Polar Bears show powerful potential through season's first half

Sep. 28—FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Senior Polar Bears have lost their last two games, but those hoping for the reigning Class-AA's season to unravel may do well to look beyond the two tallies in the loss column.

After winning their first three games against Lewis County, Linsly and Preston by a combined 67 points, the Polar Bears dropped their two most recent contests to Class-AAA Bridgeport and University by three and five points, respectively, in games that each went down to the final play.

While the Polar Bears have not kept all their weapons on the field together to this point — senior running back/linebacker Germaine Lewis made his debut in week four against Bridgeport, and the Polar Bears were without several key pieces against University — the product on the gridiron has still reflected a team fully capable of contending.

The Polar Bears are no strangers to early adversity, as they sat at 2-3 at this point in the season last year.

Currently ranked 11th in the WVSSAC Class-AA football rankings at 3-2, Fairmont Senior has drawn on several strong performances to stay right in the playoff hunt against several strong opponents in the season's first half, and indeed several more to come in the second half.

The Polar Bears have allowed an average of 285.2 yards per game, and gained an average of 342.2 yards per game themselves, off a strikingly even split between their air and ground attack.

Sophomore quarterback Brody Whitehair, in his first full season under center, has thrown for 932 yards on 53/86 passing, tossing eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

He has distributed those eight touchdowns evenly among four pass-catchers with two apiece — Jayden Cheriza, Trey Longwell, Cannon Dinger and Dylan Ours. A balanced distribution has been the name of the game as far as the Polar Bears' receiving totals have gone, with seven players registering at least one reception through five games, and each of Cheriza, Longwell, Dinger and Ours totaling over 100 receiving yards.

Dinger leads the group with 289 yards on 11 catches. Cheriza has totaled 243 yards on 13 catches in four games. Longwell leads the team in receptions with 16 for 214 yards, and Ours sits at eight receptions for 140, largely operating out of the backfield.

In the backfield, Ours has rushed for 228 net yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries in four games, but it has been the quarterback Whitehair who has seen the most action on the ground — 49 carries for 251 yards and four touchdowns.

Germaine Lewis made his season debut against Bridgeport and has only put in two games of work thus far, but has had 18 carries for 130 net yards and a touchdown. Damani Johnson, a sophomore, has played a change-of-pace role thus far, with 21 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown.

All in all, the Polar Bears' offense has averaged 186.4 passing yards per game and 155.8 rushing yards per game, further reflecting the team's balanced nature.

Fairmont Senior has won the turnover battle 11-9 so far this season, in part due to Whitehair protecting the ball well, and in part due to a rash of interceptions the Polar Bears' defense has hauled in to this point.

Gavin Michael and Cannon Dinger have proven themselves to be ballhawks in the secondary, each with three interceptions through five games. Michael has thoroughly impressed with 149 total return yards and two pick sixes, while Dinger has likewise recorded a pick-six. Jayden Cheriza and Trey Longwell have also tracked down a pick apiece, with Cheriza's coming back for a 28-yard pick-six.

The Polar Bears' defense has allowed opposing quarterbacks to complete just 43% of their passes for five touchdowns to eight interceptions.

Landen Tasker, Kolbie Hamilton and Michael Kruzel have been among the top tacklers for the Polar Bears so far.

The Polar Bears have not made things easy on themselves at times though, as they've heaped penalties on top of themselves over the course of the year. Fairmont Senior sits at 49 flags for 458 yards — an average of over 90 penalty yards against them each game. How much the Polar Bears cut back the mistakes will be important to watch going forward.

Fairmont Senior has important games against North Marion (5-0), Morgantown (3-1), and 2021 state quarterfinal opponent Robert C. Byrd (2-3) ahead of them, and strengths in a balanced offense and hawkish secondary to lean on in the battles to come.

Reach Nick Henthorn at 304-367-2548, on Twitter @nfhenthorn_135 or by email at nhenthorn@timeswv.com.