---

 

 

 

---

Sportsperson of the year

HUNTINGTON -- For a coach in any sport, there is only one thing worse than people being upset when a particular team is struggling. And that would be if no one cares.  When Billy Seals arrived at Huntington High in 2009 to begin his first football head coaching job, that was the plight he faced with the Highlanders.  The team had struggled and everyone seemed to be just fine with it.  "It was more like a mindset that we're going to play on Friday night and if we win that's great, but if we lose, that's OK too," Seals said. "Huntington High has had its ups and downs since this school has opened up. The biggest thing we wanted to do was be consistent and be a playoff-caliber team every year. I think we've done that over the last three years."

 

In his five years as HHS coach, Seals built the Highlanders from a Class AAA doormat that no one cared about to a Class AAA powerhouse and a source of pride in the Huntington community.  For those reasons, he was named as the 2013 recipient of The Herald-Dispatch Lowell Cade Sportsperson of the Year award.

 

Last season, the Highlanders finished 13-1 and fell to four-time defending champion Martinsburg 9-7 in the Class AAA championship at Wheeling Island Stadium. Despite the loss, the Highlanders held the powerhouse Bulldogs to negative yardage in the second half and were driving for a potential game-winning score as time expired.  While it wasn't the way Seals or the Highlanders wanted the season to end, it continued an upward trend of success for the program that began with his arrival.

 

Seals' background in football is extensive. He was an All-American at Liberty University and was a successful defensive coordinator at Morristown-Hamblen East in Tennessee.  However, what he's done to turn the Highlanders into a successful program had little to do with football.  Talent has always been abundant in the halls of Huntington High, but the football program had gotten to the point where many of the school's top athletes refused to come out to play.  Apathy had set in, and the school's top athletes either concentrated on other sports or simply didn't want to take part in the program, which had struggled to get any wins in the years prior to Seals' arrival.  Some of that continued into the first two years of Seals' tenure, but the small but determined nucleus of players started to buy into the system.

 

That system included a powerful scheme on the field with a punishing, physical defense and an off-season weight program that went year-round instead of just an in-season routine.  After a year in Seals' weight program, the team was able to incorporate the offensive style he wanted, along with the help of assistant coach Brandon Cassell, who was Seals' best friend and a fellow coach in Morristown, Tenn.  Not only did Cassell's arrival bring the Flex offense to the Highlanders, it brought a little more -- a family-style dynamic to the coaching staff.  Seals and Cassell are constantly meeting and, at times, debating on what the best course of action for success is. No matter what the situation, though, they always had each other's best interest and sacrificed for each other.

That type of family atmosphere translated to the players and helped build the foundation for success.  Soon after, Seals began seeing players putting their personal interests aside and fighting for each other on the field.  "The hard part is not the Xs and Os," Seals said. "The hard part is getting the kids to buy into one another. You're not going to have 60 or 70 guys that absolutely love one another, but on Friday nights, those 60 or 70 guys have the same goal -- to win a football game."

 

Huntington High features one of the state's most unique dynamics, in part because of the city's setup.  In Huntington, one of the city's most affluent areas and one of the city's most poverty-stricken areas are situated less than a mile from each other. That means despite the socioeconomic differences within the city, everyone goes to the same public school -- a stark difference from other big cities.  It is something Seals and his staff had to embrace to become successful.  "With the battles and road trips, our kids have grown closer this year and I attribute a lot of that to our weight program because every kid is in the weightroom busting their hump," Seals said. "When you look over at the guy next to you and he's doing that, you adhere to those guys because they are giving their all to be successful."

 

With the players giving their all, the community started to feed off the momentum. A stadium that was once predominantly empty had a big following by season's end as they started to see past the individuals who were out there and started seeing the team as a whole.  Led by Seals, Huntington High's rise through the ranks of Class AAA has become a morale boost that has impacted the entire city.

 

 

---

Heaven Gained An Angel!

Highlander Hearts are Heavy with the loss of our

Little Honorary Highlander.

The Highlander Family continues to pray for healing and comfort for Tracy's family.  Donations to cover Tracy's medical expenses are being accepted at First Sentry Bank.

 

      

 

         

    

    

 

Tracy Dale Evans

---