picture by: Nick Henthorn
Wheeling Park’s Brennan Wack rushes towards the John Marshall protection throughout each groups’ common season finales this previous season.
WHEELING – After a breakout junior season that noticed Wheeling Park operating again Brennan Wack rack up yardage and accolades, what did this previous yr maintain for Wack in his senior go-round? More faculty data, one other 2,000-rushing yard season, and one other Curt Warner Award as one of the best again in West Virginia, as chosen by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
With his choice because the 2025 Warner Award winner, Wack turns into the primary ever two-time recipient of the award, given yearly since 2014. Winning in back-to-back style gave Wack and Wheeling Park head coach Chris Daugherty a chance for reflection.
“To win that award is amazing, but to win it twice, I don’t think anybody fully expected him to do that,” Daugherty mentioned. “You know, as a coach, last year was wonderful. It was like a storybook-type of year for him. But this year, we kind of knew everyone’s gonna start game one with their top priority being to stop Brennan Wack. So to have a replica year, I wasn’t sure that would happen.”
“It just means a lot to everybody, everybody associated with Wheeling Park,” Wack mentioned. “The whole team, the school, all our players, all the coaches, and there’s a lot of great running backs in the state, so this just means a lot.”
Wack’s numbers communicate for themselves. The senior rushed for two,079 yards and 26 touchdowns- in solely 10 video games. Wack missed Park’s midseason contests towards Morgantown and Fairmont Senior, struggling an damage within the first half of the Patriots’ sport towards St. Clairsville (OH) and being labored again into the fold slowly in his return towards Butler (PA). Daugherty believes the adversity Wack confronted all through the season solely made his closing season totals extra spectacular.
“I didn’t expect him to have almost identical stats from 2024 to 2025,” Daugherty mentioned. “And if he doesn’t find yourself injured, he most likely would’ve surpassed his 2024 season fairly simply. I feel that claims loads about what kind of participant he’s as a result of, you realize, we performed in 12 soccer video games this yr, and he was the primary man that each crew began with, so far as planning for and attempting to cease.
“For him to have this type of year and replicate it again– you know, he’s only had two seasons at tailback– to have 4,337 yards and 57 touchdowns, that works out to be an average of 197 yards per game when he was on the field. Those are just amazing numbers and I think they speak for themselves as far as the history of the tailback position at Wheeling Park, there’s no one that’s had numbers like this.”
Those aforementioned profession totals are the brand new high-marks for Wheeling Park High School in dashing yards and dashing touchdowns. Wack made essentially the most of his two years at operating again for the Patriots after enjoying at extensive receiver his sophomore yr.
“I think a lot of times when you look at high school stats and you look at the career guy at different high schools, not just Wheeling Park, that kid normally got to play his sophomore year,” Daugherty mentioned. “Brennan played a different position his sophomore year. So he finishes his sophomore year with zero carries. That’s not the norm if you go through every high school in the valley and check their career rushing leaders, it’s probably a three-year starter that has that. And that’s what Brennan’s done in two years.”
“I’m just so grateful for getting the opportunity to be able to break all those records and I couldn’t have done it without all of my teammates, all my coaches, my family, and my support system,” Wack mentioned. “And it just, it means the world for me to be able to go down in history as one of the greatest Park players of all time. It’s just really awesome.”
As effectively as his profession dashing and dashing landing data, Wack additionally finishes his profession as the one Park participant with two 2,000-yard dashing seasons, and has essentially the most 200-yard video games (11) and 300-yard video games (three) in class historical past. He owns the Patriots’ prime 4 single-game dashing outputs of all time, and the college’s single-game landing report. All-in-all, Wack broke 19 faculty data all through his two years as Patriot tailback. His largest sport of his senior season was a 328-yard, six-touchdown efficiency towards University, a 42-35 victory for Wheeling Park, who went 7-5 and bowed out within the Class AAAA state quarterfinals towards Martinsburg. Against the eventual Class AAAA runner-up Bulldogs, Wack rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns, and in addition threw a landing cross.
