PARKERSBURG — A quartet of Parkersburg High School senior football players were named to the All-Mountain State Athletic Conference first team.
The Big Reds of second-year head coach Matt Kimes, who finished 7-5, advanced to the state quarterfinals before falling at Princeton.
PHS landed signal-caller David Parsons, tight end Matthew Stalnaker, defensive back Andrew Stalnaker and wideout Anthony Ice on the first team.
Parsons set single-season school records this fall with 2,731 yards passing and 33 touchdowns.
He also holds red and white career records for six-pointers accounted for (74), total offense (6,592), passing yards (6,108), touchdown passes (67) and pass completions (428).
Parsons also owns the single-game total offense mark of 506 established versus rival Parkersburg South.
“Best arm talent I ever coached. He will go down as one of the best quarterbacks in program history,” Kimes admitted of Parsons while noting that the senior class “left their mark on the program.
“They will be remembered for a long time as the group that helped turn things around and bring Big Reds football back to prominence.”
Matthew Stalnaker had 34 receptions for 590 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, he was second on the squad with 100 total stops, which included 23.5 TFL and six sacks.
“Definition of a Big Red,” the coach noted of Matthew. “Fought through injuries and battled ’til the end with his teammates. His best football is still ahead of him.”
Andrew Stalnaker finished with team-highs of 103 total tackles and five interceptions. He also had 10 TD receptions on his 30 catches that covered 578 yards.
“Born leader who consistently made plays all over the field for us. Fully bought into the new expectations and held his teammates to the same standards,” Kimes said of Andrew.
Ice, who missed a quartet of games and averaged 22.9 yards per kickoff return that included taking one to the house from 94 yards out, led PHS with a dozen total touchdowns. He had 37 catches for 750 yards and 11 scores.
“Eats, lives, breathes football,” Kimes added of Ice. “He made such a huge difference in our team when he was healthy.
“They were a blessing for me to coach and I can’t thank them enough for buying into the team concepts.”
Seniors Casey Stanley and Jason Williams earned nods on the second team along with junior Zane Lewis, who was tabbed at linebacker after making 94 tackles and three interceptions. He also had a team-high three blocked kicks.
Stanley was the Big Reds’ leading scorer (114) thanks to seven TDs, seven field goals and 51 extra points. He established school records for kicking points (72), career field goals converted (19) and career kicking points (193). The senior had 41 touchbacks on 74 kickoffs.
Like Ice, Williams also missed a quartet of games, but amassed a team-high 11 sacks.
Jake Bauman and Jakel Shelton were named special honorable mention All-MSAC, while Carter Watts and Adam Elder earned honorable mention accolades.
Huntington wide receiver Wayne Harris was selected Player of the Year and Cabell Midland’s Luke Salmons was the Coach of the Year.
The first team offense also featured running backs Curtis Jones (Cabell Midland) and Noah Vellaithambi (Hurricane), receivers Malik McNeely (Huntington), Tyshawn Dues (Hurricane) and Keegan Slack (George Washington), linemen Da’Ron Parks (Hurricane), Robby Martin (Huntington), Ben Gulliams (Cabell Midland), Caleb Conrad (Hurricane) and Aiden Ellis (George Washington) as well as utility Jalyn Abercrombie (Spring Valley) and kicker Johnny Aya-ay (Huntington).
Joining Stalnaker on the first team defense were linemen Kiyou Jackson (Huntington), Michael Lunsford (Cabell Midland), Aaron Clark (Hurricane) and Brae Booth (Spring Valley), linebackers Cannon Lewis (Cabell Midland), Cam Veazy (Huntington), Wiz Tye (Huntington), Sam Booth (Spring Valley) and Hunter Giacomo (George Washington), defensive backs Zah Jackson (Huntington), La’Ron Dues (Hurricane), Bryce Green (Riverside), Solomon Ferrell (George Washington) and Landon Nida (Cabell Midland). Cabell Midland’s Jayden Branch was the first team defensive utility and the punter was Huntington’s Tayveon Wilson.
Contact Jay Bennett at [email protected]
