Chris Sarandon
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It’s not unusual for a director to give a shout out to the star of a show.
NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma coach Porter Moser said West Virginia could very well be 5-0 in Big 12 play after the Sooners beat the Mountaineers 7…
Entries for the 2023 Celtic Calling Playwriting Contest are being accepted through Sunday, Jan. 15.
HUNTINGTON — The Herd is headed south.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WV News) — It is almost eerie to think about how Wednesday's Christmas came early for college football recruits across the country, including at West Virginia University, and crossed paths with the untimely, unexpected death of a Pittsburgh Steeler icon, the author of "The Immaculate Reception." Franco Harris.
There were so many messages in the feelings throughout football that ranged for the joy of the young players taking the next step toward trying to carve out their niche in the game that was once ruled by Franco and his Italian Army.
Innocents, they are, filled with more dreams than accomplishments, about to face their first real tests as they travel down life's paths. Some will succeed, more will fail. The most will land in between. In that way football and life are as one.
Some, perhaps, have not even heard of "The Immaculate Reception," which is to celebrate its 50th anniversary this week.
Harris was to be honored for the play that beat the Oakland Raiders in the most improbable, nearly impossible of fashions, a Terry Bradshaw pass seemingly broken up by Jack Tatum only to have the ball ricochet downfield where Harris scooped it up at shoe-top level and ran it in for the game winning score.
That miracle on the final play of the game did not win a Super Bowl but it gave impetus to a Super Bowl franchise. It was the Steeler's first playoff win ever. It injected an aura into the Steeler bloodline and lifted Harris to a place in history that would only grow over the years.
Without that play our world would not become as good a place as it became, because Harris, despite being a member of the hated enemy in Morgantown, where he was part of the yearly muggings Penn State inflicted upon the Mountaineers, became a caring, giving member of the community, that loved him back; not just for the catch, but for all he had done within the community.
Somewhere out there, in this recruiting class, there is probably the next Franco Harris, but first we have to understand that they have a different world to exist in.
They will be tempted with money and with transfer pressures, they will have to endure a lesser role as Harris did at Penn State, being not the star of those great Joe Paterno teams, but the fullback whose first chore was to block for Lydell Mitchell.
If there was a message in that play that Harris would transmit to this year's recruiting classes everywhere, it was this:
"No matter how hopeless something appears ... you don't ever give up. Anything can happen."
That he said a few of years ago in a USA Today article on the anniversary of the catch, noting it was a message that had been ingrained in him by Paterno:
"Go to the ball! Go to the ball!" Paterno would say over and over.
"I know it's hard to believe that was in my head," Harris said. "That's one thing that I did when I first went to practice with the Steelers. When you hear things like that as (a college) player, it kind of just goes through you. But when I got to the next level it was 'What are the things I need to do now that will make me better, that can make difference?'"
He thought of what Paterno said and now visitors to Pittsburgh are greeted in the city with a statue of him making "The Immaculate Reception."
We all have an effect on others and that goes for the new players, the ones Neal Brown will try to mold into winners and champions and people.
He had spent a hectic few days in the final days of recruitment leading up to signing day and there was much going through his mind on Wednesday morning when he awoke and turned on ESPN and learned of Harris' death.
"That's a historical play," Neal Brown began when asked what he would like his recruits to take out of Harris and the play he made. "First off, signing day is a weird day for a coach because you have this uneasiness about signing day.
"Like the night before is uneasy. Even the guys you talked to, and it's good, because it's never good until it's signed and delivered. You get up early, but your work is done by 9 a.m. So I had ESPN in my office and I enjoyed watching the coverage of Franco Harris.
"The thing that really stood out is watching and hearing what his former teammates said about him. That, to me, if the people you played with speak highly of you, then that's really good. For a guy like him who was a leader and a tough guy — he might not be the most popular or the most liked, but he was respected, which is the most important thing."
So many people live their lives for money, for fame, for fun ... but when it comes time to tally it all up, what you have done, how you have done it and what it has meant to those closest to you ... well, that's respect, and it's the one thing Brown believes his new players should gun for as they move their time at WVU and beyond.
Wil Schoonover was a young elementary school student in Moorefield when Reed Williams and the West Virginia University’s football team were taking down Oklahoma in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.
But like everyone in the small Hardy County town, known mostly for poultry farms, he was locked in on Williams, the hometown hero. Schoonover decided then that he wanted to wear that same uniform one day and play for the Mountaineers.
As he promised, Schoonover placed his cleats right in the tracks Williams had created. He was a three-time all-state linebacker for Moorefield’s Yellow Jackets, and he also rushed for more than 5,000 yards on offense. He was a state champion and four-time all-stater in wrestling, and just for good measure, he landed on the all-state team in baseball twice.
