Paden City longtime Assistant Football Coach Ron Casto was honored by the OVAC at their coaches banquet. Coach Casto received Hall of Fame honor for 31 years of service at Paden City. He was Middle School Football Coach from 1993-1997. Assistant Varsity Football Coach from 1993-2024. He also was a coach selection for the Battle Against Cystic Fibrosis All-Star Game in 2001.

He set the Paden City high school school record as defensive coordinator for total points allowed in 2023. Casto helped produce over 200 Mason Dixon Athletic Conference Players, 150 Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Players and 30 West Virginia All-State Selections. Congratulations to Coach Casto.

Congratulations also to Trevor Stackpole who broke a 32 year school record at Valley high school with nine 3-pointers in a game against Madonna high school. Stackpole hit his 9th three early in the fourth quarter before departing the game.

Laken Dawson tied the single game 3-point mark for girls at Valley high school in a recent game against Hundred when she hit eight 3’s and finished with 35 points.

River high school Girls won their third straight OVAC 2A basketball championship defeating a good Steubenville Catholic team.

With winter sports season quickly coming to an end, your chance to watch local high school athletes play basketball for 2025 ends in a few days unless they advance in the state regionals and head to Charleston.

Regional play begins next week and the format is much different than past seasons. The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission Board of Directors approved a major change to boys and girls basketball’s postseason setup, eliminating the sectional tournament.

Going forward, instead of sectionals, all four classes will have four regional tournaments, with the final two teams standing in each region advancing to the state tournament in Charleston.

Seeding in each region will be determined by coaches’ balloting. Schools could receive a first-round bye depending on the number of schools in a region, while the following criteria will be used to settle a seeding tie from balloting: (1) head-to-head record, (2) number of wins in classification and above, (3) number of wins and (4) coin toss. The eight state-qualifying teams in each class will be seeded based on coaches’ balloting.

Here is a look at the regions for the upcoming Boys and Girls Basketball tournament.

REGION I Cameron, Madonna, Clay-Battelle, Notre Dame, Trinity Christian, Wood County Christian, Valley, Magnolia, Paden City, Hundred, Parkersburg Catholic

REGION II East Hardy, Paw Paw, Tucker County, Union, WV School for the Deaf Blind, Harman, Pendleton County, Pocahontas County, Tygarts Valley, Pickens

REGION III Greater Beckley Christian, Montcalm, Mt. View, River View Greenbrier West, Meadow Bridge, Richwood, Webster County

REGION IV Man, Sherman, Tolsia, Tug Valley, Van, St. Joseph Central Calhoun County, Gilmer County, Hannan, Wahama, Wirt County.

Tyler Consolidated will compete in Class AA along with St. Marys, Williamstown, Wheeling Central, Ravenswood, and Oak Glen.

With the new format, there is no room for error anymore. The regional tournaments will be single-elimination. Previously, teams that advanced to the sectional final and lost would move on to the regional co-final and play on the road. Now, one loss means elimination.

The new format received a unanimous recommendation from the Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches Advisory Committee in advance of WVSSAC board approval.

The high school wrestling regionals start this week with local schools participating in St. Marys on Friday and Saturday. Wrestling classes are divided into three categories: AA/A, AAA, and Girls. Class AA/A Region 1 will be held at St. Marys high school.

The West Virginia High School State Wrestling Championships will be held at The Mountain Health Arena in Huntington. This venue has been hosting the tournament since 1978, and it’s where you’ll find the best high school wrestlers in the state competing for the top spots.

The Philadelphia Eagles dominated the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Eagles’ quarterback Jalen Hurts was unstoppable, earning Super Bowl MVP honors with an impressive performance. He completed 17 of 22 passes for 221 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 72 yards and a touchdown. His 72 yards rushing set a Super Bowl Record for most rushing yards by a quarterback. Eagles’ kicker Jake Elliott also made history with 16 kicking points, the most in a single Super Bowl.

The Eagles’ victory marked their second Super Bowl win in franchise history, with their first win coming in 2017.