Story by Parker Stone
MARTINSBURG, W.Va – Honorable Mention: Koi Fagan’s Triple Crown
Martinsburg High football once again had another successful year and reached that end goal of winning a state championship. This season will be defined by one of the greatest single seasons in Bulldog football history from starting quarterback Koi Fagan.
From his electric plays and leading Martinsburg through the regular season to a playoff run that was defined by highlight play after highlight play, Fagan’s 2024 campaign was noted around the state as he won the triple crown of the Gatorade Player of the Year, the MetroNews Player of the Year, and the Kennedy Award as the state’s most outstanding player.
- Carrie Bodkins Hired as Shepherd University Director of Athletics
In the Fall of 2023, former Director of Athletics for Shepherd University Chauncy Winbush announced his departure from his role at Shepherd to accept the role as Deputy Athletic Director at Miami University of Ohio.
After a detailed search to find the new leader of Ram athletics, Shepherd announced that Carrie Bodkins would begin as the next Director of Athletics in July of 2024. Bodkins previously served as the Director of Athletics at Alderson Broaddus before coming to Shepherd.
- Hudson Clement Leads WVU in Receiving, Enters Transfer Portal
2023 was the year that former Martinsburg High football standout Hudson Clement established himself as a player with staying power for the West Virginia Mountaineers. Clement earned a football scholarship and went on to gain 480 yards and four touchdowns.
2024 saw Clement take another step: being the Mountaineers leading receiver with 741 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year. In the Mountaineers loss to Memphis in the Scooters Coffee Frisco Bowl, Clement caught eleven passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
That game ultimately was Clement’s last in a WVU uniform as he shortly after announced his entry into the NCAA transfer portal. Clement announced his commitment to the University of Illinois on January 2nd.
- Shepherd Football’s Defense Shines as Stars get Added to D1 Ranks
The 2024 iteration of the Shepherd Rams football team can be described as a mixed bag. Some good and some bad occurred, but it ended up being the first time the Rams missed the postseason in a decade. One thing that was standout was the defensive unit for Shepherd.
Linebacker Brodie Carroll was named the PSAC’s Freshman of the Year while defensive linemen Matt Bednarski and Brett Kwoka joined defensive back Miles Greer on the conference’s defensive first-team. Linebacker Harold O’Neal and defensive back Donte Harrison also joined those honored as conference second-teamers.
The talent on Shepherd’s defense got noticed, and other teams came calling.
Five Rams from a year ago have transferred to Division 1 programs: Brodie Carroll to Elon, Harold O’Neal to Hampton, Donte Harrison to Northern Illinois, Miles Greer to Buffalo, and wide receiver Cam Dorner to North Texas. Add defensive lineman Brett Kwoka transferring to PSAC rival Slippery Rock and it adds to many talented players departing the Ram program after a disappointing record in 2024.
- Musselman Girls Basketball Makes Program’s First State Tournament Appearance
The Musselman Girls Basketball program needed a fresh coat of paint after a combined nine wins in the previous two seasons. In came new head coach Tim Potter who installed ferocious defensive pressure and turnover savvy basketball to lead Musselman to a 17-9 record and a first ever state tournament appearance for the Lady Applemen.
Players such as Jasmine Morris, Naveah Thompson, and Sarah Price shined in what turned out to be a magical season for Musselman.
“I’m so proud of these girls and my staff,” Potter said after clinching their state tournament berth with a regional final win over Martinsburg. “These girls behind the scenes have been working so hard for this moment and it’s so exciting and I’m so proud of them for making history for this school.”
Musselman would be downed in the opening round of the state tournament to George Washington, but the Lady Applemen have begun the 2024-25 campaign with a 4-2 record and eyeing another trip to Charleston.
- Martinsburg and Jefferson Regional Battle Highlights Best of Baseball in the Panhandle
In a hotly competitive year of high school baseball in the Eastern Panhandle, it was a series to send a team to Charleston and the state tournament that stole the show this year.
