By Tom Bone
BLUEFIELD — In the 60 years the Harry H. Kennedy Award has been presented to a top West Virginia high school football player, no one from the Bluefield Beavers football program has taken it home.
Until now.
Bluefield High School senior quarterback Will Cole has been selected as the high school football player of 2008, as voted by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
“It’s a great honor,” Cole said before adding, “Football’s a team sport. The line really pass-blocked real well this year. Having five or six receivers who could go out and catch the ball and make plays for you — it was great.
“I couldn’t do it without them. It takes all 11 people on offense.”
Cole was not only one of those 11 on offense. He kicked, punted, and played safety until he hurt his ankle on Oct. 23 against Scott.
But it was as a quarterback that he gained notice around the state.
In 2008 he threw for 3,022 yards, completing 58.8 percent of his 345 passes. Thirty-three went for touchdowns and only a dozen were intercepted in Bluefield’s 12-game season.
At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, he also ran for seven touchdowns and 182 yards. His performance against a demanding schedule that included three Class AAA schools and three other quality out-of-state opponents gave him the edge among a field of strong contenders.
Finishing second was Aaron Dobson of Class AAA champion South Charleston. The senior scored 17 touchdowns and averaged 28.8 yards per catch as a receiver, and intercepted seven passes as a cornerback.
The other top vote getters, in descending order, were Hurricane’s Terrell Martin, who scored 30 touchdowns; Mount Hope’s 2,310-yard rusher Da’Von Marion; and, in a fifth-place tie, Grafton’s Cameron Gallaher and Wheeling Park’s Alec Wood.
Rounding out the top 10 were Point Pleasant’s Allan Wasonga, Ravenswood’s Jake Young, Capital’s Keion Wright, and in a 10th-place tie, Aaron Slusher of South Charleston and Justin Fox of Magnolia.
Fred Simon, Bluefield’s head coach since 1986, said, “I’m just appreciative of the sports writers for taking notice of a fine, talented young man (who) we feel deserves it. I can’t say how happy I am that Will was the first one to win it, out of all the other guys.
“It’s the only award that we’ve never gotten, with the great tradition that we’ve had here and the great athletes that have come through. ... For us to finally have someone (to win it), it’s like the closing of a history book.”
The closest a Bluefield player got to winning the Kennedy Award was in 1996, when Yubrenal Isabelle finished as runner-up to Nitro quarterback J.R. House.
The Beavers, from a school with more than 90 years of football tradition, were 13-0 in 2007 and won their ninth state championship in Cole’s first year as their quarterback, after he transferred from nearby Graham High School in Bluefield, Va.
Cole said that title run remains a favorite memory.
“My junior year, coming over, going 13-0 and winning the state championship. You can’t ask for a better season than that.”
He remained motivated, he said. “I worked on getting better over the summer. Coming into the season, I was real comfortable throwing the ball a little more.”
This fall the team began with three close losses and finished 7-5, being eliminated from the playoffs in a 41-35 quarterfinal shootout with Wayne.
Cole said, “The situation we were in, starting out 0-3, we had to basically win out, or win at least six games. There was never thinking about awards, it was always thinking about winning the next game and getting into the playoffs.”
The third loss, at Charlotte (N.C.) Country Day School, proved a turning point. Simon said, “We felt, when we could move the ball on them (by) passing, we could move it on anybody. And we did.
“There was not a game, going in, that I didn’t feel like we couldn’t score at least three or four touchdowns. Or with a break or two, five or six.
“We just didn’t think they could shut our passing game down. We thought we had a quarterback who could get the ball to the receivers — who had the poise and the confidence to do it.”
Cole took on an added role as motivator for his younger teammates.
“You just had to keep telling them that they’re going to be all right, and keep trying,” he said.
In the Beavers’ final five games, Cole threw for 16 touchdowns and 1,600 yards.
Simon said, “I was impressed with Will from day one. He had the skills, all of the qualities that go into being a really good quarterback.
“He has always wanted to be a part of an offense like we have, and he really adapted well to it. He complemented our offense; we complemented him. I think we all worked very well together.
“He was a pleasure to coach because he enjoyed the game so much. He’s a class act, he’s a model student, he works hard in practice.”
Cole said, “I think the coaches saw all the hard work and trusted me, and believed I could do the job. I was real determined and motivated to prove a lot of people right.”
Simon said, “A quarterback, to me, is your leader. What his behavior is, how he handles pressure, how he reacts in school, how he handles life, period, to me that’s what a quarterback is all about. I think your team, a lot of times, is as good as your quarterback.”
Even if that quarterback is playing hurt.
During his junior year, Cole ran the offense despite a tear in a knee ligament. In October of this year, he had to shake off an ankle injury.
“To tell you the truth, it held me back a lot because I wasn’t as mobile,” Cole said.
“He’s able to play with pain,” Simon said. “He’s never complained, but I just know that when you have a torn ACL or high ankle sprain, how much pain you go through. And he never complained or said a word about it.
“He just tried and tried, and I was very impressed with that. I thought that was very courageous. (He’s) just a very mentally tough person.”
Earlier this month, Cole was named captain of the Class AA all-state first-team offense by the sports writers.
Cole is the 56th player to win the Kennedy Award since its inception in 1947. There was a two-year gap (1966-67) in which no award was given. Bluefield becomes the 40th school to produce a Kennedy Award winner.
Cole is scheduled to receive his award on May 3 at the 63rd annual Victory Awards Dinner to be held in Charleston.
The 2007 award went to Jordan Roberts, a running back and linebacker for Scott High School.
