It’s possible there is no more difficult three-game stretch on the 2025 West Virginia high school football schedule than the one Herbert Hoover will conclude on Thursday.
The first two of that trio – scrimmages against Huntington and Martinsburg, consensus contenders in Class AAAA – didn’t count.
The next one will: a fixture at Independence in a matchup of programs growing accustomed to deep postseason runs.
The Huskies, last year’s WVSSAC Class AAA state runner-up, are after another of those. Hence the stout tests out of the gate.
“We feel like we benefit a lot from that,†Hoover coach Joey Fields said Monday. “Of course, if you don’t do well, you can say, ‘Oh well, [the competition] is not gonna get much better than that throughout the season,’ and if you do do well, you build a lot of confidence in some areas. We came out [of the scrimmages] healthy, and we’re excited to get the real season going.â€
Independence has reached the state semifinals or deeper in each of the past four seasons. That includes two title-game appearances, one of which the Patriots won – 42-7 against Hoover in 2022 in Wheeling.
"I think it fast-tracks you into getting better,†Fields said of the rigorous early schedule. “There’s a little more urgency [than typical early-season outings], a little more focus. We gotta be better earlier.
“But also, we don’t want it to be the end-all, be-all of our season. We talk about, they remember November, so we gotta get better each week. But we’d like to get some wins along the way.â€
Fields chuckled in acknowledgment that that figures to be no easy task in Coal City on Thursday. Hoover edged the Patriots in an instant classic, 37-30, in Week 1 last year in Elkview.
The Huskies have developed their own cachet with two trips to the championship game in the last three seasons. Hoover has reached the playoffs in each of its five opportunities under Fields and won eight postseason games during that time.
“I think they’re the best team on our schedule,†Independence coach John H. Lilly said of the Huskies. “[It’s good] for us to see where we are earlier in the year. If we’re successful, then we’re where we want to be, and if we’re not successful, then we know what we gotta work on.â€
The Patriots (8-4 last season) return studs in all offensive facets. Sylas Nelson rushed for 1,778 yards and 28 touchdowns on 288 carries in 2024. Brock Green threw for a school-record 1,980 yards and 15 touchdowns. Christian Linksweiler had 33 receptions for 776 yards and seven house calls.
Hoover (a school-record 13-1 in 2024) counters with quarterback Peyton Grigsby, a sophomore transfer from Capital, and senior Blake Fisher, a do-everything back who rushed for 957 yards last season.
Sam Kee and Aiden Hernandez, a Winfield transfer, lead the Huskies’ receiving corps.
Hoover’s skill-position group behind a line led by veteran Mighty Lopez has “a high ceiling,†Fields said, as it pieces together new faces with mainstays.
“It's just getting continuity,†Fields said, “and I think we’ll do that the more we play.â€
Complete Hoover 2024 statistics were not available at press time.
By playing the opener a day earlier than usual, the Huskies and Patriots figure to have a greater spotlight on the state stage, which is just fine with Lilly.
“I think both programs are very similar in, we like promoting our program,†he said. “We like seeing our kids be successful, and we like people to see us statewide. Sometimes that works in your benefit and sometimes it don’t. But I think it’s exciting for our kids.â€
The all-time series is tied 1-1.
