5 Big Reds Make First Team All

PHS Remains 6th In Nation With 791 Wins Through 2011; 16-time W.Va. State Champion

John Weber became a repeat first team all-state selection and Jeremy Bell joined him on the first unit selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association while Alex Ash was named second team quarterback.

Weber a 6-3, 255 pound senior who was recently selected to participate in the Chesapeake Bowl on Dec. 30 was just the third PHS player in the last 30 years to be a repeat first team choice as a lineman. Weber, a team captain, was an offensive lineman who was asked to play linebacker at the beginning of the season before turning to the defensive line after recovering from an ankle injury.

Bell is a 6-5, 205 pound senior captain who set several receiving records at PHS, including most career touchdown receptions and most passes caught in a single season.

Ash was beaten out for first team quarterback by Martinsburg senior Brandon Ashenfelter,a 6-2, 220 pound quarterback who led his team to a second straight Class AAA championship with a great performance in the title game. Ash wrote his name in the Big Red football record book several times during his two year career and finished as one of the top three quarterbacks in the history of the school.

Junior Adam Lindamood, who missed two and a half games with a knee injury but still rushed for over 100 yards per game, was named special honorable mention while punter Kyle Foster was honorable mention.

The 2011 Parkersburg High School Football Banquet was held Dec. 11 in Vienna and coaches, parents and fans bid a final farewell to 23 seniors from a team which went 7-4.

A senior class that featured not just outstanding athletes but outstanding young men as witnessed by their community involvement with the Salvation Army, the Parkersburg Half Marathon and various elementary schools not to mention a 3.0 grade point average or better for 53 of the 64 members of the team.

Senior captains Alex Ash, Chad Collins, Jeremy Bell and John Weber were the featured speakers for the seniors they will certainly be missed. The only captain named so far for the 2012 season was Adam Lindamood. Coach Don Reeves announced the remaining three captains would be selected every two months between now and June.

Among the key returners for the 2012 team will be juniors Adam Lindamood (HB), Tre Jackson (HB), Adrian Webster (E), Matt Santer (WR-DB), Skyler Terrell (E-DB), Cody Roney (K), Austin Alatore (L), D.J. Corazza (L); and sophomore Aaron Roberts (QB), Kyle Foster (P), Shawn Graham (LB), Chandler Hamilton (HB), Kyle Webb (L), and Zach Garrison (L).

Records Set - Game TD Passes – 5 (2010)
Records Tied – Season Completions – 142

Ranking in Record Book
2nd – Game Passing Yards – 30
Tied 2nd – Season TD Passes - 19 (2010)
2nd – Career TD Passes – 36
2nd – Career Completions – 277
3rd – Game Completions - 20 (2010)
3rd – Season Pass Yardage – 1,947
3rd – Career Pass Yardage – 3,872
4th – Career Total Offense – 4,045

A trio of Big Reds have earned first team All-Mountain State Athletic Conference honors on the 2011 squad picked recently by the coaches.

Quarterback Alex Ash, tight end Jeremy Bell and offensive lineman John Weber were voted onto the first unit of the mythical team while tackle Mike Talbott was named to the second offensive team. Junior running back Adam Lindamood was named to the special honorable mention squad while Josh Lewis was named honorable mention.

Ash completed 57.7 percent of his 246 pass attempts for 1,947 yards with 17 touchdowns and just seven interceptions this year. He holds the school record for touchdowns in a single game (5) and threw 36 touchdowns in two seasons to rank second in career TDs. He tied the record for single season completions with 142 this year and ranks second all-time with 277. His single-season yardage total was third all-time and career-wise he is third in yardage with 3,872 behind Marc Kimes (5,320) and Eric Ranson (4,238) who were both three-year starters.He finished his career ranked fourth in total offense with 4,045 (trailing Kimes, Ranson and Fred Earley).

Bell did just as well in the record-setting department as he caught 49 passes this year for 754 yards and 10 touchdowns. His reception total broke the record of 43 set in 1978 by Todd Curkendall and tied Curkendall's regular season touchdown record of 10. He shattered the career touchdown record with his total of 20 (the old mark was 14 by Brad Johnson in 1992) and his career yardage total of 1,256 was second only to Johnson, who went on to play at Penn State.

