HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Spring Valley owns one of the state’s longest streaks of consecutive playoff appearances at 15 seasons. A 16th straight postseason spot will require young players to step up. After an 8-3 season in 2022, which included a victory over eventual state champion Huntington, the Timberwolves said goodbye to a large and decorated senior class.
“We don’t have a whole lot of guys that have Friday night experience. But I feel like we’ve got a lot of guys that I am not afraid to put out there on a Friday night right now,” said Spring Valley head coach Brad Dingess.
“We’ve not really had this at least in the last ten years, not having a whole lot of kids coming back. This senior class, they were freshmen during that COVID year. So that kind of hurt a little bit, numbers-wise.”
As Brad Dingess enters his 16th season as head coach, one of the top priorities is to replace two-year starting quarterback Dalton Fouch.
“Jamison Smith and Liam McGuire, both those kids are working their tail ends off. They are two kinds of different guys. Jamison has been in the system for four years. He’s very smart, a great team leader and great in the locker room. Liam had a great year last year in JV. He has put on a little bit of weight.”
Junior Jayln Abercrombie will be featured in a variety of roles on offense and special teams.
“He’s playing receiver, playing in the secondary and he is going to return all the kicks and punts just like he did last year. He is just kind of electric. We’ve got to find and be creative in ways to get him the football.”
Seniors Tate Adkins and Sam Booth will be counted on for leadership and productivity at different spots on the field.
“Tate is a big, tall receiver. He has put on some good weight. We’re looking forward to him being a little more physical out there. We’ll try to get him the ball close down in the end zone.
“Sam Booth, last year he kind of took one for the team and went down and played offensive line. He ended up maybe being our best offensive lineman as far as All-State, All-Conference.”
Despite the Timberwolves’ youth and a schedule that includes quarterfinalist Jefferson and the usual MSAC gauntlet, Dingess says the standards and expectations for his team remain unchanged.
“We expect to come out and compete and try to win every football game. Right now, we are just concerned on being the best we can be early, get through camp, challenge these guys and put the best product out on the field come Week 1 against Huntington.”