Martinsburg was able to overcome a tough Hedgesville team winning 3-2 both times to advance to the regional final while Jefferson was able to sweep a much-improved Washington team.
Game one of the series was a classic pitcher’s duel between Jefferson’s Cohen Rutherford and eventual Player of the Year Carson Boober, who struck out 11 to lead the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory. Game two saw Jefferson respond emphatically with a 7-0 win behind pitcher Riley Morgan taking a no-hitter all the way to the seventh inning.
“He had elbow surgery in November and didn’t pitch much for us till later in the year, which might have been a blessing in disguise because he’s fresh and he’s always competitive,” said Cougars head baseball coach John Lowry after the game two win.
The deciding game three saw Martinsburg take victory at P.O. Faulkner Park 3-1 to advance to the state tournament courtesy of Christian Alter pitching a complete game and getting three hits including an RBI triple.
“Christian is a little bit of an unconventional 4 hitter, but he does a great job of moving runners. Carson is a little bit of an unconventional 2 hitter, but we like where they’re at in the lineup and we’re fortunate to have that group, “said Bulldogs head baseball coach Aaron Beiler after the game three victory.
- Washington High School Softball Reaches State Title Game
The Washington Lady Patriots Softball had success reaching the state tournament in the tail end of the 2010s decade, but recently they had not been able to get past their Jefferson County rival in the Cougars of Jefferson High in sectional play. That changed in 2024 in a thrilling sectional series win and then going on to sweep Musselman for their berth to the state softball tournament for the first time since 2021.
“You’ve got to have the talent, the camaraderie, and the teammates to play as one team and take it one play at a time and we’re ready for that,” said Patriots head softball coach Amanda Orkosky after the regional title victory.
Washington would split their first two games of the tournament beating Cabell Midland and being downed in nine innings to University.
In an elimination game, the Patriots were able to topple Cabell Midland again 6-3 to advance to the state title game for the first time in school history.
The Patriots forced a decisive game in the championship series against University but would be downed in their effort for a championship.
- Spring Mills Boys Basketball Plays in State Title Game
If there was a team in 2024 that opened many eyes to their talent across the state of West Virginia, it was the Spring Mills Boys Basketball team.
Lead by the EPAC’s player of the year in boys basketball Caleb Thomas, the Cardinals steamrolled their way to winning their first ever sectional and regional championships in boys basketball, and with that securing their first ever bid as the top seed to the state tournament in Charleston.
“It’s really good to see a team of role players growing up maintain being in roles and as a team, they’re all stars,” said Cardinals head boys basketball coach Luke Samples ahead of the tournament.
Spring Mills would win their first two games in the tournament against Woodrow Wilson and South Charleston to set up a rematch that the Cardinals won in December of that season against the Morgantown Mohigans for the Class AAAA State Championship.
Spring Mills was the first in-state team to beat Morgantown since 2021, but the Mohigans ended up getting the win back and adding another state title by a final score of 35-32.
Spring Mills has returned all significant players from last year’s roster and seems the favorite early on to be state champions in 2025.
- Washington High School Girls Soccer Wins State Title
The Washington Lady Patriots Girls Soccer team secured a first ever state championship late this fall to cap an impressive 17-5-2 season.
Losing just one game in EPAC play this year, the Lady Patriots held the standard in the conference in 2024 by ousting rival Jefferson in overtime to win the section and then downing Hedgesville in the regional final 3-1 to advance to the state tournament.
Washington dispatched Parkersburg South 3-0 in the semifinals and their championship match was set with George Washington.
George Washington would go up by one early, but Washington got an equalizer before the end of the half courtesy of freshman Rozlyn McDonald.
After a dazzling performance in scoring all three goals for Washington against Parkersburg South, Jurnee Vrobel scored what would end up being the deciding goal off a corner kick to lead the Lady Patriots to a 2-1 victory.
- Everything Involving Shepherd Womens Soccer
For the longest time, women’s soccer at Shepherd University was a program trying to find consistency. Head coach Sam Odell led the program to its first winning season since 2005 in 2023 and aimed to progress even further.
