By Rich Stevens
MaxPreps.com
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia Class A Wheeling Central has had a stranglehold on the small school boys basketball ranks of the Mountain State.
The Maroon Knights have won five of the last seven small school championships and appear headed toward another.
Coach Mel Stephens’ team has a 6-2 record, which includes victories over Class AAA Northern Panhandle rivals Wheeling Park (76-64) and John Marshall (86-79 in three overtimes).
The Maroon Knights have lost at home to Ohio small school foe Shadyside and in the Cancer Research Classic to St. Joseph’s Prep.
Their most impressive victory, however, may have come on Tuesday at home against the John Marshall Monarchs.
Coach Bill Storm’s Monarchs are the same team that battled Mountain State Academy (Beckley, W.Va.) for four quarters before dropping an 85-75 decision at the Charleston Civic Center.
Wheeling Central’s victory over JM further entrenched the Maroon Knights as the top-ranked team in the Associated Press Class A rankings of the state’s sportswriters.
Senior guard D’Onte Long had 29 points to lead the Maroon Knights, who play one of the toughest schedules among W.Va. Class A squads.
Their schedule includes Class AAA schools Wheeling Park (twice), John Marshall (twice) and Logan, Class AA teams Weir (twice), Oak Glen (twice) and Magnolia. One of their Class A opponents is Charleston Catholic, the state champion in both 2006 and 2007.
Part of Wheeling Central’s strength is depth and its ability to find a star anywhere on the roster.
“That’s usually the story for us – we really don’t have that guy who is a superstar,” Stephens told The Intelligencer. “We’ve got to share the wealth and these guys understand that.”
Wheeling Central’s Class A state title last year came one season after the Maroon Knights failed to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2001.
More Boys Basketball: Martinsburg leads Eastern Panhandle powers
Martinsburg is among the elite teams in the Eastern Panhandle, an often forgotten area of the state.
This year, however, that portion of West Virginia isn’t so forgotten.
The Bulldogs, who reached the Class AAA state tournament last year, are one of four teams located in Jefferson and Berkeley counties to be ranked among the top five Class AAA squads. Kanawha County’s South Charleston, at No. 1 and the Class AAA runner-up the last two years, is the only school out of the five not in the east.
Martinsburg is No. 2, Musselman No. 3, Jefferson No. 4 and Hedgesville No. 5. This season, two teams from the representative region will reach the state tournament. Defending state champion Woodrow Wilson is eighth.
Region 2 is loaded with talent, led by Martinsburg’s Isaac Thornton. Thornton was named Most Valuable Player of the Martinsburg Holiday Tournament after scoring 28 points in two games – including 12 in a victory over defending Class AAA champion Woodrow Wilson.
Hedgesville senior J.R. Mayles and Maurice Newby make the Eagles a force to be reckoned with as the season unfolds. Jefferson’s Garrett Grantham and Dewey McDonald lead the Cougars, while Musselman’s Logan Holloman and Jonathan Alvarez key the Applemen.
The poll, which is voted on by West Virginia sportswriters, isn’t always an accurate count of the state’s top teams.
Then again, it’s often more accurate than who finishes at the top at the end of the season.
Changes made to the postseason basketball format will go into effect this season that could make it truer.
In each class of the state, there are four regions with two teams from each region qualifying for the state tournament. Each region, made up of two sections, will have a final four with the two winners qualifying for the Tournament – March 18-21 at the Charleston Civic Center.
In the past, there was only one team from each of eight regions earning state tournament play.
For the first time, two teams from the same region will have an opportunity to win a state championship. When the final four of the region is decided, the second-place team from one section will visit the first-place team from the other section – sending the winners to the tournament.
While it means a team can lose and still make it to the states, it also means one bad game won’t mean the best teams will miss out of an opportunity so richly deserved.
Region 2, featuring Martinsburg, Jefferson, Musselman and Hedgesville, has been represented by either Martinsburg or Jefferson the past four years. This year, two teams from the region could play in the championships.
There have been only three Class AAA teams in the past nine years to play in the state championship game without having 20 wins. Woodrow Wilson, which finished 19-7 last year and won the Class AAA title, did it twice. The other team was Martinsburg, which fell in the final to Parkersburg South in 2003.
Woodrow Wilson was the first since 1996 to win a state title. That year, Fairmont Senior finished 19-5 after defeating Robert C. Byrd in the finals.
Rich Stevens, a sportswriter for the Charleston Daily Mail, covers West Virginia for MaxPreps.