Coming out of high school in 2016, Schoonover had collegiate offers in all three sports, and he eventually settled on football and Glenville State (W.Va.) University.
It wasn’t WVU as he had dreamed, but Schoonover was prepared to begin his college journey and see where it could take him.
He was already playing a significant role on special teams for the Pioneers in his first fall camp, when some bad news arrived. Schoonover had failed a class back at Moorefield as a sophomore. He thought he had it corrected, but the NCAA Clearinghouse posted a red flag.
Eventually, he was declared a non-qualifier and told he couldn’t play that season for Glenville State. Disappointed and confused, Schoonover didn’t know exactly where to turn. There were some schools at different levels where he could be eligible, and there were plenty of colleges that wanted him in all three sports.
After weighing his options, however, Schoonover said the choice became obvious – the United States Army.
“I wanted to serve my country,” he explained. “I was very patriotic growing up.”
So on Feb. 14, 2017 – Valentine’s Day – Schoonover found himself on a plane on his way to Fort Benning, Georgia.
“My mom was not very happy on that,” he chuckled about his Valentine’s Day exit.
At Fort Benning, Schoonover completed basic training, as well as jump school, learning to jump out of an airplane. He was eventually sent to Fort Richardson, Alaska, where he became a member of the 4-25th Infantry Brigade and the 3-509th Airborne Infantry Battalion. He was deployed to Afghanistan right before Christmas.
“I grew up real fast,” said Schoonover. “When you have drill sergeants yelling at you, it’s a big learning experience. But the structure and organization in the United States Army molded me into who I am today. It gave me a perspective on life, how to lead people and how to treat people.”
By June of 2018, Schoonover was back in the states, and he tried out for and made a reconnaissance and sniper platoon. He went to Camp Shelby in Mississippi and eventually traveled to Louisiana.
Schoonover’s tour in the U.S. Army came to an end in 2020, and he quickly turned his vision back to his childhood dream of playing for the Mountaineers. He was ready to try out as a walk-on, but when COVID-19 threw the entire country for a loop, walk-on tryouts were canceled. On top of that, Schoonover learned that he still wasn’t eligible. He had sat out the season at Division II and served his “punishment,” but the Big 12 had its own rules. He would have to go to a non-Power 5 school, maintain a 2.5 grade point average and pick up a minimum number of credits.
Instead, he took a job with the Region VII WorkForce back in Moorefield, supervising a youth development group of kids ranging in age from 14 to 24.
“Most of them were good kids, but a lot of them had bad home lives, drug issues or other problems,” said Schoonover. “I taught them career skills, how to save money and things like that.
“I really take pride in that. They probably learned a lot from me, but I really learned a lot about myself in teaching those kids.”
Schoonover’s boss there was T.J. Van Meter, the program’s executive director, and he encouraged Schoonover to not give up on his athletic dreams. He believed he could still play baseball, and he called Potomac State College head coach Doug Little, who agreed to give him a shot.
In the spring of 2021, Schoonover was the Catamounts’ backup catcher. He played in 12 games and hit .350 with 12 runs scored and nine RBIs. The team finished 35-8, and Schoonover called it a great experience.
The time with the Catamounts also allowed him to meet the academic requirements, and he once again turned his attention to walking on with the Mountaineers.
If you’re this far into the story, you probably already know that it couldn’t be that easy. On his way to the beach for one last taste of summer before fall camp began, Schoonover received a call from the WVU compliance office telling him that he still needed a science class to be ruled eligible. His plan of starting with the team at the first practice was delayed while he took an online biology class. But when the academic semester began at WVU, Schoonover was finally eligible.
“It’s not just football; it’s playing here at WVU,” he said of his reason for staying patient and clearing all the hurdles that were put in his path.
“Growing up in Moorefield, West Virginia, I watched Reed Williams play. He was a big hero of mine and a great friend, as well. I talked to him numerous times when I was in the Army. I just wanted to play here. I wouldn’t have gone anywhere else. I just wanted to play for the old gold and blue.”
When the home portion of the 2021 schedule opened with a game against LIU – poetically on Sept. 11 – Schoonover’s dream came true when he ran out of the tunnel and onto Mountaineer Field with his teammates.
“I was speechless,” he said. “It was a dream come true, and it felt like a relief to finally get to live a childhood dream. I worked hard to get to this point, and finally everything came together.”
There was still work remaining, however. Though Schoonover was in great shape from baseball in the Army, Power 5 football shape is a little different.
