0.

East Bank saw one player in 1992 represented on the Class AA first-team all-state list in Robbie Robinson on defense.

Outsiders didn't know what to expect from the 1993 Pioneers. A piece by then-ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä Daily Mail columnist Chuck Landon sparked a fire within the East Bank locker room.

Landon had picked East Bank to go 6-4 following an appearance in the state semifinals.

"We played Greenbrier East early in the year. They scored early in the game, then we scored with a couple minutes to go [in the game] and beat them, 8-6," former East Bank coach Neil Hopkins said. "Then, we exploded."

Players harnessed the fire from within to prepare for what was shaped up to be a magical season.

Many of the Pioneer players had known each other since pee-wee football.

The relationships established before 1993 were the backbone for success throughout high school.

"That team had a rare chemistry," former East Bank tight end and current Capital coach Jon Carpenter said. "Most of us were friends. We had a bunch of people that loved each other and enjoyed being there. We just played hard. I tell our kids the story that these Marines and Army guys would go risk their live to help save somebody in war. It came back to the fact that they were scared to let their buddy down.

"It wasn't they didn't want to be a hero. They were scared to let their buddies down. We had a rare group that felt that way."

Kicking off the season

East Bank and DuPont kicked off the 1993 season facing each other for the ninth consecutive season in Week 1.

The Panthers hosted the Pioneers at H.B. Douglas Field in a matchup of teams separated by fewer than 10 miles.

DuPont handled East Bank and gave the Pioneers their only loss of the season, 25-12.

It was the third straight victory for the Panthers over the Pioneers.

"I know I can speak for myself personally. I was a little out of shape -- a lot out of shape," then-DuPont Panther Bobbie Howard said. "I don't think I was the only one on the team. It was transitioning to the second quarter, and I made a joke and asked coach Whitman, 'Is this the second half yet?' He didn't find that too funny.

"We looked at the game and there were a lot of plays we left on the field. He didn't say a word the next Monday. He pretty much ran us to death. He kind of set the tone for the rest of the season."

DuPont hits roadblock

The Panthers coasted through their first eight games of the season by averaging 33 points and holding their opponents to 10 points.

DuPont won its first eight games by an average of 23 points, including outscoring its opponents by 20 or more points in half of the games.

The Panthers' biggest test came against the 6-2 Capital Cougars.

DuPont knocked off Capital in 1992 in the Class AAA semifinals, 33-17.

The Cougars were motivated to avenge their loss the year prior. That they did. Capital handed DuPont its only loss, 30-20, at Laidley Field.

"There's nobody at DuPont that didn't love to compete with them back then," former DuPont defensive coach Danny Hill said. "They were good and had a ton of talent. Roger Jefferson was as good as it gets. One of the best high school coaches. We used to trade films. I used to go trade the film. When we were going to trade with Roger, I'd hide four or five films in the backseat of my car.

"He'd tell me jokingly to get back in the car and go back to DuPont for the rest of the films. Roger was a great coach and guy."

The loss to Capital was a reality check for the DuPont players.

"The Capital game let us know that we weren't invincible," Howard said. "We had to go back to the basics, which is what the coaching staff did right after that game. They set us on course to repeat as champions."

Pioneers and Pirates duel in regular season finale

East Bank, following the loss to DuPont, saw no issues in its next three games.

The Pioneers poured in points on the scoreboard, averaging 33 points in their next eight games.

Their defense also stood tall throughout that stretch, holding their opponents to seven points per game.

East Bank had one more stiff test before beginning its quest for a state title -- the Barboursville Pirates.

"Barboursville, that year, was ranked on the East Coast, which was unheard of for up here," former East Bank lineman and current Riverside coach Heath Huffman said. "We would always go home [after games] and watch the Point After show. [Tim] Dempsey, the quarterback for Barboursville, was running in the end zone and looked at the camera and said, 'Here were come, East Bank.'

"That really lit it. We took off with that. They came up here and we shut them down and beat them."

East Bank handled Barboursville at Calvert Field, 33-14, in the regular season finale.

Players started believing, after the Barboursville win, that they had the pieces in place to make a run at the crown.

"That win against Barboursville showed everybody else we could do it," former Pioneer Craig Arnold said. "We were a family. We stuck together. We practiced hard. That win showed everybody else that we're here to play."

A date with Magnolia

East Bank had no trouble getting through its first three Class AA playoff games.

The Pioneers won each of their first three games against Petersburg, Richwood and Wayne by an average of 11 points, including an eight-point win against the Pioneers in the state semifinals, 14-6.

East Bank's win over Wayne set up a date against the 12-1 Magnolia Blue Eagles. Magnolia entered the state title game having averaged 36 points per game.

Magnolia possessed one of the state's top players in two-time Kennedy Award recipient quarterback Mark Cisar.

His dad, Dave, was the coach.

"My plan was not to let them hit any deep passes on us," Hopkins said. "I can remember that like it was yesterday playing man or zone [with] five under and two deep. [Mark] could throw the football. He was an excellent athlete. They tried several times to hit deep passes on us. We broke them up."

It was a narrow contest throughout the Friday state title game.

However, a late score by East Bank's Mick Hockenberry proved to be the nail in the coffin.

