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Yachini named to Class AAA first team by WVSWA

HUNTINGTON — It takes more than just one elite player to make it to Wheeling Island Stadium.

It takes talent and chemistry, which is something both Martinsburg and Spring Valley brought to the table in the 2016 season.

As it turned out, both teams were the last dogs standing in Class AAA with Martinsburg earning its fifth title in seven years with a 48-7 win in Wheeling.

The Class AAA All-State First Team reflected the strength of those teams this year as Martinsburg placed five players on the unit while Spring Valley followed with four, as voted on by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Brooke senior Chris Yachini (56 catches, 995 yards, 10 TDs) was named as a First-Team receiver. Teammate Alex Edgell was a special honorable mention choice.

Of Martinsburg’s five First-Team selections, four came on the defensive side of the football.

“Their defense is the best in the state,” Spring Valley coach Brad Dingess said after his team’s loss to Martinsburg in the Class AAA Championship. “They got that (championship) for a reason. They did a good job defending us.”

Martinsburg’s defense was led by junior defensive lineman Tavis Lee, who was named as the First-Team defensive captain after a year in which he finished with 109 tackles, including 24 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.

On the offensive side, Spring Valley’s Riley Locklear was named the First-Team offensive captain after leading a Timberwolves’ front that paved the way for a Spring Valley offense that was just under 6,000 total yards of offense for the season, including 4,997 rushing yards.

Martinsburg coach Dave Walker was complimentary of the Timberwolves’ rushing attack following the championship game.

“They ran the ball on us better than anybody has all year,” Walker said.

In addition to Lee, Walker’s team produced four more First-Team selections, including wide receiver Isaac Brown (64 catches, 981 yards, 12 TDs), defensive lineman Jalen Hesen (75 tackles, 17 TFL), linebacker Dewayne Grantham (75 tackles) and defensive back Grant Harman (71 tackles, 7 INTs, 5 FR).

The scary thing for the rest of the state is that all Martinsburg’s First-Team selections return in 2017. Lee, Brown and Hesen were juniors this season while Grantham and Harman were sophomores.

For Spring Valley, all their First-Team selections came from the offensive side of the football.

Joining Locklear was junior offensive utility player Derek Johnson (1,420 yards rushing, 809 yards passing, 27 total TDs), senior running back Mason Brubeck (1,344 yards, 20 TDs) and sophomore offensive lineman Doug Nester.

Capital, who lost 20-14 in a classic Class AAA semifinal to Spring Valley, also placed four players – all seniors – as First-Team selections.

Those Cougars are offensive lineman Chris Harris, linebacker Dorian Etheridge (83 tackles, 9.5 TFL, 2 INT), defensive lineman Turan Rush (53 tackles, 12 TFL, 6 sacks) and defensive utility player Silas Nazario (27 tackles, four TFL, sack, 2 INT, FF; 1,052 all-purpose yards, 10 TDs).

Huntington High placed three players on the Class AAA First-Team, led by senior offensive lineman and North Carolina commit Billy Ross, who led a Highlander offense that had 4,000 yards of total offense, senior kicker Cason Kessinger (7-of-9 FG, 35-36 PAT, long of 53 yards) and senior defensive lineman Ryan Mills (72 tackles, 16 TFL, 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles).

Four other teams — Wheeling Park, Cabell Midland, Jefferson and University — each had two selections.

Wheeling Park’s selections included junior quarterback Cross Wilkinson (1,790 passing yards, 19 TDs) and senior defensive back Zach Torbett (104 tackles, 6 PBU).

Cabell Midland’s two selections were sophomore running back Ivan Vaughn (1,883 yards, 22 TDs) and junior offensive lineman Jordan King.

Jefferson was represented by senior offensive utility player Isaac Myers (3,365 total yards, 38 TDs) and senior defensive back Jeffrey Gaskins (25 tackles, 8 INTs). Gaskins also caught 51 passes for 1,055 yards and 12 touchdowns.

University’s pair of representatives were on the defensive side – sophomore defensive utility player Amir Richardson (3 INTs, 2 kickoff return TDs, 876 yards of total offense, 9 total TDs) and senior linebacker Isaiah Utt (41 tackles, 6 TFL, 2 sacks).

South Charleston’s Derrek Pitts, a West Virginia commit, ended his brilliant career with the Black Eagles as a First-Team selection at defensive back while fellow Charleston native Grant Wells of George Washington was named to the utility/punter position after a stellar year at both quarterback and punter for the Patriots.

Joining Vaughn at the running back spots were Musselman senior Jacob Northcraft (1,694 yards, 12 TDs) and Morgantown senior Jordan Page (1,073 yards, 14 TDs).

Hurricane’s Lucas Cooper rounded out the defense as a First-Team linebacker.

Martinsburg junior quarterback Tyson Bagent was named offensive captain of the Second-Team after throwing for 2,423 yards with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Huntington High defensive back Jadon Hayes was named as the Second-Team defensive captain after a year in which he had 43 tackles and six interceptions with three fumble recoveries while also rushing for 1,490 yards and 18 touchdowns.

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