The most dominant era in West Virginia Class A history. Under Coach Lou Nocida, the Tigers won five state championships in seven years (1980–86), including a perfect 13-0 season in 1981 and a 42-game regular-season winning streak. Jerry Drake kept the program competitive to close the decade. 103 wins, 18 losses across ten seasons.
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The dynasty begins. The Tigers rolled through 12 wins, shutting out Notre Dame 27-0 in the state title game — holding them to a state-record minus-47 yards. QB Tom Archer earned first-team All-State captain honors.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | 13 | 12 | W 1-0 |
| Pennsboro | 24 | 0 | W 2-0 |
| Valley | 41 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| at Paden City | 14 | 0 | W 4-0 |
| Harrisville | 41 | 0 | W 5-0 |
| at Spencer | 29 | 0 | W 6-0 |
| at Bishop Donahue | 6 | 17 | L 6-1 |
| at Tyler County | 43 | 3 | W 7-1 |
| at Wirt County | 24 | 10 | W 8-1 |
| at Cameron | 24 | 7 | W 9-1 |
| Playoff: at Paden City | 16 | 0 | W 10-1 |
| Playoff: Hamlin (Charleston) | 36 | 6 | W 11-1 |
| ★ Championship: Clks Notre Dame | 27 | 0 | W 12-1 |
Widely recognized as the best Class A team in West Virginia history. The Tigers outscored opponents 521-26, allowed only two touchdowns in the final 12 games, and became the first unbeaten, untied state champion in school history.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Williamstown | 46 | 11 | W 1-0 |
| at Pennsboro | 51 | 0 | W 2-0 |
| at Valley | 42 | 6 | W 3-0 |
| Paden City | 41 | 0 | W 4-0 |
| Harrisville | 42 | 0 | W 5-0 |
| Spencer | 27 | 6 | W 6-0 |
| Bishop Donahue | 34 | 0 | W 7-0 |
| Tyler County | 27 | 0 | W 8-0 |
| Wirt County | 60 | 0 | W 9-0 |
| Cameron | 43 | 0 | W 10-0 |
| Playoff: Weirton Madonna (Wheeling) | 22 | 0 | W 11-0 |
| Playoff: Pineville (Charleston) | 48 | 0 | W 12-0 |
| ★ Championship: Peterstown | 28 | 3 | W 13-0 |
Back-to-back 12-1 seasons, three consecutive 10-0 regular seasons, and two heartbreaking championship losses. The 1982 title game was the program’s first championship loss in five tries. QB Matt Archer went 20-0 in regular-season starts across the two years.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Greene, Pa. | 41 | 14 | W 1-0 |
| Clks Notre Dame | 35 | 0 | W 2-0 |
| Weirton Madonna | 25 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| at Paden City | 38 | 3 | W 4-0 |
| Harrisville | 15 | 8 | W 5-0 |
| at Bishop Donahue | 41 | 0 | W 6-0 |
| at Tyler County | 24 | 22 | W 7-0 |
| at Wirt County | 47 | 7 | W 8-0 |
| at Cameron | 37 | 14 | W 9-0 |
| Williamstown | 22 | 7 | W 10-0 |
| Playoff: Pineville | 40 | 0 | W 11-0 |
| Playoff: Mullens | 56 | 13 | W 12-0 |
| Championship: Duval | 15 | 26 | L 12-1 |
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Williamstown | 28 | 6 | W 1-0 |
| at Clks Notre Dame | 25 | 3 | W 2-0 |
| at Weirton Madonna | 35 | 6 | W 3-0 |
| Paden City | 26 | 0 | W 4-0 |
| at Harrisville | 49 | 14 | W 5-0 |
| Bishop Donahue | 37 | 7 | W 6-0 |
| Tyler County | 8 | 7 | W 7-0 |
| Wirt County | 44 | 22 | W 8-0 |
| Cameron | 58 | 6 | W 9-0 |
| at St. Marys | 34 | 6 | W 10-0 |
| Playoff: Matewan | 57 | 6 | W 11-0 |
| Playoff: Morgantown St. Francis | 37 | 13 | W 12-0 |
| Championship: Tyler County | 14 | 16 | L 12-1 |
The Tigers bounced back from two championship losses with another title. The lone defeat came against undefeated Double-A St. Marys, ending an Ohio Valley-record 42-game regular-season winning streak. Joel Wilson became the school’s first Kennedy Award winner.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Weirton Madonna | 27 | 12 | W 1-0 |
| Williamstown | 48 | 0 | W 2-0 |
| Frontier, Ohio | 28 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| Spencer | 28 | 16 | W 4-0 |
| at Paden City | 34 | 14 | W 5-0 |
| Weirton Madonna | 24 | 21 | W 6-0 |
| Linsly Institute | 31 | 23 | W 7-0 |
| at Tyler County | 29 | 8 | W 8-0 |
| at Wirt County | 43 | 7 | W 9-0 |
| St. Marys* | 21 | 30 | L 9-1 |
| Playoff: Clay-Battelle (Morgantown) | 40 | 0 | W 10-1 |
| Playoff: at Gilbert | 47 | 14 | W 11-1 |
| ★ Championship: Fayetteville | 42 | 11 | W 12-1 |
Nocida closed his dynasty run with two more titles. The 1985 team went 12-1 (the only loss again to St. Marys) and beat Morgantown St. Francis 22-13 for the crown. The 1986 squad capped it all with a perfect 12-0 campaign, dominating Tyler County 14-8 in the championship.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville (Charleston) | 25 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Beallsville, OH | 21 | 6 | W 2-0 |
