WVSSAC Super Six Football Championships

St. Albans, James Monroe new to Super Six in Wheeling
Friday, November 30 , 2007
By SHAWN RINE- The Intelligencer & Wheeling News-Register

The allure of playing for a state championship is enough to get schools like Wheeling Central, Williamstown, Parkersburg and Bluefield excited. Those guys have been to the Super Six championships in Wheeling so many times, most of their fans probably set aside money at the beginning of the calendar year for just such a trip.

It’s really nothing new.

But for programs like St. Albans and James Monroe, each first-timers when it comes to the high school event Wheeling has put on for the last 13 years, this is a chance to see what this thing is all about.

Thursday night at the annual Super Six Kickoff Dinner at the McLure House Hotel in downtown Wheeling, both school’s representatives attempted to convey what all this means to their respective communities.

For Dr. Tom Williams, principal at St. Albans, it’s already been more than he expected.

‘‘I would think (it has),’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve heard some things they are going to be doing for the kids in the locker rooms and things like that.

‘‘The kids don’t know about any of it yet, but it’s first class and it’s really sharp.’’

While St. Albans may not have the state-wide acclaim or pedigree as some of the other teams this weekend, that doesn’t mean the Red Devils, located near Charleston, lack in tradition.

Though they haven’t participated in the final since it came to town and was bestowed with the ‘‘Super Six’’ moniker, the Red Dragons have been in the Class AAA title game, the last time being in 1979 when current coach Derek Christian, who went on to play at West Virginia, was the star.

‘‘It’s really been tremendous,’’ Williams said. ‘‘St. Albans is a community that’s bascially right in the middle of town. It’s the only school in St. Albans.

‘‘Parents went to St. Albans, a lot of our teachers went to St. Albans, so the community has really pulled together.’’

Not only has James Monroe never played here, the school was opened the same year (1994) the state championships were awarded to the Northern Panhandle. The Mavericks are a consolidation of Union and Peterstown high schools.

Coach David Witt ended up being the comedian of the bunch on this night, but turned serious when he began talking about the game and his community.

‘‘We have an enrollment of about 600 kids,’’ Witt said. ‘‘In 14 years, we’ve been to the playoffs 11 times, had five unbeaten regular seasons and we’ve been to the state semis five times.’’

To give the crowd of around 150 an idea of just what this means, he told a story of a conversation he had with an unidentified freshman player on the days leading up to James Monroe’s season opener.

‘‘The moms of our players stand out on the sides of the road to solicit money to feed our players (during pregame),’’ Witt said. ‘‘I had a freshman come up to me and ask if we were going to have sandwiches and chips before the game, and I told him I don’t know, but we usually do.

‘‘He said, ‘good, I hope so because we don’t get to have chips at my house and I really like those chips.’ That’s what it means in Monroe County.’’

Each school is here to win a state title, make no mistake. But they figure while they’re here, they may as well take in some sights and enjoy themselves, for as has been stated on numerous occasions, this is no longer just a sets of games, but it’s become an event.

‘‘I’ve been to Wheeling several times, but I’ve never been up here for this event,’’ Williams said. ‘‘It’s really nice.

‘‘It’s first-class all the way.’’

Added Witt: ‘‘Win or lose, regardless of what happens we appreciate your hospitality. This is a wonderful experience.’’