Weber battled ankle problems all year but still turned in a stellar season after earning first team all-state honors as a junior.

Lindamood led the team in scoring with 14 touchdowns for 84 points and rushing with 920 yards in just nine games (missing two full and part of another with a knee injury). Talbott also missed some time with injuries but was a key blocker while Lewis was the team's leading tackler by far with 86 stops including 10 behind the line of scrimmage. He also had two fumble recoveries and two blocked kicks (one he returned for a touchdown).

George Washington's Ryan Switzer was named Player of the Year and GW coach Steve Edwards Jr. was named Coach of the Year after his team finished runner-up in the Class AAA championship game to Martinsburg.

HUNTINGTON - The Highlanders of Huntington used one big play after another to hand the Parkersburg Big Reds a 56-20 setback here Nov. 11 in the first round of the West Virginia Class AAA footblal playoffs.

The homestanding Highlanders, who beat PHS 27-17 in the regular season, outscored the Big Reds 36-6 in the second half to advance to the second round of the playfoffs, where they will travel to Martinsburg to meet the number one ranked, undefeated Bulldogs next weekend. The winners had three players scored two touchdowns each and rolled up 536 yards in total offense with three runners totaling 320 yards between them. Elijah King, Paden Christian and Toquan Hayes scored twice while Mark Shaver and Nick Tubbs also tallied for the Highlanders.

For Parkersburg, which ended its season with a 7-4 record, junior Adam Lindamood ran for two touchdowns while gaining 113 yards on 21 carries. Sophomore Chandler Hamilton added the other touchdown for PHS. Senior quarterback Alex Ash completed 13 of 27 passes for 133 yards and was intercepted twice. Ash threw just seven interceptions all year but four of them came at the hands of the Highlanders. Zayne Minnite and Jeremy Bell were the leading receivers as Minnite caught four passes for 55 yards while Bell caught three for 29 yards.

Huntington scored first on a 12 yard run by Christian but PHS answered with a 19 yard run by Lindamood with the first quarter ending in a 7-7 standoff. Parkersburg's touchdown drive covered 68 yards on six plays with Lindamood running on five of them.

The Big Reds went up 14-7 when Lindamood scored again early in the second quarter thanks to a 60 yard interception return by Bell to the host 10 yard line. From there Lindamood ran twice to reach the end zone.

But Huntington scored six unanswered touchdowns to take a 49-14 lead. A 56 yard pass and run play gave Huntington the lead for good with 3:11 left in the first half.

PHS got the ball to start the second half but an interception halted the first possession. Huntington then broke off three plays of 19, 19 and 22 yards to help produce the Highlanders' fourth touchdown and take a 28-14 lead. The Big Reds moved into Highlander territory and looked about to make it a 28-21 game when Ash found Santer deep over the middle near the goal line but the ball went through the hands of the senior receiver and the touchdown was lost. The next play, a fourth down situation, Ash threw incomplete and Huntington put together a 60-yard scoring drive that gave the home team all the momentum. The Highlanders had two one-play scoring drives early in the fourth quarter on plays covering 50 and 36 yards to ice the victory.

The Big Reds got on the board again with 3:02 left to play on Hamilton's two yard run while the final score of the night came when HHS starting quarterback Shaver sped 24 yards with just 19 seconds remaining.

Score by Quarters     1 2 3 4   Score
-----------------    -- -- -- --   -----
Parkersburg Big Reds 7 7 0 6 - 20       Record: (7-4)
Huntington..........           7 13 15 21 - 56       Record: (8-3)
Scoring Summary:
1st 03:35 HUNT - Paden Christian 12 yd run (Zach Stevens kick), 8-69 2:45, PHS 0 - HUNT 7
      00:23 PHS - Adam Lindamood 19 yd run (Cody Roney kick), 6-68 3:06, PHS 7 - HUNT 7
2nd 10:24 PHS - Adam Lindamood 7 yd run (Cody Roney kick), 2-10 0:47, PHS 14 - HUNT 7
      07:48 HUNT - Toquan Hayes 18 yd pass from Mark Shaver (Zach Stevens kick), 6-46 2:26, PHS 14 - HUNT 14
      03:11 HUNT - Elijah King 56 yd pass from Mark Shaver (Mark Shaver rush failed), 6-71 2:16, PHS 14 - HUNT 20
3rd 09:08 HUNT - Nick Tubbs 22 yd run (Paden Christian rush), 5-64 1:59, PHS 14 - HUNT 28
      00:19 HUNT - Paden Christian 3 yd run (Zach Stevens kick), 9-60 3:36, PHS 14 - HUNT 35
4th 08:24 HUNT - Elijah King 50 yd run (Zach Stevens kick), 1-50 0:13, PHS 14 - HUNT 42
      06:31 HUNT - Toquan Hayes 36 yd pass from Mark Shaver (Zach Stevens kick), 1-36 0:08, PHS 14 - HUNT 49
      03:02 PHS - C. Hamilton 2 yd run (Cody Roney pass failed), 10-62 3:23, PHS 20 - HUNT 49
      00:19 HUNT - Mark Shaver 24 yd run (Zach Stevens kick), 6-52 2:41, PHS 20 - HUNT 56

