Final: South Charleston 67 – Nitro 0
Opening night of the 2026 WV high school season got underway last night as the South Charleston Black Eagles hosted the Nitro Wildcats. Nitro was no match for South Charleston, as the Black Eagles dominated from the onset and never let their foot off the gas.
After halting the Wildcats' opening drive, the Black Eagles would convert on fourth down with a 23-yard pass from South Charleston’s Ceno Riley to RB Malakhi Hope.
Trevaun Tyson would score from 23 yards out to go up 7-0. After a three-and-out, South Charleston would strike quickly with a touchdown run from 28 yards out by Malakhi Hope to go up 14-0 with 4:48 left to go in the 1st quarter. South Charleston's staunch defense would then give the Black Eagles another possession.
Malakhi Hope would score on a 65-yard run to put the Black Eagles up 21-0 with 2:24 left in the 1st quarter. On the next Nitro possession, the Black Eagles would pressure Nitro QB Nysiaha Walker, causing a fumble. Trevaun Tyson would scoop and score. This put the Black Eagles up 28-0 with 1:22 left in the first quarter.
The onslaught continued, with the final score Black Eagles 67, Nitro Wildcats 0. Even with this dominant performance, Coach Donnie Mays still was not satisfied. “I thought we were pretty soft early, and I didn’t like how we came out and played. I thought we played more physical against Huntington last week in the scrimmage, but I think the nerves got to them a little bit, and they were just ready to play, and they had to settle in.”
“Once we settled in, I thought we really played well. We've got to get more physical first of all. We're going to challenge the kids that way, and then, you know, I think that we, you know, we got to go back and look at some things and get more get more physical, but like taking care of like the little things in the special teams department that drove me nuts tonight too. So, you know, we get those things cleaned up. I think we'll be pretty decent, but we've got a we've got a lot of work to do, and that's early season stuff.” Coach Mays
With Chapmanville on the road next week, Coach Mays knows it will be a tough challenge. “I think they are a good football team. They came off of a state semi run beating Bridgeport. That's pretty tough to do. So we'll see. We'll see how we match up with them on film and go from there.”
With a 3-touchdown night for running back Malakhi Hope, he’s feeling great about the outlook on the season. “I’m feeling great. My line is putting in that work. It feels good being a running back behind a great line this season.” Off this first victory, Hope is looking to show that South Charleston is a contender this year. “I feel good about it(victory). Our line held up…So we’re going to prove ourselves. I’m pretty confident after a win like this. (But) We’ve got to go back and keep working.” Hope
Great Showing by the Black Eagles with a 67-0 victory. Next week, the competition gets tougher as they travel to Chapmanville. South Charleston is looking to build momentum as they progress through the season. If South Charleston can establish itself as an offensive force, it will be a tough draw week in and week out for opponents.