East Fairmont hosts last year's runner-up in Herbert Hoover in round one of playoffs
Nov. 8—FAIRMONT — After making the playoffs last year for the first time in 15 years, East Fairmont football has achieved a next goal for the program — hosting a playoff game.
Head Coach Shane Eakle and his team set out to do that in 2023, going 8-2 in the regular season to claim the eighth seed in the postseason, the very last spot to host a playoff game. It's the third time in school history (East hosted Dupont in the school's first ever playoff game in 1976) and a sign of the rebuild Eakle's been taking the program through.
"That's exciting," Eakle said. "Anytime you get to host in the top eight and be at your home field, that's a great thing. For us that's exciting. That was one of the goals coming out of last year, so that's a big accomplishment for our kids."
The Bees had a rough start to the season, losing 55-24 against North Marion. But East Fairmont won eight in a row, including wins against two other playoff teams this year: No. 10 Philip Barbour and No. 11 Lewis County. Unfortunately for East Fairmont, it lost to Fairmont Senior 48-14 in the East-West Game to finish the regular season.
On the bright side of those losses, North Marion (9-1) and Fairmont Senior (7-2) are No. 1 and No. 2 respectively for the playoffs. Losing to quality opponents gave East Fairmont a boost in the rankings.
Waiting for East Fairmont in the first round, No. 9 Herbert Hoover (7-3) aims to make it back to Wheeling Island after losing to Independence in the state championship game in December 2022. Like East Fairmont, Herbert Hoover lost to North Marion, but by only one touchdown and not five scores.
Knowing this, Eakle said he and the Bees expect a great challenge from Herbert Hoover, especially with the players it has on the line and the quarterback under center.
Herbert Hoover, meanwhile, started last year's playoffs as the nine seed and see this as familiar territory. According to Head Coach Joey Fields, it's about winning each week at a time.
"Same scenario we were last year," Fields said. "0-2 and getting in there at the nine seed, so we kinda know. We call ourselves Highway Huskies.... It is always good just to be in the dance, and if you are in the Top 16 you feel like you have a chance each week just to be 1-0."
East Fairmont and Fairmont Senior share East-West Stadium as their home fields, and they both host a playoff game in the first round. Fairmont Senior hosts on Friday night against Wayne, while East Fairmont plays Saturday afternoon, something the players haven't done before.
"It'll change the atmosphere a little bit," senior quarterback Ian Crookshanks said. "I've never really played a four o'clock. We have played on a non-school day, so we definitely have that under our belt. I don't think it'll affect us that much."
For Eakle, he's experienced Saturday games before when he coached at Tucker County. He said it's always a "what if?" whenever high school players' routines change, but he's excited to play on a Saturday afternoon.
"I think it'll be exciting because it's a little more like a college atmosphere by playing on a Saturday afternoon," Eakle said. "We did that two or three times when I was at Tucker County in the postseason. It's a different vibe when you play on a Saturday afternoon."
East Fairmont makes the postseason in back-to-back years, the first time since 2006-07. It also marks the school's fifth-ever post season appearance. Eakle looks to make it the standard for East Fairmont to be in the postseason.
"Hopefully it's something that we can continue to sustain," Eakle said. "Coming in, East Fairmont only had three playoff appearances in school history, and now we have five. I think that's a big testament to the kids, and I'm blessed, I got assistant coaches that work hard with these guys and do the right things. Hopefully we can continue this where this becomes the expectation for us to be in the postseason."
For Crookshanks, it's his last dance with East Fairmont, along with the other seniors on the team. He wants to make this as memorable as possible by winning a playoff game for the second time in school history.
"I'd really like to be the second team in school history to go down and not just make a playoff but to have another extra playoff game," Crookshanks said. "Only one of the teams had 11 games for certain with one game waiting, so I'd like to have that just like the '07 team did — have 12 certain games."
Reach Colin C. Rhodes at 304-367-2548