                                      PHS     HUNT
FIRST DOWNS...................       16       23
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............   35-123   49-399
PASSING YDS (NET).............      133      137
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 27-13-2    8-5-1
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS.....   62-256   57-536
Fumble Returns-Yards..........      0-0      0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............      0-0     1-21
Kickoff Returns-Yards.........     6-64     4-81
Interception Returns-Yards....     1-60     2-10
Punts (Number-Avg)............   2-38.0   1-40.0
Fumbles-Lost..................      0-0      1-1
Penalties-Yards...............     5-32     7-64
Possession Time...............    24:30    23:11
Third-Down Conversions........ 3 of 11 7 of 10
Fourth-Down Conversions.......   0 of 4   0 of 0
Red-Zone Scores-Chances.......      3-3      3-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........     1-13     3-19

RUSHING: Parkersburg Big Reds-Adam Lindamood 21-113; C. Hamilton 5-17; Matt
Santer 1-minus 1; Alex Ash 8-minus 6. Huntington-Elijah King 8-139; Nick Tubbs
15-91; Paden Christian 14-90; Mark Shaver 7-38; Rashaun Page 3-25; Lamar
Thompson 2-16.

PASSING: Parkersburg Big Reds-Alex Ash 13-27-2-133. Huntington-Mark Shaver
5-7-0-137; Elijah King 0-1-1-0.

RECEIVING: Parkersburg Big Reds-Zayne Minnite 4-55; Jeremy Bell 3-29; Skyler
Terrell 2-32; Adam Lindamood 2-4; Matt Santer 1-9; Huntar Shank 1-4.
Huntington-Elijah King 2-64; Toquan Hayes 2-54; M. Rutherford 1-19.

INTERCEPTIONS: Parkersburg Big Reds-Jeremy Bell 1-60. Huntington-Toquan Hayes
1-10; Kyree Congleton 1-0.

Stadium: Bob Sang Stadium Attendance: 2000
Kickoff time: 7:30 End of Game: 10:03 Total elapsed time: 2:33

SACKS (UA-A): Parkersburg Big Reds-Vince Ott 1-0. Huntington-31 1-1; Tony Kitts
1-0; Isasiah Atkins 0-1.

TACKLES (UA-A): Parkersburg Big Reds-Matt Santer 9-2; Jeremy Bell 6-3; Josh
Lewis 4-2; Paul Fichtelman 1-5; Huntar Shank 1-4; Chase Evans 0-5; Brandon
Gandee 2-2; Kris Morris 2-1; Vince Ott 2-1; Randall Taylor 0-3; Wes O'Brien 0-3;
Michael Talbott 1-1; Brandon Leasure 0-2; Skyler Terrell 1-0; C. Hamilton 1-0;
Adam Lindamood 1-0; Nick Sandy 1-0; John Weber 1-0; Carl Boyles 0-1; Tre Jackson
0-1.

The final members of the Class of 2011 of the Parkersburg High School Football Hall of Fame include the “Voice of the Big Reds” for over 40 years, a coach who won 88 percent of his games and one of the most nationally recognized names in PHS history.

They were inducted Friday, Nov.4, prior to the George Washington football game at Stadium Field. Also that night the 2001 Big Red state championship team was honored.

