Fort Frye’s Grady Hesson hands the ball to an official after scoring a touchdown against Marietta at Don Drumm Stadium. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

The world according to KP.

Now that the 2025-26 academic season is coming to a close, it’s time to look back and reminisce about what resonated from my vantage point in terms of athletic achievements along with the strange but true.

What follows are three tiers of the best storylines I was blessed to be a part of while covering from the sideline, press box or even on the playing surface.

Baseball and softball still had their stories to tell..

Best of the Best

Williamstown’s Madilyn Buttrey follows through on a swing during the state golf tournament in Wheeling. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

(1) PHS Senior Jacob Smith (Living the Dream): Wood County Teacher of the Year Sam Vincent worked quite the magic for a student in his Sports in American Culture class at Parkersburg High School.

During a zoom call with an NFL player in which students take turns asking questions, Atlanta Falcons superfan Jacob Smith was invited by one of his favorites in wide receiver Drake London to attend the NFL draft in Pittsburgh.

Smith’s expression was priceless as he explained to London he was honored. Initially, Smith thought he was among those being drafted and explained to London he didn’t feel he was draft material.

Smith’s classmates and the 75-some people gathered in the PHS library all the sincere reaction.

At the draft, Smith walked up to the podium during a middle-round pick and announced the Falcons’ pick. He did it with such precision.

With St. Marys golf coach Catie Hamilton watching in the background, golfer Trevor Maley hits his approach shot onto the eighth green during the Class A, Region I Tournament at Mingo Bottom Golf Course. (Photos by Kerry Patrick)

(2) Williamstown Golfer Madilyn Buttrey (Anxious Moments): Not once, but twice did Williamstown golfer Madilyn Buttrey have the flair for the dramatics.

At the Girls State Golf Tournament, Buttrey fell behind the leaders by six strokes with 10 holes remaining. She eventually pulled even with Bridgeport’s Audrey Kerr after 18 holes at the Links at Woodridge then birdied the first playoff hole to earn medalist honors.

In the postseason at the WVSSAC State Tournament in Wheeling, she stayed on the bubble for all-state honors throughout her final round and was one shot out of contention before sinking a birdie on her final hole to finish in the top eight in Class AA.

(3) South Girls Basketball (Young Guns): Not quite the Fab Five, Parkersburg South girls basketball roster had its own version with five freshmen, including three who started, on a team which swept the regular-season series with city rival Parkersburg, defeated Hurricane 59-39 to advance to the Class AAAA state tournament.

South advanced to the championship game. In an instant classic televised live from Charleston, the Big Reds defeated the Patriots 59-53.

Morgan quarterback Haiden Pauley (2) sidesteps a Marietta defender at Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

South coach Ed Davis was rewarded for the struggles of the past several years where the team was riddled with injuries. Stories exist that during those trying times, members of the coaching staff were forced to be practice buddies because of the lack of bodies.

(4) Williamstown Boys Tennis (Digging Deep): Three consecutive days of tennis at the state championships took a toll on Williamstown’s Brady Woodard. A hip flexor injury forced the senior to default his matches in the singles bracket where he was the No. 1 seed.

After the Yellowjackets secured a runner-up finish in the team competition and his lateral movement limited, he chose to go forward with the doubles field with partner Isaac Harris. Both were in a world of hurt once they walked off with the state title, but on occasion winning works just as well as ibuprofen.

(5) South Basketball Player Harry Silvis (Simply the Best): In nearly 60 years of basketball at Parkersburg South High School, Harry Silvis stands as the most productive player in terms of career scoring.

The senior broke the previous record in a road game then was treated to great fanfare on Senior Night. Joining past South head coaches as part of the congratulations at midcourt was Matt Shamblin, who owned the previous mark of 1,257 – which was established in 2003.

St. Marys running back Eli Wilson (44) watches as the ball rolls free and eventually recovered by Wirt County during a Class A first round playoff game in St. Marys. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Silvis could fill in at any of the five positions. His range – well, there really were not any limitations as long as the ball was past halfcourt.

(6) Williamstown Girls Basketball (Freeze Warning): Halftime adjustments. The Williamstown coaching staff looked like geniuses as the Yellowjackets rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit and defeated Wheeling Central Catholic 53-42 in the semifinals of the Class AA state tournament in Charleston.

The main point of emphasis for Williamstown in the second half was defense and limiting the Maroon Knights to six points after halftime, including just one made bucket in the final 13 ½ minutes.

The momentum stopped there as Williamstown lost to James Monroe 50-26 in the state championship.

(7) PHS Girls Swim (The Big Splash): The Parkersburg girls swim team sat in sixth place in the team standings prior to the final heats on the final night of the state meet in Morgantown then climbed up the standings and nearly accomplished the unbelievable after moving up to a runner-up finish – only one point shy of state champion George Washington.

