CHARLESTON – The Clay-Battelle High School football team will do something on Friday that it’s never done in program history: play for the Class A state championship.
The Cee-Bees will battle top-seeded Wheeling Central Catholic on Friday at 7:00 p.m. at University of Charleston Stadium.
“There is a lot of excitement, and it is filling us up with a bunch of positive energy,” C-B head coach Aaron LaPoe said. “At the same time, the boys have done a great job of not getting lost in the fog of distractions, staying focused on preparing for a dangerous opponent.”
The Knights are certainly dangerous, with junior quarterback Nico Kusic and senior running back Kade Koroneos. Kusic has thrown for nearly 1300 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, adding 614 yards and five rushing touchdowns. Koroneos rushed 154 times for 1320 in 2025.
“Central is big, fast, and athletic at every position,” LaPoe said. “Along with that fact, and scheme-wise, they are a lot like us. Every inch of every play will matter and contribute to the game’s outcome.”
For the Cee-Bees, it’ll be about doing what they’ve done to get them to this point: dominating the line of scrimmage and establishing the ground game.
Clay-Battelle has rushed for over 3000 yards as a team this season, led by Caleb Hall with 1347 yards on 167 carries and ten touchdowns. Junior quarterback Corey Coen has rushed for 15 touchdowns and 854 yards on 151 attempts.
“For us, it has always been relying on our training,” LaPoe said. “Fundamental blocking and tackling. That all starts on the line of scrimmage. That is the tip of the spear for our team. We have proven every game this year that everyone on our team will hit you and show you how tough we are. We need to do that for another week.”
In only his second season as head coach, LaPoe has the Cee-Bees on a 12-game win streak after an opening-week loss to Cameron, the team they defeated in the semifinals to earn a spot in Friday’s title game.
While LaPoe isn’t sure, he expected it to happen this quickly; he says he had confidence the program would become one of the top teams in the class.
“I believed that if I could convince this staff to get back into coaching with me, that we could build and sustain success here at Clay-Battelle with tough, hard-nosed kids. I didn’t know it would happen this fast,” LaPoe said.
Come Friday evening, LaPoe knows it’ll take an incredible effort to defeat Wheeling Central, but when the time comes, he knows his players will be ready for the task.
“I’m not sure what the message is at the moment. It will pour out of my soul when the time comes. A lot of the leaders will speak up when the lights are out, when we are listening to Phil Collins right before we come out. I’m sure a lot of what comes out will be family, love, playing for each other, focusing on the specific details of your job, and believing in the confidence we’ve earned throughout the season.
