SHADY SPRING
SHADY SPRING
Tigers have significant DB, OL losses
By Gary Fauber the register-herald
The ending wasn’ t what Shady Spring was looking for— a 41-7 playoff loss to a loaded Nitro team, a game that ended early after an altercation that led to five Nitro player ejections and one for Shady Spring.
All that aside, it can serve as a springboard for the Tigers, who were making their first postseason appearance since 2021.
Not that it will be easy. The Tigers will have to move on without two key playmakers in Jalon Bailey and Nathan Easley.
The two combined to give quarterback Cal Culicerto two top options in the passing game, but also were two of the top defensive backs in West Virginia. Easley finished with a state-leading nine interceptions on his way to Class AAA second-team all-state selection, and Bailey ended up with six picks.
Also gone from the receiving corps is Jakob Kubow.
But Culicerto is back, looking to put together a memorable senior season as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.
He’ s coming off a strong junior year, although he had to overcome some adversity. He was injured in Shady’ s season opener at Roane County and missed the next two games. He came back for a Week 4 win over PikeView and finished the season 80-of-145( 55.2 percent) for 1,140 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.
“ Cal came back and did a good job as soon as he got back in, right where he left off,” said Shady Spring head coach Vince Culicerto, Cal’ s dad.“ I thought he had a good season. He took care of the ball well.
Jenny Harnish / The Register-Herald
Shady Spring’ s Kaiden Helmer tries to break free from Wheeling Central’ s Von Crall during a game at Shady Spring High School.
He has a good head on his shoulders.”
Myles Clark, now a junior, came up big in Culicerto’ s absence. He completed 14 of 27( 51.9 percent) passes for 248 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in wins over James Monroe and Summers County.
Culicerto said the team had a nice balance of receivers last season but certainly must overcome the loss of Bailey, Easley and Kubow. One candidate is Blake Snodgrass, who played predominantly on defense last season. Culicerto said Snodgrass is probably the fastest player on the team.
Clark will also be catching passes if he’ s not called into quarterback duties. Senior Rob Lynch got some experience last season and could see that increased. Shayde Hedgecock and Connor Huffman are also potential targets.
The Tigers return their top two rushers from a year ago in seniors Evan Romage and Kaiden Helmer. Romage missed time at the end of last season due to an injury.
A spot to watch will be the offensive line, which lost four senior starters, including honorable mention all-stater Colton Henderson. The returning starter is another honorable mention selection, senior Joey Cowger.
Culicerto is also high on Brad Cox, who got some experience last season among the veterans and is looking to take his spot. Sophomore Peyton Wade brings a lot of strength to the unit. Seniors Mike Crouch and Brady Lacek are strong candidates to move up the ranks as well.
On defense, Lynch got a fair amount of time in the backfield. Jace Bailey will likely see action at linebacker but could find himself in the secondary. Other candidates are sophomore Gage Spears, freshman Shep Mc- Ginnis and Blake Lilly.
The offensive linemen will pull double duty on defense, with frequent rotations.
Helmer will return at middle linebacker and will be joined by Snodgrass. Carter Petry is another who stands to make an impact.
2025 SCHEDULE
Aug. 29 Sept. 5 Sept. 12 Sept. 19 Sept. 26 Oct. 3 Oct. 10 Oct. 17 Oct. 24 Oct. 31 Nov. 7 at St. Albans James Monroe
Nicholas County Oak Hill at PikeView at Greenbrier West at Liberty Winfield
Berkeley Springs at Westside
Open
SOUTHERN W. VA. GAME NIGHT- AUGUST 2025 • 25