Prep football: Local players set for North-South All-Star Football Classic

The 50th anniversary of the North-South All-Star Football Classic will be celebrated in June. Several area players will be there for the party.

Rosters for the South Cardinals and North Bears were released on Thursday. The Cardinals will have 11 local players suiting up for one last high school game.

Woodrow Wilson teammates A.J. Thomas and Ja’Marques Manns were both Class AAAA first-team all-staters last fall. Thomas is listed as a running back/defensive back and Manns a two-way lineman.

This still won’t be their last game together. Last month, they both signed to continue their careers at Marietta College.

Another pair of teammates are the Greenbrier East RB/DB duo of Nathan Suttle and Kaden Stone.

Stone was a Class AAA first-team all-state defensive back and Suttle second-team defensive utility.

Westside’s Devin Sanders was the Renegades’ leading rusher and was a Class AA honorable mention all-state selection.

Kaiden Sims ended his career as Meadow Bridge’s all-time leading rusher and led the Wildcats to two consecutive playoff appearances. Last fall, he ran for 1,544 yards and 20 touchdowns.

PikeView running back Peyton Mounts ran for 1,148 yards and 12 touchdown and led the Panthers to their first winning season (7-4) since 2017. They lost 56-6 to Bridgeport in the Class AAA state playoffs, their first postseason appearance since 2010.

Kaiden Helmer was Shady Spring’s leading rusher and was a Class AAA honorable mention all-stater.

Linebacker Landon Crane was a first-team all-stater for Class AAA state champion Princeton. He finished his senior season with 77.5 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss, and had two interceptions in the Tigers’ 36-35 win over Nitro in the state title game.

Liberty’s Connor Acord was a four-year starting offensive lineman for coach Mark Workman. He finished his playing career as a Class AA honorable mention all-stater.

Defensive lineman Izaac Redden of Independence signed to play at Concord University last month.

Greenbrier West’s Colton Dunbar moved to quarterback for the Cavaliers and wound up completing 44 of 110 passes for 448 yards with six touchdown and eight interceptions. He was the team’s leading rusher with 914 yards and six touchdowns. He will run track at Glenville State.

The North-South coaches will be Herbert Hoover’s Joey Fields (South) and Philip Barbour’s Nick Mayle.

The game will be played on West Virginia Day, June 20 at South Charleston High School. Players will converge on the campus of West Virginia State on June 14 for two-a-days.

The first North-South game was played in 1976, with the North taking an 8-6 win. The South was coached by Bluefield’s John Chmara.

The game had been sponsored by the Charleston Lions Club from 1934 until 1955 before a 21-year hiatus.

2026 North Bears