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The basketballs had stopped bouncing and the final minutes of practice were winding down Monday afternoon inside the Petersburg High School gym.

Players gathered near midcourt as head coach Stacey Berg delivered one last message before the team departs for Charleston and the WVSSAC Class AA State Tournament — a place the Vikings have not been since 2007.

For some of the players standing in that huddle, Berg reminded them, the journey had been years in the making.

“For some of you guys, this started six years ago,” Berg told his team. “Some of you started four years ago. My biggest fear as we get ready for these games is that we become satisfied.”

The Vikings have already accomplished something the program has not done since Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Jon Websters was a senior — reaching the state tournament. But Berg challenged his players to believe the job is not finished.

“We’re getting ready to embark on a journey that this school hasn’t done in 19 years,” Berg said. “They made it there before but didn’t win a game. I think it would be pretty neat to get down there and get a win.”

For Berg, the return to Charleston represents the goal the program has chased for years.

“It’s everything,” he said. “At the end of the day, that’s what we all came here to do as a program. When you haven’t been there for that long, getting back means everything.”

Berg hopes this senior class has also set a new standard for the program.

“The message to the underclassmen is it can’t be another long drought,” he said. “This senior class set the bar up here. We have to have the expectation every year that we’re going to compete and have that opportunity to go down there.”

The Vikings’ run to Charleston has been built on relentless effort and a blue-collar approach that has defined the team all season.

“We may not be big, tall kids,” Berg said. “We’re always undersized. So we have to come in with that blue-collar mentality — we’re going to outwork you, we’re going to out-hustle you, and we’re not going to be intimidated.”

That mindset was tested in Thursday’s regional championship victory over Braxton County.

“I think they came out early trying to send a message — that they were bigger and stronger,” Berg said. “We absorbed that. We took it on the chin and handled it.”

Berg said the key moment in the game came not from strategy, but from composure.

“I burned two timeouts just to calm things down,” he said. “It wasn’t about X’s and O’s. I just wanted everyone to stay calm. I was really proud of the kids because they held their composure.”

Even as the final minutes ticked away and the Vikings held the lead, Berg admitted he never felt comfortable.

“I remember looking up with four minutes left and thinking, ‘If we lose this game, you’re an idiot,’” Berg said with a laugh. “Then it got inside two minutes, and I started thinking we might actually be going to Charleston.”

When the final seconds arrived, the emotions hit all at once.

“It was like five or six years of work all crammed into 30 seconds,” Berg said. “I can’t really describe it.”

The victory sparked a wave of excitement throughout the community, with fans, students and families rallying behind the Vikings as they prepare for Charleston.

“To see the community come out the way they have — it’s pretty neat,” Berg said. “There’s pep buses going, there’s so much support. It’s been special.”

Berg was quick to point the credit back to his players.

“I give the kids all the credit,” he said. “They play with a lot of heart.”

Nearly two decades have passed since Petersburg last walked onto the state tournament floor.

Now a new group of Vikings will make that trip — a team built on grit, work ethic and years of belief that the program could return.

And when they step onto the court in Charleston this week, they will carry with them not only their own season, but the hopes of a community that has been waiting a long time to see it happen again.

The state’s oldest, continuous-running stockyards will continue it’s legacy in the region after being purchased by three local farmers. South Branch Stockyards in Moorefi eld were, ironically, auctioned off earlier this year as rumors swirled in the community about the property potentially being purchased and developed into apartment buildings. The sale followed their regular livestock auction when the property itself was brought up to the auction block. It was purchased by Brandon Neely, Dave McGee and Travis Hinkle. The stockyards were, perhaps most appropriately, purchased by three cattle farmers who have done work with the yard for many years.

On Feb. 24, the Grant County Commission heard an update on the mold concerns at the Grant County Magistrate Court building. Randy Parsons, the director of maintenance in the county Parks and Recreation Department, told the commission that the repairs and updates were overall done in the building.

Plea agreement calls for life imprisonment with mercy in the 2023 Sugar Grove death

Zachary Edward Mongold, a previous Grant County resident, confessed to first-degree murder for the 2023 death of Raymond Auville and a fire at a Grey Goose Lane property in Sugar Grove.

BY: DAVID ROGERS

The top-seeded Petersburg Vikings played host to eighth-seeded Philip Barbour Friday night. The upset-minded Colts gave the Vikings all they wanted for more than two quarters, but Petersburg used a big run late in the third quarter and into the fourth to close the door on Philip Barbour’s season. The Vikings pulled away for an 89–69 victory.

Petersburg jumped out to an early lead and held a 21–9 advantage after one quarter of play. Payton Metheny connected on two of the Vikings’ four three-pointers in the opening period and scored eight points to lead the team in the quarter.

Philip Barbour battled back in the second quarter, outscoring Petersburg 24–13 to cut the Vikings’ lead to just one point at halftime, 34–33.

The game remained tight well into the third quarter. Petersburg led 54–53 with 1:22 remaining in the period before the Vikings took control. Petersburg went on a decisive 16–0 run that stretched into the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 70–53 with 5:33 left in the contest. The Vikings erupted for 32 fourth-quarter points to seal the win and advance.

Caden Ours led Petersburg with 27 points. The senior also reached a major milestone, scoring his 1,000th career point on a free throw in the third quarter. Kaleb Kuhn added 25 points, eight rebounds, and six steals. Metheny contributed 19 points and five assists, while Carter Hardy chipped in 10 points.

With the win, the Vikings advance to the WVSSAC Class AA Region II Co-Final. Petersburg will host Braxton County Thursday night, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Grant County Mulch is showing its community support by covering the cost of admission for Petersburg High School students.