Judge Joe Handlan, who broadcast Big Red football games for 43 consecutive years, coach Floyd “Ben” Schwartzwalder, whose PHS teams lost just six games in his five year stay, and Earle “Greasy” Neale, who accomplished so many things in the field of sports that the street leading to the current Stadium Field is named after him, are the latest to be inducted into the prestigious PHS Football Hall of Fame.

Handlan would enthrall the local radio listeners with his eloquent speech and football knowledge. He would always start his broadcasts by saying, “Hi everybody – it’s football time. This is Joe Handlan along with Fred Earley coming to you from Stadium Field on the campus of Parkersburg High School. Tonight the Big Reds play host to…..” His description of every extra point kick also became famous as he would say, “The pass, the touch, the kick and its hot, straight and normal for the extra point.”

The extra point description must have come from his days in the U.S. Navy during World War II when he was a P.T boat squadron officer in the south Pacific – where he earned the Bronze Star for valor.

Handlan began his broadcasting days in 1935 as he sat in the booth for not only PHS games but Marietta College as well for radio station WCOM. He also found time to delight listeners at PHS baseball and basketball games as well as boxing and crew. He went to law school at the University of Virginia and did their football games from 1937 to 1940. He returned to Parkersburg in 1945 and broadcast PHS football from that point until 1988. He also began a 30-year law career the following year and then became a Circuit Court Judge from 1976 through 1988. He was a West Virginia state senator from 1957 to 1962 and was inducted into the Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. His son, Joe Handlan III, followed him into the MOV Hall two years later, making them the only father-son tandem in that shrine.

Schwartzwalder was a native of Point Pleasant, where was the starting quarterback as a 90 pound freshman who later became the 152 pound starting center at West Virginia University for coach Greasy Neale. He became a coach at Sistersville and Weston before making it to Parkersburg in 1936, where he became the head football coach and started the Big Red wrestling program.

His first two PHS football teams went 7-3 and 6-2-2 displaying a strong defense (allowing just 102 points in those first 20 games) but the next three years were amazing. His 1938 team went undefeated, giving up just six touchdowns all year and scoring 385 points. The following year his team lost only to Charleston while going 10-1. The 1940 state championship squad went 12-0, outscored opponents 420 to 26 and would have to rank as one of the most – if not THE most dominating Big Red football team of all time.

He then left Parkersburg and became a highly decorated World War II veteran in the European theatre. After leaving the service he returned to coaching – on the college level and by 1949 he was the head man at Syracuse where he became one of the most highly respected and successful coaches in collegiate football history. He remained at Syracuse for 25 years, including 22 consecutive non-losing seasons and a national championship in 1959. He also turned out players like Jim Brown, Ernie Davis, Floyd Little and Larry Csonka.

Neale was without a doubt the most famous sports personality from Parkersburg for the first half of the 20^th century. To this day he is the only man in the world to play in a World Series, to coach a Rose Bowl football team and to coach an NFL championship team, which he did twice.

He began his athletic career as an outstanding three sport performer at Parkersburg High School in 1909. He was a three time captain of the Big Reds and was even their coach as a junior when no one could be found to direct the team. His high school career saw PHS go 5-1, 5-2-1 and finally 10-0 as a 20 year old senior. His senior year the team allowed just one touchdown all year and Neale caught eight touchdown passes when passing was in its infancy. He also kicked five field goals that year from as far away as 35 yards and won the season opener with a last-second 25 yard field goal with the ball being spotted only five yards in from the sidelines since there were no hash marks at that time.

After high school Neale enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where he not only was a four-year standout but he was largely responsible for turning around the Bobcat football program. He began playing baseball with the Cincinnati Reds in 1916 and in 1919 he was the outstanding player for the Reds as they beat Chicago five games to three to win the World Series that was later tainted by the “Black Sox” game-fixing scandal. He led the team with 10 hits and a .357 batting average during the series.

During the baseball off-season he coached college football and in 1922 while coaching at Washington & Jefferson his team played a 0-0 tie with California in the Rose Bowl at Pasadena, CA. California took an 18-game winning streak into that contest.

In 1941 he moved to the professional football ranks to coach the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1947 he won the first of two straight NFL championships and in 1950 was named to the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

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Contains game scores dating back to 1900, complete first and second team all-state list, as well as all-time team and individual records for single game, season and career – compiled for the first time ever.