| at Williamstown | 34 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| at Frontier, OH | 34 | 6 | W 4-0 |
| at Spencer | 26 | 6 | W 5-0 |
| Paden City | 46 | 0 | W 6-0 |
| Doddridge County | 42 | 6 | W 7-0 |
| Tyler County | 28 | 0 | W 8-0 |
| Wirt County | 45 | 0 | W 9-0 |
| at St. Marys | 17 | 28 | L 9-1 |
| Playoff: Buffalo (Putnam) | 20 | 12 | W 10-1 |
| Playoff: Gilbert | 17 | 0 | W 11-1 |
| ★ Championship: Morgantown St. Francis | 22 | 13 | W 12-1 |
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fayetteville (Charleston) | 38 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| at Beallsville, OH | 30 | 29 | W 2-0 |
| Williamstown | 30 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| Frontier, Ohio | 76 | 8 | W 4-0 |
| at West Preston | 31 | 6 | W 5-0 |
| Doddridge County | 50 | 7 | W 6-0 |
| at Tyler County | 34 | 0 | W 7-0 |
| at Paden City | 34 | 21 | W 8-0 |
| St. Marys | 40 | 0 | W 9-0 |
| Playoff: Gilbert | 48 | 0 | W 10-0 |
| Playoff: Van | 32 | 16 | W 11-0 |
| ★ Championship: Tyler County | 14 | 8 | W 12-0 |
Following Nocida’s departure, new coach Jerry Drake faced the challenge of sustaining the dynasty. The Tigers opened 2-0 but dropped three straight mid-season before rallying with wins over Doddridge County (52-0), Paden City, and St. Marys to close at 5-4.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hundred | 44 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| at Williamstown | 20 | 6 | W 2-0 |
| Weirton Madonna | 9 | 27 | L 2-1 |
| at Newark Catholic, OH | 7 | 17 | L 2-2 |
| at Gilbert | 13 | 15 | L 2-3 |
| Doddridge County | 52 | 0 | W 3-3 |
| Tyler County | 0 | 6 | L 3-4 |
| Paden City | 38 | 7 | W 4-4 |
| at St. Marys | 34 | 6 | W 5-4 |
Players: Brian Brown, Rocky Romine, Tom Still, Bryon Cline, Craig Grimm, Eric Johnson, Eric Sapp, David Shepherd, Casey Soliday, Brett Grimm, Mike Shreves, Ricky Carroll, Chris Clegg, Aaron Craven, Pat Cook, David Todd, Alan Johnson, Matt Hayes, Ricky Keys, Joey Pope, Mark Klages, Mike Noland.
A .500 season that included a brutal 0-42 loss to Bellaire St. John’s but also gritty wins — a 29-26 victory over Gilbert and a 16-14 season-ending win at St. Marys.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | 9 | 12 | L 0-1 |
| Hundred | 30 | 7 | W 1-1 |
| at Weirton Madonna | 0 | 20 | L 1-2 |
| Gilbert | 29 | 26 | W 2-2 |
| at Clks Roosevelt-Wilson | 8 | 23 | L 2-3 |
| at Doddridge County | 33 | 0 | W 3-3 |
| at Tyler County | 6 | 23 | L 3-4 |
| Bellaire, OH St. John’s | 0 | 42 | L 3-5 |
| Paden City | 24 | 0 | W 4-5 |
| at St. Marys | 16 | 14 | W 5-5 |
Players: Aaron Craven, Chris Clegg, Mike Noland, Scott Hooley, Mike Shreves, Brett Grimm, Mike Cooper, Bobby Kehrler, Jesse Sandy, Mark Klages, David Smith, Chris Metz, Chad Smith, Tracy Orr, Aaron Johnson, David Palmer, Chad Shupe, Gary Long, Mike Delancey, Jason Grimm, David Todd, Bill Dalrymple, Mark Ankrom, Chris Kemp, Slade Buchanan, Danny Grant, John Hizer.
Drake’s best season brought the Tigers back to the state playoffs. They beat Huntington Vinson 34-19 in the first round before falling to Peterstown 0-6 in the second. The regular season featured six wins of 20+ points.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Donahue | 25 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| at Williamstown | 13 | 14 | L 1-1 |
| at Clks Notre Dame | 30 | 20 | W 2-1 |
| Clks Roosevelt-Wilson | 20 | 8 | W 3-1 |
| Valley | 31 | 14 | W 4-1 |
| Doddridge County | 34 | 0 | W 5-1 |
| Tyler County | 39 | 11 | W 6-1 |
| at Bellaire, OH St. John’s | 7 | 13 | L 6-2 |
| Paden City | 24 | 7 | W 7-2 |
| at St. Marys | 14 | 20 | L 7-3 |
| Playoff: Huntington Vinson (Princeton) | 34 | 19 | W 8-3 |
| Playoff: Peterstown | 0 | 6 | L 8-4 |
Players: Bobby Kehrer, Chad Shupe, Brett Grimm, Chris Metz, David Smith, Mike Cooper, John Hizer, Jesse Sandy, John Wells, Jason Grimm, Bill Dalrymple, Jason Craven, Gary Long, Jamie Lucas, Roger Posey, Brian McKeever, Slade Buchanan, Mark Ankrom, Craig Landis, Danny Grant, Mike Richardson, Danny Hanood, Pat Cook.
The most dominant decade in West Virginia Class A football history.
1981 — 13-0, perfect season; outscored opponents 521-26; recognized as the best Class A team in W.Va. history
1980–86 — Five state championships, two runner-up finishes, and an Ohio Valley-record 42-game regular-season winning streak
Brian Swisher: Hunt Award, three-time first-team All-State. Joel Wilson: school’s first Kennedy Award winner (1984)
Lou Nocida (1980–86): 85-5 record, five state titles. Jerry Drake (1987–89): 18-13, one playoff appearance