BAKER, W.Va. — East Hardy entered last season as a contender for the Class A title but didn’t meet those expectations.
While the Cougars clinched a playoff trip for the 14th time in 15 seasons, East Hardy looks for a bounce back in 2025 after starting 0-3 and finishing 4-7 in 2024.
“Disappointing in terms of total wins, we dropped two games that could’ve been wins,” East Hardy head coach Devon Orndorff said. “That 4-6 could’ve been 6-4. Even to look back at some of the ones like Wahama, beat us by several touchdowns. Right at the half, it’s 14-14 and they punch one in and get one with 10 seconds left. We played well for a quarter and a half with the state champ.”
Of the seven losses, two were decided by a point each.
The Cougars fell 14-13 to Pendleton County and 29-28 against Hampshire.
East Hardy took an interception to the Pendleton 20-yard line, setting up a potential game-winning field goal.
Penalties cost the Cougars 30 yards as the drive ended at midfield.
Tucker County won 30-0 in the opening round of the playoffs, but the Cougars were more competitive than the score suggests.
“It crushed me looking at the stats afterwards,” Orndorff said. “At halftime, we had two drives, they had two drives. We had 150 yards of offense and started inside our own 15 each time. We took it down inside their 15 each time, no points to show. They had 70 yards of offense and we’re down 14-0.”
East Hardy’s roster consists of only 24 players, but with three freshmen still learning the ropes, only 21 are likely to be used.
“We’ve got some depth, but it’s not a lot,” Orndorff said. “We got a good backup, we got six varsity linemen we’re happy with. We got one backup we’re really confident with, after that these are more JV caliber guys.”
The offense will be led by junior signal caller Trevor Roof (5-foot-11, 160 pounds).
“Very good ball carrier, he came in and played the second half of the Wahama game last year,” Orndorff said. “They left their starters in, we had most of our second-string and he moved the ball by himself very effectively. I was very happy with that.”
Freshman Brinn Childers (5-8, 145) is the backup quarterback.
Junior Garrett VanMeter (5-11, 225) will be the lead back.
“He’s going to be hard to take down, sitting at 220, 230,” Orndorff said. “I’m looking to really get that kinda Derrick Henry, Lamar Jackson kinda vibes. One’s very good between the tackles and the other’s better on the outside.”
Sophomores Nehemiah Graham (5-11, 180) and Micah Ludwig (5-7, 148) could also see time in the backfield while freshman Cole Lantz (5-10, 155) is also listed.
Seniors Khristian Bauserman (5-11, 154) and Levi Price (5-11, 160) and junior Dayton Dove (5-8, 176) are the starting receivers.
“Their knowledge of our scheme has already put them three steps ahead of where I thought they’d be at this point,” Orndorff said.
Sophomores Mason Wilkins (5-9, 173) and Krystian Byram (6-0, 195) are the other receivers listed.
In the trenches, senior Korbin Miller (5-11, 270), juniors Connor Henderson (5-8, 220) and Hayden Baker (5-5, 230) will make up the interior while senior Bodie Brill (6-0, 213) and junior Jon Workman (6-2, 245) are the expected tackles.
Sophomore Nick Roomsburg (6-0, 259) could also see some time at guard.
“These guys are more physical than the crew we had last year,” Orndorff said of the line. “Last year, I was kind of deceived by my own eyes just by the size. They weren’t very strong, very physical. So it was what they could be and their potential and what we hoped we’d get out of them.”
Senior Bradley Kidwell (6-0, 274), juniors Ryan Harman (5-7, 180) and Tyler Dearstine (6-3, 328), sophomores Alexander Yeater (5-8, 249) and Owen Whitacre (5-9, 190) and freshman Hunter Nelson (5-9, 170) round out the unit.
The defense features a lot of turnover from last season, requiring a change in preparation in the lead-up to the season.
“This time last year, we were already two weeks into prep for Wahama,” Orndorff said. “That was because we already had the foundation with the veteran guys. This year, we had to take a step back and start with some basics. Just keys and things they’re going to use all season long, not just Week 1.”
Orndorff said the defense will feature a rotation of several players who weren’t initially expected to play.
Miller, Baker, Henderson and Brill will be the key defensive linemen while Wilkins and Byram could also get some time at defensive end.
Byram, Workman, Yeater, Roomsburg, Kidwell, Whitacre and Dearstine are the other options on the line.
VanMeter will play middle linebacker next to Dove, who switched from defensive back in the offseason.
“Much more efficient in that role,” Orndorff said of Dove. “Dayton’s one of our best athletes, he’s a ball-hawk. But he didn’t play well in the secondary and we couldn’t really pinpoint why. He has no fear, you throw him the ball, he’ll run over anybody. But he couldn’t make reads decisively and come up into the correct gap. We moved him to linebacker and that’s been going very well.”
Price will start at safety but could also see time at linebacker while Bauerman will be the other safety.
Roof and Graham are the starting cornerbacks.
Harman is the other listed linebacker while Lantz and Childers are listed as defensive backs.
Price will be the kicker with VanMeter is expected to punt once he recovers from a knee injury.
Price will be the backup punter but Dove has taken reps, reaching 35 to 40 yards with hang time.
Orndorff said he feels confident in Price kicking inside of 40 yards, but can hit from 50 yards in practice.
Price will also be the primary returner with Bauserman, Graham and Ludwig as other options.
This year’s schedule features a three-game gauntlet to open the season.
“We’re in a unique spot right now in terms of scheduling,” Orndorff said. “I get a lot of comments from the community and fans in general asking why our schedule’s so tough. The answer is, we’re gonna have to play these teams to win a championship anyway. It’s not that I could change it if I could, but I can’t. We’re literally saying yes to every team that will play us except a Wheeling Central.”
It begins against the defending Class A champion Wahama (14-0) on the road on Friday at 7 p.m.
After a trip to Class A quarterfinalist Pendleton County (8-4) the following week, the home opener is against Class A semifinalist Tucker County (12-1).
Two new opponents are featured, including the Class A runner-up Cameron (12-2) and Summers County (3-7).
“They’ve struggled in the postseason more often than not till last year,” Orndorff said of Cameron. “They’ve had a couple postseason wins, but I think we’re about even over the last five years. They had one postseason win and three last year, that equates to us winning about one a year. So they had a great team last year. I anticipate them having another state champion caliber team this year.”
The other games include Southern (2-8), Tygarts Valley (2-8), Moorefield (4-7), Pocahontas County (3-7) and Petersburg (6-6).