ALL-STATE FOOTBALL: CLASS AAA NITRO PLACES 3 ON FIRST TEAM CULBERTSON NAMED CAPTAIN ON OFFENSE

Publication: THE SUNDAY GAZETTE-MAIL
Published: 12/18/2005
Page: 1D
Headline: ALL-STATE FOOTBALL: CLASS AAA NITRO PLACES 3 ON FIRST TEAM CULBERTSON NAMED CAPTAIN ON OFFENSE
Byline: DEREK TAYLOR THE EXPONENT TELEGRAM

For a program in a supposed rebuilding year, Morgantown High School sure made it hard for opponents to see any cracks in 2005.

The Mohigans completed a second straight 14-0 season by beating Nitro 27-24 in overtime to claim the first back-to-back championships in Class AAA since DuPont pulled it off in 1992 and 1993.

As part of the spoils for their success, the Mohigans placed four players on the first team of the Class AAA all-state team, as selected by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.

Junior quarterback Charlie Russell and senior offensive lineman Adam Brandt were named to the first-team offense, while senior linebacker Maxwell Anderson and junior defensive lineman Junius Lewis made the list on defense.

Nitro placed three players on the first-team offense in its record-setting senior duo of running back Josh Culbertson and wide receiver Chris Fulmer along with junior lineman Chad Snodgrass.

Russell will enter his third year as the Morgantown starter with a still-unblemished record.

"He's 28-0 as a starter and does a great job of managing the offense," Morgantown coach John Bowers said. "He makes plays when he needs to and we're very confident that every play we run starts with the quarterback. Most triple-A teams, I don't know if they're like that or not, if they have that luxury. But he's been running this offense since he was in the seventh grade, and we're real confident with him."

While Morgantown has made a habit in the past decade of producing running backs who run for astronomical yardage, the 2005 squad used a backfield-by-committee approach to winning its third Class AAA championship in six seasons.

Bowers said that success is largely due to the play of the Mohigans' offensive line and in particular Brandt.

"Adam Brandt is the best lineman in the state, period," Bowers said. "There's no doubt about that. A lot of the things we've accomplished offensively we've been able to accomplish because of guys like Adam Brandt, and the past two seasons we've run the bulk of our plays with him leading the way."

Culbertson was named captain of the first-team offense after a year in which the senior rushed for a state-record 3,589 yards and 46 touchdowns. He also broke former Weir standout Quincy Wilson's state record for career rushing yardage.

Culbertson scored a state-leading 290 points, including 48 touchdowns in his team's 14-game season.

Fulmer finished his high school career with 329 catches, a national record.

On the season, Fulmer caught 85 passes for 1,530 yards and 17 TDs. He also set state records for receptions in a season (99 in 2003) and career receiving yardage (5,068, breaking the mark of former Nitro standout Chris Martin).

Two running backs from the Eastern Panhandle - Ryland Newman of Jefferson and Josh Twyman of Martinsburg - join Culbertson in the backfield. Newman rushed for 1,284 yards and 17 touchdowns, while Twyman ran for 1,219 yards and 17 scores.

The rest of the first team offensive line is comprised of Capital's Jordan Lawson, Woodrow Wilson's Micah Carter - both seniors - and Parkersburg sophomore Josh Jenkins.

Jefferson's Josh Brown was named as an end along with Fulmer. Brown finished the regular season with eight catches for 359 yards and five touchdowns. Brown also rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns, returned four kickoffs for touchdowns, ran back a punt for a touchdown and returned a fumble recovery for a score.

Three utility players were named on the offense, Woodrow Wilson's Marcus Manns, Tommy Spurlock of South Charleston and Parkersburg South's Adam Dobson.

The kicker is Hurricane's Derek Moore, who led the state with six field goals in the regular season, including a 42-yarder. He had seven overall, including one in the playoffs.

The defense is captained by Woodrow Wilson senior Adam Parkulo at linebacker. Five defensive linemen were named to the first team, including Buckhannon-Upshur's Keith Branch, Parker Deem of Ripley, Keith Taylor from Princeton, Grant Grishaber of Hurricane and Morgantown's Lewis.

Joining Parkulo at linebacker are University of Maryland signee Cory Jackson of University, Sergio Bracamontes of Parkersburg and Anderson.

Three defensive backs were named, including Jeremy Gum of Bridgeport, University's L.C. Jefferson and Heath Thomas of Huntington. Buckhannon-Upshur junior Andrew Carrier and Parkersburg's Joey Lindamood were named as defensive utility players. Parkersburg South's Cody Norman was named as the punter.