Magnolia scored with a few minutes left then attempted an onside kick to try and win the game.

The Blue Eagles' attempt failed and East Bank bled out the clock to capture its first title since 1990.

Excitement ensued following Pioneers win

Chaos ensued following East Bank's 16-14 victory over Magnolia.

Pioneer players were soaking in all the memories and little things after capturing the school's sixth state title.

Carpenter found a unique way to remember the aftermath of the 1993 state title game.

"They were the first team that we had ever seen have blue and white Nike [shoes]," Carpenter said. "I was trying to trade for shoes. I remember the Miami Hurricanes and people had these old turf shoes. You could buy black or white ones over at Sport Mart. They were the first people we'd ever see have blue and white ones."

After players were finished shaking hands, the East Bank team rushed the scoreboard end of the stadium and started tearing down the goal posts.

"We were in film and my cousin [Craig Arnold] said, 'Coach Hensley, if we win, we're tearing down the goalpost,'" Huffman said. "Coach Hensley was like, 'Well, whatever. I don't care what you do as long as you win.' When he said that, I looked over and thought, 'We're in trouble.'"

Arnold remembers that moment like it was yesterday.

"The game is over and everybody is shaking hands," Arnold recalled. "I look towards the scoreboard end and said, 'Hey, goal post.' I took off. [People] said from the stands that it looked like a herd of elephants following me. I hit that goal post and I'm hanging on it. Why? I have no idea, but I'm hanging on it. Everybody else starts rattling it. The next thing I know, I'm trying to jump and it's right there in my face.

"The coaches were made. The Laidley Field people were mad. We had one coach trying to push it back up. We were laughing. But, we did it. It's there forever now. We always had a trivia question of what goal post is newer. It's the one of the scoreboard end."

Panthers clashing with familiar foe

City and game officials quickly rushed to find ways to fix the goal post.

A makeshift goal post was put in place for the two state championship games on Saturday, with the first game featuring the DuPont Panthers.

The Panthers, like East Bank, coasted through their opening three state playoff games.

They won by an average of 18 points, including a 20-point win, 34-14, over Barboursville in the state semifinals.

The win over the Pirates set up a date with the Capital Cougars. It was the fourth meeting between the two in consecutive seasons.

DuPont was fueled with motivation for Saturday's clash against the Cougars since Capital had beaten the Panthers less than two months prior to the state final.

"I'm not going to say we got closer together, because that bunch was a close one," Wallace said. "They knew what they had to do. They learned from it. They got themselves prepared. You would like to think, as a coach, you were the cause of it. It was the players. If the players don't play, I don't care how great of a coach you are, you're not going to win. Those kids took it upon themselves to do what they needed to do to get ready."

Howard credits the leadership in 1992 for guiding the 1993 leaders to the Promised Land.

"The '92 state title team had some great players," Howard said. "It was heavily senior-driven with Michael Ford, Steve Smith, Mark McDaniels, Danny Bowles and guys like that. There were a lot of great seniors on that team. We had great leadership. The next season they're gone. We have to fill that void. It was a change in that regard, but the expectation was set already.

"Coming from DuPont, we take pride in our athletics. You couldn't wait for your chance to play for DuPont."

The Panthers tamed the Cougars, 29-3, making it the first time since North Marion in 1980-81 to win back-to-back Class AAA state finals.

The 26-point victory marked the second consecutive season DuPont won the state title by 25 or more points.

Remembering the good times

Coaches Dick Whitman and Ralph Hensley are Kanawha Valley football icons.

Their impact on the game in Kanawha County helped push players and coaches forward.

Whitman went 117-64 during his stint at DuPont, while Hensley went 150-75 with the Pioneers.

Both have since died. However, their legacies will last a lifetime.

“Ralph and I were like brothers,� Hopkins said. “If you saw us on the sideline, you thought we were going to kill each other. We fought and hollered at each other the entire ball game. We would take one of our coaches and put them between us. It was unique. We played together at WVU Tech, then taught and coached together. I sure miss that guy.�

Hill praises the relationships they had with Whitman.

“He was the best man I’ve ever been around in my life,� Hill said. “He was smart and intelligent. If you need to build a house, he could do that. He was a great football man. Our relationship and the staff were great. He was always too good to you. He always did the dirty work. He let us run around in our trucks and do whatever.�

Legacy of schools lives on

The communities of both DuPont and East Bank rallied behind their schools annually.

Friday nights were something out of a movie for those associated with the Panther and Pioneer communities and fan bases.

It was a time of unity and fellowship that provided lasting memories for everyone involved.

East Bank and DuPont are no longer around — they’ve merged into Riverside — but the memories and stories surrounding the programs remain known in the Upper Kanawha Valley.

“It meant a great deal to the community,� Wallace said. “It’s kind of a low-income area. The community got behind us and supported us. When you do win a state championship, they really appreciate it.�

Arnold remains thankful for the memories and support the Pioneer fan base represented, especially during home games at Calvert Field.

“They were always there and supportive,� Arnold said. “There wasn’t a Cabin Creek, Paint Creek, Marmet or Chelyan. There was an East Bank at Calvert Field. The field will always be there in our hearts, even though they tore it down. They were there every night. They were around the fences and in the stands.