Two of the state’s premier high school sports all-state games, both featuring a Bridgeport senior, have officially been canceled.

 

The North-South Football Game and the North-South boys basketball game will not be played this summer because of ongoing concerns related to COVID-19.

 

Michael Watkins, a standout offensive/defensive lineman for the Class AA state champion Indians was to play for the North in the football game. Watkins was the third-leading tackler with 56 stops for BHS and led the team in sacks at 3.5. He also earned Class AA second-team all-state honors.

 

A second-team all-stater in another sport, Nick Stalnaker, was to be on the North roster for the basketball game.

 

Stalnaker averaged 18.2 points per game for the Indians, whose season was cut short in the Class AA regionals when the coronavirus brought a halt to the basketball season on March 12.

 

Both North-South games were originally scheduled for June — basketball on June 12 and football on June 13.

 

Both were first postponed to July — football on July 10 and basketball on either July 10 or 11 before being called off completely last Wednesday.

 

This will be the first year since 1975 that there has been no North-South football game and the first year since 1983 there has been no boys basketball game.

 

For more details about the cancelation of the football game, check out the story by WV Metro News HERE

 

More details on the cancellation of the basketball game can be found in a story by The Gazette Mail HERE

 

As of now, Stalnaker has another all-star game appearance that is scheduled to be played with the Scott Brown Memorial Classic in Beckley on July 18.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Michael Watkins, bottom photo features Nick Stalnaker. Photos by www.benqueenphotography.com