WHEELING — The annual Doug Huff Award is presented by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association to a worthy candidate for their “leadership, heart and hustle, and going the extra mile.”

All three of those qualities speak highly of the 2025 honoree — Wheeling Park High School senior Jameson Maynard. The two-sport all-West Virginia standout — in both football (1st Team Class AAA) and wrestling (Class AAA champion at 190 pounds) — exemplifies those traits, both on and off the field and mat.

“It feels great. I think all three things describe me pretty well,” Maynard said of winning the award. “I pride myself on being a leader. I have a lot of heart, whether it be a team that we are playing or a guy I am wrestling against, I know I have more heart and will put everything on the line to win. As far as hustle, I am always doing to the best of my ability to compete. I always want to out-will and out-work the guy in front of me.”

Wheeling Park head football coach and athletic director Chris Daugherty felt privileged to coach an athlete like Maynard.

“It was like having an extra coach on the field all the time. He’s a very smart player, but it goes beyond that,” Daugherty said of the 6-2, 220-pound fullback-linebacker. “He just has a way about himself…the way he carries himself. It was leadership by example. He got other players corrected.

“With Jameson, you just knew you were going to get his best effort every single day, be it in practice or a game,” Daugherty continued. “He never took a day off and that says something about him during his four years. He never missed a game or a practice. That’s why he is going to the Naval Academy. That’s the life he has lived.

“I think it is fitting that he wins this award. I couldn’t think of a better kid or anyone I’ve ever coached that is more deserving of this award.”

Due to a couple of key transfers from the program over the summer, Wheeling Park started the 2024 football season with some uncertainties.

“It was tough at first because we were in a little bit of a hole to start the season,” Maynard explained about preseason football practice, “but all season our motto was ‘we’re still here and we’re still a team that can contend’ and I feel that we proved that. Through the senior leadership that we had and some other guys stepping up, I was proud of the effort we put in.”