What 2024 would become for Shepherd Womens Soccer is history on multiple levels.
The season’s tone was set with a ranked with in September over East Stroudsburg and a tie on the road against at the time 13th ranked Kutztown.
Momentum continued into October as the Rams would tie East Stroudsburg on the road and beat Kutztown at home. A win on the road against perennial power West Chester ended the regular season for Shepherd and earned them a host in the quarterfinals of the PSAC tournament.
The Rams downed Bloomsburg 2-1, Slippery Rock 5-4, and Kutztown 3-2 to capture the program’s first ever PSAC Championship.
Shepherd earned the top seed in the Atlantic Region of the Division II Womens Soccer Tournament. Getting a bye to the semifinals, they downed the champions of the Mountain East Conference in West Virginia State and would defeat the number two seed in the tournament Gannon to advance to the Elite Eight where they would have their season end in a 2-1 loss to Franklin Pierce University.
The 2024 season saw Sam Odell named as PSAC Coach of the Year as well as the staff named as Atlantic Region Staff of the Year, Hannah Wilt was named Freshman of the Year, seven Rams were named to the All-PSAC first or second team, and senior midfielder Sarah Peternal became the first ever All American honoree in program history with her being named to the D2SSCA third-team.
- Martinsburg and Spring Mills square off in first ever Class AAAA State Football Championship
In what turned out to be one of the most interesting seasons of high school football not only throughout the Eastern Panhandle, but throughout the entire state of West Virginia, one matchup stood out and the pleasure was had we got to see it twice.
Martinsburg has been the standard of excellence in the EPAC for football for a number of years to this point with championships seemingly coming at ease for a program that consistently produces some of the state’s top football talent.
Spring Mills in 2023 was coming off the best season in program history with a playoff victory a year ago.
Now with the full reigns of the program and the interim tag removed, Cardinals head football coach Marcus Law realized his vision and created a juggernaut of a football team that could go toe to toe with the mighty Bulldogs of Martinsburg.
On October 25th, these two squared off for the first time in front of a capacity crowd at Spring Mills High School. The game came down to a 4th down where Martinsburg junior defensive back Mason Walley made an unbelievable play on the football to knock it away and secure the victory for the Bulldogs in the battle of undefeated teams.
Once the playoff field was firmly set, Martinsburg and Spring Mills both steamrolled and survived gutsy tests from opponents to make their way to the state capital for the first ever Class AAAA State Football Championship.
Two of the best defenses in the state came as advertised as Spring Mills forced two crucial Martinsburg fumbles and were able to recover both. Martinsburg though got the scoring going with a 58-yard rushing touchdown from senior quarterback Koi Fagan to lead 7-0. The Bulldogs blocked a Cardinal field goal attempt to go to the half up by seven.
Spring Mills would storm back, and the game would get tied at 17 a piece late in the fourth quarter courtesy of the second of two touchdowns runs from senior quarterback Max Anderson.
Then, Koi Fagan happened.
The first offensive play after the Cardinals tied the game, he rips off an 80-yard touchdown scamper that would decide the game and give the Bulldogs their eleventh state championship in football by a final of 24-17.
“I knew it was going to be tough,” Martinsburg head football coach Dave Walker said. “We’re a mirror image of each other. Several of their coaches played for me and are Martinsburg guys. They model a lot of stuff after we do and rightfully so. It was easy to prepare for them, but it makes it tougher to play against them.”
“He’s a kid I wish I could have year in and year out, “Spring Mills head football coach Marcus Law said of his quarterback Max Anderson.” Not just what he does on the field, but his work ethic, how he goes about it and in a game like this, I’ll call Max’s name or number if the game is on the line. That goes back to the amount of work he’s put in.”
In what proved to be a banner year of achievement in the sports realm, Martinsburg and Spring Mills giving a showcase of arguably one of the best state football championship games in recent memory is our pick for the best of sports in the Eastern Panhandle in 2024.
