History to be made tonight at Tiger Stadium
Elkins hosts Keyser in first-ever true home playoff game
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ELKINS -- The long football tradition at Elkins High School is filled with historic teams, coaches and legendary players.
The 2026 Tiger squad has added to that legacy, capturing nine wins, going undefeated in the grueling Big 10 Conference, becoming the top scoring team in school history (44.8 points per game) and another school mark by scoring over 30 points in every regular-season game.
Now, coach Chad Ware's team gets to host the first-ever playoff game for EHS at 7 p.m. today when Keyser comes to Tiger Stadium for a Class AAA opening-round contest.
"The kids are excited to be playing in the school's first-ever playoff game to be held in Elkins," said Ware, who has built a winning program with the aid of a strong group of assistant coaches. "Seasons like this don't grow on trees in Elkins, so we are grateful for the opportunity to play at home."
Fellow Randolph County school Tygarts Valley did host a pair of Class A playoff games back in 2005 at historic Wimer Field but the Tigers, despite earning home berths in the past, had to play at Buckhannon-Upshur -- a WVSSAC approved facility for Class AAA postseason action.
Ware is hoping the community will come out in droves for this matchup.
"We hope the fans will turn out despite the cold weather and take part in this historic evening for our program," the third-year coach said. "We need them there to turn Tiger Stadium into a true home-field advantage."
Ware and third-seed Elkins expect quite a challenge from No. 14 Keyser, which defeated Moorefield, the lone team to hand the Tigers their lone loss in the regular season.
"This will be the first time we've ever played Keyser during the season, but we used to scrimmage them for years," Ware said. "They are always physical, and well-coached, so we will have to match that physical effort and compete on every down."
The Golden Tornado brings a 6-4 mark into the game, falling in their last two regular-season games, while the Tigers are 9-1, winners of eight straight contests.
Ware, though, knows your can throw out the records in postseason play.
"The boys understand this is win and advance, or lose and go home, so I expect their best effort when they take the field tonight … as there is no tomorrow if we don't get it done on the field," he said.
Elkins will test the Keyser defense with a strong running attack led by the senior duo of Jaden Hatfield and Seth Robinson -- both over 1,000 rushing yards on the season -- and a grizzly veteran offensive line that paved the way.
Senior Cyrus Kump directs the offense at quarterback, with junior receiver Xavier Workman and junior running backs Tony Silvester and Elias Jones also threats.
The Golden Tornado of head coach Derek Stephen counter with running backs Dominick Crawford, Addison Bradford and Cole Holland, along with quarterback Deacon Stanislawczyk and receiver Rio Simone.
The winner of tonight's game faces either Winfield or Ripley at the site of the highest remaining seed in the quarterfinals.