MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Eleven months ago, football season at Martinsburg High School came to an end without a state championship for the first time since 2015.
In an unusual set of circumstances, no opponent had beaten the Bulldogs in the postseason — rather, they were eliminated without getting to play Bridgeport based on Berkeley County’s positive covid cases and being red on the state’s Department of Human Health and Resources color-coded map.
“We talk about the date. It was November 21, 2020, and we put it on the back of our shirts all offseason,” Martinsburg head coach Britt Sherman said. “We didn’t do anything wrong and the kids didn’t do anything wrong. We just couldn’t play anymore.”
The Bulldogs were far from the only team eliminated on the map. Of the four scheduled Class AAA quarterfinal matchups last season, only Princeton at South Charleston was played. The Black Eagles went on to be awarded the state title, marking the third time in the last 11 seasons Martinsburg wasn’t Class AAA champion.
Flash forward to Sherman’s second season as head coach at Martinsburg and the Bulldogs have won each of their first nine games and remain unanimous No. 1 in the MetroNews Power Rankings, as well as the top seed in the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission’s playoff ratings.
Last Friday, Martinsburg faced its toughest in-state test to date and passed with flying colors in a 42-3 victory over previously unbeaten Jefferson.
It was the final of four regular season home games for the Bulldogs, but it won’t be their last contest this season at David M. Walker Stadium at Cobourn Field.
Martinsburg concludes its regular season Friday with a six-hour trip to Spring Valley to take on one of the state’s elite programs. The Timberwolves ended the Bulldogs’ 57-game win streak in a September 2020 meeting, handing the Bulldogs their first and only loss since 2015.
“We just appreciate the whole thing and back to somewhat normalcy, being able to play Friday night games, have fans and travel. These kids need it for their mental health. Those bus rides and hanging out with their friends, I think it’s been really good for them.”
The Bulldogs have played three competitive contests to this point, though each was against an out-of-state opponent. Martinsburg opened its season with a 35-21 win at Salem (Va.), prevailed 26-25 at Highland Springs (Va.) and claimed a 45-33 victory at Riverside (Ohio) earlier this month.
Along the way, there has been no shortage of motivation for a program that didn’t have the opportunity to notch its fifth consecutive state championship last season.
The Bulldogs have used a two-quarterback system allowing both sophomore Murphy Clement and junior Ezra Bagent to shine.
Clement has 13 touchdown passes without an interception. Bagent, the younger brother of former MHS and current Shepherd standout quarterback Tyson Bagent, has thrown for more than 1,650 yards with 17 touchdowns and four interceptions.
With better than 800 yards, Clement is the team’s top rusher and has found the end zone 16 times on the ground.
Senior wideout Hudson Clement has hauled in 13 touchdown passes and is over 1,000 receiving yards.
Defensively, linemen Aydin Fleming, Jacob Barrick and Christian Slack key a strong front, while Kam Shallis, Eric King and the Clements give Martinsburg reliable players at the second and third levels. The unit put forth one of its better efforts this season holding the Cougars to three points after they had scored at least 33 in all seven games.
“I have a lot of faith in them, so that allows us to do onside kicks and get a little risky on special teams,” Sherman said. “They are so solid on defense and we can do different things because of how well they play. I was happy with their effort.”
The Bulldogs have accomplished much of this without standout Braxton Todd. The Bowling Green commit has been hampered by an injury that has limited him to 38 carries, 467 yards and three touchdowns.
Getting Todd back to full strength should only make a motivated and dominant Martinsburg team all the better.
“I remind them all this year we’re playing a high school football game tonight, don’t take it for granted,” Sherman said. “Enjoy it and go hard, because tomorrow is not promised.”