Lily Farinash proved to be the iron woman of the team after competing in four events on the same day. She covered the equivalent of 750 yards in the morning session and another 150 yards in the final heats.

(8) PHS Boys Tennis (Marathon Man): Given the nickname “The Closer” during the regular season, Parkersburg’s Isaac Stephens lived to his billing during a critical juncture of the Division II team competition. With the Big Reds’ semifinal match with University tied at three matches apiece, Stephens spent nearly two hours on the court in his No.4 singles match deep into a frigid night.

Late in the match, Stephens went down to the ground holding his knee – and after 10 minutes working with the on-site athletic trainer, he walked back onto the court and finished off his opponent 9-7. The Big Reds eventually placed runner-up.

(9) PHS Volleyball (Rallying Cry): Bodies took a toll when Parkersburg volleyball met Hurricane in a Class AAAA regional co-final. Players were crashing into the scorer’s table and landing in the bleachers while attempting to keep rallies alive.

The Big Reds dropped the first set then rallied for a 23-25, 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 state-clinching victory.

(10) St. Marys Golf (Like Clockwork): The St.Marys varsity team throughout the postseason consisted of four golfers and no room for error. At regionals, the Blue Devils rewarded coach Catie Hamilton with a seventh straight title in seven years.

At the Class A state meet, Blue Devil freshman Trevor Maley earned all-state honors.The varsity ‘4’ are scheduled to return for the 2026 season.

(11) Marietta Girls Soccer (Mad Dash): After a goal was disallowed for Marietta in a Ohio Division III regional semifinal, the Tigers and Dover were locked in a 0-0 tie with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

In the next six minutes which followed, Marietta’s offense found a spark and scored three goals to secure a 3-0 win. Grace Spencer scored the first two goals for Marietta, and her sister Annaleise accounted for the final goal. Maura Misel turned in a clean slate at goalkeeper.

(12) Warren Boys Soccer: Warren recovered from a 1-0 deficit to Athens in an Ohio Division III district quarterfinal before pulling out a 2-1 overtime victory thanks to Liam Grosselin’s goal off an assist from Zane Ott.

During the regular season, Warren’s seniors mae sure to close out their career with at least one win over rival Marietta as the two teams split the home-and-home series.

Football Moments

(1) Wirt County loses to St. Marys by 39 points in regular-season finale. Tigers turn the tables as the same two teams meet in the opening round of Class A playoffs. Wirt County wins 27-14.

(2) Morgan snaps 12-game drought vs. Marietta with 31-16 win – covering a span of nearly 20 years. Morgan eventually qualifies for the postseason for the first time in school history. Wins two playoff games in Division V before losing to eventual state runner-up Wheelersburg

(3) Fort Frye defeats Marietta 35-0 and extends consecutive scoreless streak to 22 straight quarters. Earlier in the season, the Cadets defeat eventual W. Va. Class A state champion Wheeling Central 40-0 in a game where the running clock kicked in.

Brain Teasers

(1) Williamstown-Ravenswood (Connect the Dots): Expect the unexpected when Williamstown and Ravenswood meet in an athletic event.

During the basketball season, a power outage in the city of Williamstown moments before the opening tip off of a Class AA regional semifinal with Ravenswood forced the game to be moved to Parkersburg High School that same evening. Neither head coaches (Ravenswood’s Mick Price and Williamstown’s Scott Sauro) in their nearly 1,500 games of coaching basketball had never experienced this.

The next time these two schools met in a boys athletic sport, rain and lightning delayed the game one hour. Prior to the delay, Williamstown trailed 3-2 in the fourth inning. When the game resumed, the Yellowjackets rallied for a 7-6 win.

(2) Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis Girls Basketball (Only Fitting): Parkersburg South’s Emilee Owens made the eventual game-winning 3-pointer and scored a team-high 16 points as Team West Virginia defeated Team Ohio 79-75 in double overtime.

Owens made four 3-pointers on the very same court she called home for four years.

(3) Ritchie County Boys Basketball (Potential Math Majors): When the Ritchie County boys basketball team traveled to Williamstown, players and coaches alike were aware of the last time their school had defeated the Yellowjackets- 13 years. Or in greater detail: 4,699 days.

Those numbers no longer matter since the Rebels defeated the Yellowjackets 64-59.

(4) Parkersburg Catholic Boys Basketball (Worth the Wait): A humbling experience for Parkersburg Catholic’s Leonardo DeAngelo when he scored his 1,000th point in a 69-66 win over Fort Frye. He remembers how the road began when the Crusaderettes did not win a game in his freshman year.

DeAngelo also experienced the state tournament for the first time as PCHS advanced to the Class A field.

(5) Waterford Girls Basketball (Mirror Images): After losing at Eastern by 39 points, the real version of Waterford girls basketball showed up in the second regular season meeting and defeated the Eagles 59-56.

Waterford’s win created complete chaos in the TVC Hocking Division. Eventually, the Wildcats finished in a tie for the division title.