Wack carried a heavy load for Wheeling Park, taking 263 carries this yr at a 7.9 yards-per-carry clip, and went into every sport with a relentless mindset.
“His junior year, teams would start the game with maybe six guys in the box stopping the run, and as the game went on, they would add a player and maybe add two players,” Daugherty mentioned. “And, you realize, that began to occur round mid-season final yr. But this yr it was from sport one, and it was sport one to sport 12. He handled eight, typically nine-man containers and he by no means shied away.
“I think one of his top qualities is the ability to keep coming at you. He gets better as the game goes on, and I think all great tailbacks do, they get better as the game goes on. And that’s been Brennan not only within the game, but within his career and within the seasons, he tends to get better as the season goes on. He tended to get better as his career went on.”
“I think I’ve just been working as hard as possible for as long as I can remember,” Wack mentioned. “Just being a successful high school football player has been a goal of mine for basically forever. And I think we also just have great schemes in place that help me do what I do. And I don’t get discouraged if there’s a couple one-yard runs or a run for loss, because I’m confident that we’re gonna pop one and then we’ll be good.”
Wack actually proved himself as a home-run hitter this yr. He recorded at the least one run of fifty+ yards in six of his 10 video games.
Wack gave a lot credit score to his offensive line of Liam Waldeck, Reuben Rouse, Kayden Fortney, Kam Dietrich and Carson McCort.
“I’m so proud of those guys,” Wack mentioned. “They stepped up big time. I think four of them, this is their first year starting, and I think some people had doubts at the beginning of the season, and they just really showed up and played a great season. And I think everybody, our tight ends, our receivers, they all did amazing and really helped me out a lot.”
Daugherty agreed.
“There’s no doubt about it that those kids deserve recognition also,” Daugherty mentioned. “I feel that’s their recognition, you realize, as offensive lineman, whether or not it’s the NFL, school or highschool, when tailbacks get acknowledged, that’s the best way the lineman get acknowledged. And, you realize, Brennan’s junior yr we had an older line, a number of returners, and we knew who these guys have been and we knew it was gonna be the energy of our soccer crew.
“This year was a little bit different. Liam Waldeck was the only real returner, and so we had to go and start over along the offensive line. And you know, when you look at Carson McCort and what Liam did, and Reuben Rouse and Kam Dietrich and Kayden Fortney, those five kids, I don’t think any of us imagined how well they would form together and how well they would play. Brennan’s success is married with their success. And, Nolan Yanchak too at tight end this year, and wide receivers that blocked.”
With his second Warner Award, Wack leaves a legacy of arduous work, and a lesson about what can occur while you attempt to profit from your alternatives.
“He’s a quiet kid, he’s a humble kid, but Brennan makes life easy as a coach,” Daugherty mentioned. “He does nothing but the right things in every aspect of his life. And it’s not an accident that he’s successful to the extent he’s been, because he makes good decisions off the field. He makes good decisions in the community, and those things lead to success. It’s just a matter of when. He didn’t see all the success as a middle school player or a young player. There wasn’t a bunch of buzz about Brennan growing up, but he got an opportunity and because he worked so hard and did all the right things, he certainly seized that opportunity.”
“I’m just so grateful for the Wheeling Park football program,” Wack mentioned. “I think it’s just been the greatest years of my life, just having my best friends and playing the sport I love. We’re an amazing team, amazing coaches– coach Doc always talks about how he’d rather see us be a better man than a better football player. And we always do stuff outside in the community, doing community service and volunteering through the football program. It’s just an amazing team and I wouldn’t have had all this go any other way.”
Curt Warner Award
2025 – Brennan Wack, Wheeling Park
2024 – Brennan Wack, Wheeling Park
2023 – Zach Rohrig, Bridgeport
2022 – Judah Price, Independence
2021 – Atticus Goodson, Independence
2020 – Blake Hartman, Musselman
2019 – Ethan Payne, Poca
2018 – Hunter America, Doddridge County
2017 – Jadon Hayes, Huntington
2016 – Dylan Lucas, Buffalo
2015 – Cody Mitchell, Point Pleasant
2014 – Kashuan Haley, Capital