INWOOD, W.Va. — While teams around West Virginia are facing a shortened preseason and a quick ramp up to September 4th, Musselman head coach Brian Thomas says his veteran team is ready to go with several starters back from a squad that advanced to the quarterfinals last fall.
“From a terminology standpoint, we are probably ahead of a lot of teams just because of the guys we return,” Thomas said. “As far as the evaluation, you have one less extra week. So as a coach, that film study becomes even more.”
The Applemen feature three-time all-state running back Blake Hartman as their top offensive threat. The Lehigh University commit rushed for over two-thousand yards as a junior and he will line up all over the field on offense.
“I was more of a priority to them than any other school,” Hartman said. “That got me going at the start. I got to see their campus in person and once I saw the campus, there was good football, great people. Everything was there.”
“When we break the huddle and we line up, people are going to find him,” Thomas said. “Where’s number six? Where’s Hartman lining up at? So we try to do some different things where we can line him up taking snaps, lining up at the running back position, we can line him up at the receiver position.”
Hartman will be joined in the backfield by second-year starting signal caller Caleb Hardy.
“He has come out this year and really taken the next step,” Thomas said. “He has had some really, really good practices. We have a hundred percent faith in what Caleb brings us.”
The majority of the line in front of Hartman and Hardy returns.
“They stepped up and they fit their roles. They do a great job up front. I am very, very thankful for them,” Hartman said.
25 of the nearly 100 players in training camp are seniors. That group has already been a part of 28 wins in 3 years and they have a chance to leave Inwood as the program’s all-time winningest class.
“Coming in every year, you want to win a state championship,” Hartman said. “That’s the goal every year. There’s no reason we don’t have a shot this year. We have the line and we have everything you really need.”
“Our hardest game is game one (Martinsburg – since postponed),” Thomas said. “You could be 0-1 right off the bat. We have to know what is the big picture. We are working towards that big goal and hopefully we can get here.”