Paul Adkins

Sports Editor

A trio of Logan County football players received mention recently in the Charleston Daily Mail’s Preseason All-State Team.

Chapmanville Regional High School running back DeShawn Alexander and defensive back Dustin Conley were named honorable mention all-state in the “100 others to watch category.”

Also, Logan High School quarterback/wide receiver Khaleel Reynolds was named honorable mention.

All three played a big part in the success of their teams last year as the Tigers and Wildcats both made it to the playoffs. Logan finished 8-3, losing to Parkersburg South in the first round of the Class AAA state playoffs. Logan was the No. 4 seed in the state and hosted its first post-season game since 1990.

Chapmanville was 9-4, advancing all the way to the Class AA state semifinals before falling 33-13 at Point Pleasant, a Cardinal Conference opponent.

Named to the publication’s first-team offense were quarterbacks Mark Johnson of Morgantown and Adam Weeks of Shady Spring.

Logan will face Weeks and Shady this season as the Shady Spring Tigers have been added to the Wildcats’ schedule, replacing Nicholas County. Logan is set to host Class AAA Shady on Aug. 31 in Week 2 of the season after hosting county rival Man on Aug. 24 in the opener.

First-team running backs were: Brett Hathaway of Bridgeport; Brandon Spurlock of Wayne; Chazzy Thomas of Morgantown; and Lowell Farley of Cabell Midland.

The first-team offensive linemen were: Josh Baisden of Cabell Midland; Anthony Bryant of Wayne; Joe Butcher of Lewis County; and Jon Lewis of University.

Brandon Williams of Oak Hill and Tony Richardson of University are the tight ends. Cedric Brown (Martinsburg), Darrin Zombro (Musselman) and Stephen Rogalski (Magnolia) are the wide receivers.

Clayton Collett of Elkins and Ryan Switzer of George Washington were named as ulility players.

The kicker is Zach Wise of Berkeley Springs.

The first-team defensive line was made up of the following players: Eugene German of Martinsburg; Preston Murray of Oak Glen; Braxton Nolte of Wheeling Central; Conner Templeton of Point Pleasant and Mack White of Parkersburg South.

The linebackers are: Kevin Cantley of St. Albans; Dustin Crouser of George Washington; Danny Fife of Keyser; Jalen Thomas of Morgantown; and Elijah Wellman of Spring Valley.

In the first-team secondary are: Jordan Bonar of Bishop Donahue; Logan Cox of Parkersburg South; David Gaydosz of Cabell Midland; Andrew Johnson of Beckley; and Maverick Keller of Musselman.

The defensive utility players are Ty Noss of Liberty Harrison and Trevond Reese of South Charleston.

The punter is Ryan Venture of Morgantown.

The second-team tight end is Austin Pyles, a senior from Class AA defending state champion Wayne, a Cardinal Conference team.

On the second-team defense are lineman Dwight Blankenship and linebacker Mason Hodge of Wayne. Scott’s Caleb Linville, a defensive lineman, was also mentioned.

Mingo Central’s Joe May was named as a utility player on the second-team defense. The Miners join the Cardinal Conference in football in 2013.

Also named honorable mention was Tug Valley quarterback Mikey Newsome.

Wyoming East quarterback Zack Whitten was also named to the watch list as were Scott lineman Dakota Ball, Westside lineman Matt Harless, and Tolsia wide receiver Morgan Williamson.