South Charleston High School's second consecutive Class AAA football state championship won't come easily, if Coach John Messinger is to be believed.
Messinger, who is 39-10 in four years as the Black Eagles (12-1) coach, Wednesday pointed to numerous factors and trends that could fall into the favor of top-seeded Brooke (13-0).
"They're 4-0 against the MSAC this year," Messinger said, referring to wins the Bruins have claimed over Mountain State Athletic Conference members Parkersburg, Beckley, Riverside and Ripley. "Here we are trying to represent the Kanawha Valley and our conference, and we're going against a team that's owned it this year."
There is also the fact that Brooke High is in Wellsburg, just a 20-mile drive north on W.Va. 2 from Wheeling Island Stadium, where the game will kick off at noon Saturday. Messinger expects to see a rabid crowd of Brooke fans, who have been starved for a title chance since the team's last Super Six appearance in 1992.
"I think, as a coach, you've got to be able to sell your program," Messinger said. "You've got to be able to sell your philosophies. And (Brooke Coach Tom) Bruney's done that."
Bruney, in his first year at Brooke, took over a program that had been treading water since the retirement of longtime Coach Paul "Bud" Billiard following the 2001 season. Under former Coach Dave Reitter, the team qualified for the Class AAA playoffs twice, losing first-round games to Martinsburg in 2006 and St. Albans in 2007.
One of the first things Bruney did when replacing Reitter was to do away with the wing-T offense used by the program for the vast majority of the past 30 years.
"What we see is a football team that does a number of things well. The numbers tell you that they're good at passing the football," Messinger said. "A lot of those passes have come from underneath. They've come from screens and shovel passes. They execute really, really well."
The offensive attack starts with senior quarterback Cotey Wallace, who Wheeling media has called, "the odds-on favorite to capture the Kennedy Award as the state's best player."
Wallace (6-foot-1, 180 pounds) has thrown for 2,026 yards on 133-of-211 passing and has rushed for 1,045 yards. He has accounted for 41 total touchdowns in 13 games.
In other words, his numbers are eerily similar to those of South Charleston junior quarterback Tyler Harris (5-11, 185). Harris has thrown for 2,666 yards, rushed for 881 and accounted for 39 touchdowns while being one of the Black Eagles' leading defenders at linebacker.
Wallace's top receiver has been senior Joey DiNardo (6-3, 190). DiNardo has 44 receptions for 889 yards and nine touchdowns and is a leader in the Bruin secondary.
Junior running back Ryan Lazear (5-10, 185) returned to action last week in a 32-15 semifinal win over University after missing several games with an injured ankle. Lazear returned to action and scored on a 5-yard run against the Hawks, who entered the game with Class AAA's top scoring defense.
"They've got the Lazears and the Wallaces, but they've got some kids up front that are doing a great job pass blocking," Messinger said. "They run the football well. The Lazear kid's had a good year, and I know he's been banged up a lot like Ray Ray (Coleman) was.
"If you put this kid out there for 13 games, he's got big numbers like (Parkersburg running back Allan) Wasonga."
Undaunted, Messinger also said his team has its share of proven weapons and players with experience in this situation. But he also noted this year's experience will be different from last year's, when the Black Eagles annihilated rival George Washington 39-8 for the title.
"The fact is, they are undefeated. They are the No. 1 team in the state. We're the visiting team," Messinger said. "They say you've got to knock the champ out to be the champ. You don't get close decisions.
"There won't be a close decision up there, and we know that. We're just going to have to play one of the toughest four quarters we've played."