Please copy, paste, print and return completed form below with check for $10 for each book and they will be mailed to you in one week. You may also simply put your name and address on a piece of paper and indicate which books (or both) and mail to the address below with your check.

According to Doug Huff, who is considered the nation's premier high school sports statistician, the Parkersburg Big Reds can lay claim for five more state football championships in addition to the 11 already awarded by the state sports writers and WVSSAC playoff system.

The Big Reds, who have won the most big school titles in the state since sports writers began officially recognizing championships in 1937, were awarded titles five years prior to that by popular acclaim according to Huff's book, "Sports In West Virginia."

In 1918 the Big Reds shared top honors in the state with Buckhannon and the following year (1919) were named as the top team in the state with a 7-1 record. In 1921 the Big Reds were given top honors with a 9-0 record and in 1922 shared the top spot with six other schools (Charleston, Washington Irving, St. Marys, Wheeling, Huntington and Mannington). In 1927 PHS went 10-0 and shared the state's top honor with Morgantown (which went 9-0).

It is also interesting to note that prior to 1918 the Big Reds had a team which went undefeated, allowed just one touchdown and defeated state powers Charleston, Wheeling and Washington Irving en route to a 10-0 record in 1911. But there was no statewide popular acclaim that year.

Game Date	Home/Away	Opponent 2010 Score 2011 Score
August 26	Home	Brooke L 17-39 Win 33-22
September 2	Away	Cabell Midland W 53-35 Win 37-36
September 9	Home	Marietta W 40-21 Win 34-7
September 16	Away	Huntington W 51-21 Loss 17-27
September 23	Home	St. Albans DNP Win 29-7
September 30	Away	Riverside W 62-28 Win 37-24
October 7	Away	Parkersburg South W 48-7 Loss 0-17
October 14	Home	Beckley Woodrow Wilson W 43-14 Win 38-27
October 28	Away	South Charleston L 34-48 Win 29-13
November 4	Home	George Washington L 14-35 Loss 12-56
November 11	Away	Huntington (playoffs) Loss 20-56

All-Time Winningest Football Programs
School	2011 Record	Wins	Overall Record	First Yr.
1. Valdosta Wildcats (GA)	8-3	869	869-205-34	1913
2. Highlands Bluebirds, Ft. Thomas (KY)	15-0	828	828-236-26	1915
3. Male Bulldogs, Louisville (KY)	5-7	816	816-311-49	1893
4. Washington Tigers, Massillon (OH)	7-3	810	810-247-35	1894
5. Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes (PA)	12-2	805	805-296-59	1893
6. Parkersburg Big Reds (WV)	7-4	791	791-305-39	1900
7. Mayfield Cardinals (KY)	14-1	790	790-248-32	1919
8. McKinley Bulldogs, Canton (OH)	9-3	785	785-329-42	1894
9. Easton Red Rovers (PA)	11-3	765	765-326-54	1894
10. Central Tigers, Little Rock (AR)	5-6	761	761-302-43	1907
10. Muskegon Big Reds (MI)	8-3	761	761-267-43	1895
10. Summerville Green Wave (SC)	8-5	761	761-197-25
13. Everett Crimson Tide (MA)	13-0	757	757-361-79	1893
14. Brockton Boxers (MA)	5-6	755	755-354-64	1897
15. East St. Louis Flyers (IL)	9-3	753	753-215-45	1897
16. Hampton Crabbers (VA)	9-3	751	751-244-43	1920
17. Ada Cougars (OK)	6-5	747	747-307-24
17. Berwick Bulldogs (PA)	9-3	747	747-317-43	1888
17. Highland Park Scots, Dallas (TX)	12-1	747	747-244-27
20. Lawton Wolverines (OK)	9-4	746	746-332-34	1902
21. Clinton Red Tornadoes (OK)	12-2	745	745-256-38	1919
22. New Britain Golden Hurricanes (CT)	6-4	739	739-313-51	1892
23. Dobyns-Bennett Indians, Kingsport (TN)	11-1	737	737-217-29	1921
24. Paducah Tilghman Blue Tornado (KY)	10-3	735	735-298-25	1904
24. Steubenville Big Red (OH)	11-1	735	735-303-34	1900
26. Sioux Falls Washington Warriors (SD)	9-3	733	733-311-37	1899