Hard work pays off for Tigers

“When I took the job I knew it was going to be a challenge,” Ware said during the preseason.

But the hard work by Ware, his coaching staff and players have paid off with the Tigers playing the state playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Elkins (5-5) is the 13th seed and visits No. 4 Herbert Hoover (10-0) at 1:30 p.m. today in a Class AAA, first-round encounter.

The teams met during the regular season, with the Huskies prevailing, 56-7.

Ware

“We’ll be ready to go and give it our all,” Ware said of the rematch.

With the playoffs postponed a week due to court rulings, the Tigers — along with the other teams around the state –had a chance to heal after a grueling and challenging regular season.

Among the 10 teams Elkins faced this season, six made the postseason, including top-ranked Fairmont Senior, the aforementioned Huskies, No. 8 North Marion, No. 12 Lewis County, No. 14 Robert C. Byrd and Class AA, No. 6 Philip Barbour.

Battling that type of competition, the numbers senior Nick Bowers put up this season is more than impressive.

Bowers entered EHS royalty by becoming the school’s all-time leading rusher back in September.

He’s now at 4,404 yards.

For the season, Bowers has amassed 2,300 to go along with 26 touchdowns.

Paving the way for the ground gain is an offensive line anchored by senior Aiden Lambert and sophomore Owen Stanley.

Sophomore quarterback Nate Sauerwein directs the offense, with senior Quincy Miller his favorite target.

Sophomore Dylan Fortney and senior Kaden Phillips will give Bowers a spell when needed with the run game.

Senior kicker Lucas D’Angelo gives the Tigers another weapon as well.

Defensively, senior Riley Rider — the first player in recorded EHS history to collect over 300 career tackles– leads the team in stops from his linebacker spot with 11.2 per game.

Sophomore tackle Devin Hulver is second in tackles with 9.8 per outing, while Stanley is averaging 4.8 tackles and has a team-high three sacks.

The Tiger defense will be challenged by Hoover all-state quarterback Dane Hatfield, who rushed for 270 yards and five scores when the teams met on Oct. 25.