Monday kicked off the official start of the football season as teams across the state were permitted to begin practices.
The HD Media sports staff has been working on its prep football season preview issue due out later this month.
Here’s a look at some of the top teams to watch this season.
George Washington
The Patriots lost quite a bit to graduation but return running back Jaden Black, who was considered one of the top players in the state last season.
Two midseason defeats, to Jefferson and Huntington in consecutive weeks, put GW on the road to face the Cougars in the playoffs, ending their 2025 campaign.
The arrival of Tavion Woods along with the experience that returns has coach Steve Edwards excited about his team.
GW was voted by the Mountain State Athletic Conference coaches as a close contender to the Highlanders for the league crown this year.
The Patriots could be a dark horse contender in Class AAAA.
Herbert Hoover
The Huskies might be the most talked about team in the Kanawha Valley.
In the offseason, Herbert Hoover and coach Joey Fields landed running back David Robinson Jr.
This offseason and in previous seasons, the Huskies have landed top talent from other schools while also developing their own homegrown players.
After the graduation of Brad Mossor at Princeton, along with the runner-up Nitro Wildcats, who also lost a lot of talent, Class AAA could come down to Fields’ team and possibly Bridgeport in a rematch of the 2024 championship game.
Staying healthy against a schedule that includes matchups with Fairmont Senior, Princeton and Huntington might be the only question mark with this team.
South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä
Donnie Mays has a top-notch coaching staff to help continue the turnaround for the Black Eagles football program.
Mays talked up his coaches at the MSAC media day on Friday at Little Creek Park.
The staff includes wide receivers coach Chris Lawson, linebackers coach Mike Lovejoy, defensive backs coach Ahmed Witten, interior defensive line coach Delvin Johnson, defensive ends coach Ra’quan Thompson, who is also the strength and conditioning coach, plus quarterbacks coach Jordan Paul.
Mays staff also includes two on his staff with head coaching experience in defensive coordinator Derek Stotts and offensive line coach Jeremy Hairston.
Stories you might like
Transfers and 22 players who have lifted their way into the school’s 1,000-pound club have Mays excited about the 2026 Black Eagles.
Winfield
The Generals caught my attention last year when coach Eddie Smolder was able to lead his team to a 7-4 finish that included a berth in the Class AAA playoffs.
The 2025 season was an improvement after a 4-6 2024 record in which Winfield lost its final game that year to Point Pleasant, costing the Generals a likely playoff spot.
A question mark heading into the 2026 season is how much Smolder is able to get out of this season’s team against a schedule that includes Woodrow Wilson and the Black Eagles and Huskies.
Sissonville, Buffalo
Both teams began the 2025 season with new coaches leading any program for the first time.
Andy Anderson guided the Bison to a 7-3 record, while missing the playoffs due to their schedule not generating enough playoff points to qualify for the Class AA field.
Anderson has added Class AAA Lincoln County, Point Pleasant and PikeView to the schedule in addition to their Little Kanawha Conference foes.
Sissonville is in the same boat with coach Michael Hughes, who got a 5-5 record last season after the team was winless in each of the two previous seasons.
Can those coaches in their second year get their teams to the postseason?
MSAC CHANGES: Commissioner Jim Hamric said during the league’s football media days on Friday at South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä’s Little Creek Park that in the 2027 season there will be two divisions – the Mountain and Cardinal.
The Mountain will include Class AAAA teams George Washington, Hurricane, Cabell Midland, Huntington, Woodrow Wilson, Parkersburg and Parkersburg South.
The Cardinal will include the Class AAA teams Capital, South ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä, Riverside, St. Albans and Spring Valley; one Class AAAA school, Riverside; plus the four new teams joining next year: Nitro, Herbert Hoover, Winfield and Ripley.
As for this year, the MSAC will recognize one champion from each of its two current divisions – the Blue and Gold – and also recognize one All-Conference first team, an honorable mention and a special honorable mention.
BRINGING HEAT: Former Hurricane and current WVU pitcher Weston Smith topped the Appalachian League’s velocity leaders for the week of July 20-26 with a 97.2 mph pitch during a game.
Smith is playing for the Bluefield Ridge Runners in the Appy League, which is now a draft prospect league associated with Major League Baseball.
ROUNDING UP: Winfield multi-sport athlete Ty Laughery will have his picture appear on the Curefest 2026 Tribute Survivor Wall in September in Washington, D.C.
The Artie Sports legends Museum will celebrate the opening of its new location in Scott Depot, just off Interstate 64, at noon on Oct. 3. Keynote speakers for the grand opening will include former Marshall football coach Bob Pruett and former Herd men’s basketball player and coach Greg White.