“It’s a lot of long distance in the Army,” he explained of his conditioning. “It’s how far can you go and how much can you carry. You’re carrying food, water, radios, the basics. Here, it’s a sprint. A play lasts about eight seconds. There’s a lot of power here in this world.”
So Schoonover went to work with Mike Joseph and the WVU strength staff, and after a full year, his body looked and felt like his teammates — with a few extra years added. That work in the weight room allowed Schoonover to break into the lineup on a couple of special teams units this season. He identifies himself as a “utility man” and said he knows several different roles and is ready to step in wherever he is needed. He’s also the defensive signal caller. He gets the call on the headset from defensive coordinator Jordan Lesley and relays it to the team on the field.
His playing time is limited, but he said the experience is everything he had dreamed.
“And more,” said Schoonover. “I didn’t know all the benefits that came with playing football here. Coach (Neal) Brown and his staff do a great job of preparing guys for the real world. There’s a lot of stuff I didn’t know that I know now. I think that’s great for these guys.”
So, with his dream fulfilled, what’s next in Schoonover’s unlikely story?
“I kind of want to give back,” he said. “I love working out, and I love the sports science side of it — what can you do to the human body and how far can you push it?”
After this football season is complete, he plans on doing an internship under Joseph and eventually wants to get back to Fort Bragg or Fort Campbell and train military personnel.
One thing we know for sure is that nothing will stand in his way.
HUNTINGTON — Marshall football head coach Charles Huff couldn’t have drawn up a better start of the game against Appalachian State Saturday.
You can have all the computers you want, armed by trained analysts, and toss in even a little artificial intelligence to go with the human intelligence as a football coach.
You can run numbers like you run plays, prepare game plans, set up matchups and any number of trick plays.
But you’d better have people to run them if you want to beat good football teams.
West Virginia ran into an unbeaten — but not unbeatable — TCU team on Homecoming at Mountaineer Field on Saturday.
The Mountaineers had a decent plan, they had emotion and they had desire.
They had it all, except for enough healthy bodies to go against the nation’s No. 7 team. In the end, they wound up on the wrong end of a 41-31 final score that dropped their record to 3-5 and their spirits even lower.
All season long, their defense has been a shambles, either through defections from a year ago into the transfer portal or injuries to linemen or secondary players, but by Saturday, they also were without both starting guards in James Gmiter and Doug Nester and tight end Mike O’Laughlin. The running back room was banged up without starter Tony Mathis, and during the game, they lost C.J. Donaldson to a lower-leg injury that seemed serious.
Yet the offense survived, scoring 31 points despite all those injuries.
The defense, though, was dissected in a first half by big TCU plays that left heads spinning.
By halftime, Texas Christian had four touchdowns — a 71-yard pass from Max Duggan to Taye Barber, a 55-yard pass to Quentin Johnston, a 51-yard run by Kendre Miller and a 30-yard run by Emani Bailey.
That is over 200 yards of offense on four plays. For the half, 332 yards on 25 plays, which works out to better than 13 yards per play.
That WVU kept pace said a lot about the effort it put forth. Donaldson scored on s pair of one-yard runs, and Justin Johnson on a five-yard run — that’s seven yards of scoring plays as compared to 207 yards by the Horned Frogs.
As it was, the tenor of the game turned in the second half as adjustments were made, but there were too many healthy playmakers on TCU’s side of the field while there were too many unhealthy playmakers in the West Virginia training room.
“I thought defensively, the second half was the best we’ve played since Virginia Tech,” WVU coach Neal Brown said. “Offensively, we were productive, but you get the ball on (redshirt junior defensive back Malachi) Ruffin’s pick, and we have to do something about it. We didn’t even give ourselves a chance to go for it on fourth down. We went backwards, and that’s probably the most disappointing drive we’ve had all year.”
Ruffin made his interception at a key point in the game, grabbing the pick at his own 16, as TCU threatened to put away the game with a 34-24 lead and 3:56 to go.
But as Brown noted, the Mountaineers ran three plays, lost three yards, and sitting on their own 13, they had to punt the ball away.
It went only to midfield, and Texas Christian made the most of the opportunity, stunning WVU with a fourth-and-one pass play from the Mountaineer 29 with 20 seconds left for a touchdown to Savion Williams.
When it was over, Miller had run for 120 yards, Donaldson putting up 104 before being helped from the field. Duggan completed 16 of 28 passes for 341 yards and three TDs, as J.T. Daniels completed 23 of 39 for 275 yards and two TDs.
WVU returns to action next Saturday at Iowa State.
MORGANTOWN — It was old school vs. new school.
