Lowers heads all-LKC offense
Tuesday, December 6, 2005
By JIM BUTTA - The Parkersburg News & The Parkersburg Sentinel

PARKERSBURG-When making his offensive game plan every week this past football season, Williamstown second-year head coach Terry Smith knew exactly where he wanted to start.

"He (senior Tyler Lowers) was where we started," said Smith. "Every game plan started with him."

And, why not?

The senior running back was coming off a junior campaign that saw him rush for more than 2,000 yards and be selected to the Class A all-state squad.

Lowers numbers weren't as high as in 2004, but the results were just as good as Williamstown completed its fourth-straight unbeaten regular season-breaking the state mark of 44 straight wins held by Winfield-and reached the state championship game against defending state champion Wheeling Central.

The Yellowjacket standout closed out his four-year career at the Wood County school with 1,887 yards and 24 touchdowns-21 rushing.

"Our offense was designed to go through him whether he received the ball or not," continued Smith, who finished 13-1 in his second season at the helm of the Yellowjackets.

It was those kind of numbers that made the 176-pounder a repeat selection to the Little Kanawha Conference first team offense-and its captain for the second straight year.

"It is a tribute to our team and its success," added Smith.

Lowers was joined on the first team by teammate Ryan Lott.

The six-foot, 198-pound Lott was literally in the middle of the action on every play for the maroon and gold as the team's center.

A second team selection in 2004, Lott was responsible for making all of the blocking calls for an offensive line that allowed Williamstown to average 242.9 yards per game on the ground.

The only other repeat first teamer was Calhoun County's Justin Whipkey.

In his final season with the Red Devils, the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder was one of the main cogs in a Calhoun offense that pounded out eight wins during the season and reached the first round of the Class A playoffs.

The primary ball carrier Whipkey and his teammates blocked for was chosen to the first team backfield after being named on the first team defense a year ago. His name is Paul Goodrich.

All Goodrich did his final season in Mount Zion was lead the entire Mid-Ohio Valley in both scoring (166 points) and rushing (2,050 yards, 25 TDs).

Rounding out the first team backfield is a pair of Blue Devils from St. Marys.

Junior Shawn Robinson eclipsed the 1,000-yard plateau this past fall, finishing with 1,079 yards on the ground and scoring 13 touchdowns. The speedy back, however, was a double threat for the No. 5 ranked Devils (11-2), catching 10 passes for 235 yards and five more scores.

Also selected by the coaches was senior quarterback Gavan Renner.

In his final season for the Pleasants Countians, Renner completed 55-of-109 passes for 1,355 yards and 19 TDs. Renner and Robinson were two of the primary reasons the Blue Devils reached the Class A semifinal round, where they dropped a 17-0 decision to Williamstown.

But, they weren't the only reasons.

Also named to the first team offense was senior wide receiver Ryan Venderlic. In his final season, the speedy receiver latched onto 15 Renner passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns. He also added 474 yards and six touchdowns on 32 carries.

The other receiver selected was Doddridge County senior Josh Dilger.

A three-sport standout for the Bulldogs, Dilger led the LKC in receiving with 44 catches for 705 yards (16.2 ypc) and 10 TDs.

Rounding out the first team offense are linemen Dustin Paxton of Roane County, Brian Barnhart of St. Marys and Rob Waters of Parkersburg Catholic.

Named as the placekicker for the first team offense was Roane's Evan Kendall. The Raider senior, who was a first team selection on defense last season, was a jack-of-all-trades for Roane, connecting on 23 of 32 PATs, one field goal (27 yards) and sending nine kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. He also completed 59-of-133 passes for 1,020 yards and eight touchdowns and rushed for 176 yards and five more scores.

The second team offense saw Doddridge's Lee Curtis selected as the quarterback, Ross Ritchie of Ravenswood, Zach Boston of Ritchie County and Beau Robinson of Wirt County as the running backs and Parkersburg Catholic's Wes Tracewell and Calhoun's Tyler Schartiger as the receivers.

Named to the offensive line were Mike Headley of Ravenswood, Jacob Cox of Wirt County, Caleb Hart of Calhoun, Rustyn Goff of Ritchie and Ryan Metheney of Roane.

The second team place kicker is Williamstown's Russell Palm.

Contact Jim Butta via e-mail at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com