Williamstown’s Max Molessa (7) throws a pass during Saturday’s Class A state championship game against Greenbrier West in Wheeling.
(Photo by Neal Smith)
WHEELING — The opportunity to make history does not often present itself, making it crucial to capitalize on every chance to do so. Saturday in Wheeling, the Williamstown football team did just that.
The Yellowjackets etched their names into the record books by defeating Greenbrier West 42-12 in the Class A state championship to win their second title in a row, a first in the history of the program. While the contributions of the entire team to this end goal are undeniable, the senior class will be remembered for quite some time for their accomplishments.
There’s no better place to start when discussing Williamstown’s senior class than their leader, Maxwell Molessa, who secured his third-straight Most Outstanding Player Award (the first was in the 2021 championship loss to St. Marys) in the final game of the Super Six. Molessa, fresh off of a 160-rushing yard, three-touchdown performance, was quick to give credit to the team when discussing the individual award, “The MVP is the team and the coaching staff. I just did my job and did everything I could to help us out, but I’m truly blessed.”
“The seniors, we’ve been striving for this moment since we were in elementary school. To finish it out like this and actually accomplish our goal is just truly a blessing,” said Molessa of the senior class and going out on top.
Senior linemen Aiden Corbett gave his thoughts on the game, “We came out and played hard, we played fast, we played physical like we wanted. We minimized errors, and I think we played great defense.”
Williamstown’s Louis Goodnow (5) makes a move during Saturday’s Class A state championship game against Greenbrier West in Wheeling.
(Photo by Neal Smith)
Corbett does not feel sad that the ride is over, but he does have sympathy for the Cavaliers, “It’s not sad like a lot of these guys. I feel for them, they’re going out losing. It’s definitely not a sad feeling if you win. It’s definitely a happy feeling.”
Colt Hesson’s senior season did not go according to plan, but it certainly ended in fitting fashion. Hesson sat out most of the season with a torn ACL, but was able to come in for the final play of the game to take a knee for the Yellowjackets. On kneeling in the final play of the final game across the whole state of West Virginia, Hesson commented, “It’s really special. Obviously the year wasn’t how I expected it to be, but coaches and players kept me in it. Being able to go down there and take a knee, it felt amazing.”
“It’s great. I’ve been with these kids since kindergarten. It’s been great growing up with them, and I can’t believe it’s here already,” commented Hesson on how time flies.
Junior running back and linebacker Lynken Joy will surely miss the contributions of the senior class, but has faith in the program’s ability to maintain the standard, “Their impact is incredible on all of us. They’re good leaders, and they’ve been with us since day one, so it’s going to be a rough loss, but we’ll just have to bounce back.”
Yellowjackets head coach Chris Beck also had kind words to say about the departing seniors, “I’m so happy for them. They deserve it. The kids deserve all the credit. We got a great group of seniors who have put four years into this thing, a lot of them did, and their work ethic is off the chart. Their character is off the chart. They are great teammates. They are selfless. They care so much about each other and they got such a competitiveness and just will to win. It’s very uncommon. To have so many in one class being able to do that is just a special group.”
Contact Aaron Lee at [email protected]
