Miners aim for perfect league season | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo by Nick Henthorn Wheeling's Pete Savrides celebrates a first down during the Miners' North Division championship game against the Jersey Bearcats on June 23. The Miners will face the Peach State Cats on Saturday inside WesBanco Arena.

WHEELING – The Wheeling Miners will play their final game of American Arena League 2 on Saturday, hoping to head into the future with titles in their pocket.

Having already announced their move to the National Arena League last June, the Miners followed up their inaugural season by eliminating the Jersey Bearcats in the AAL2 North Division championship. Now, it's a date with the Peach State Cats that stands between Wheeling and an AAL2 championship.

The championship game is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Saturday inside WesBanco Arena. The Miners have rarely been challenged thanks to a perfect season, now 9-0, scoring an average of 49.3 points per game while allowing an average of 12.9 per game.

The Miners have a serious collection of talent, much of which was recognized by the league this week, with quarterback Grant Russell winning league MVP and league offensive player of the year, and defensive back Dontae Mason winning league defensive player of the year.

Mason has been a ball hawk for the Miners' league-leading defense and may have made his biggest play of the year at the biggest position so far. Mason threw an interception in the fourth quarter of Wheeling's North Division championship game against Jersey, a play that sealed a 28-17 victory.

“Dontae started the season with the Steel City Stampede,” Wheeling head coach Josh Resignalo said. “He played that first game and we beat them pretty well. We liked what we saw on tape from him, and we felt like if he was in a good situation and had some other good players around him, he could really help us. His first game with us, he had four interceptions. So we knew we made the right choice, he’s made plays for us all year long. Specifically in that playoff game, he had the game-winning sixth interception to really close out the game and secure the win.”

Russell had several games where he threw more touchdowns than incomplete passes, and powered the bandwagon of an offense that the Miners piloted to a perfect regular season.

He wasn't available for Wheeling's North Division championship game but was away on a long-planned honeymoon with his wife, but the Miners' QB1 will be there as Wheeling goes for gold.

“Grant is a stallion,” Resignalo said: “He’s the epitome of what you want your quarterback to be. He’s a leader, he’s a great face of the team, he’s a fan favorite, and that showed in the playoff game when social media went wild: ‘Where’s No. 12? Where’s Grant?’ It caused a lot of unrest and I kept quiet for one reason: I didn’t want outside noise to affect the players’ mindset. We were able to get through it.”

“People might forget that Grant hadn’t played since 2019, when he was the starting quarterback for the Columbus Destroyed in the AFL. He’d had a few years off, he was a teacher, he was a coach, so he was still able to throw the ball a little bit, but not like when you’re getting ready for a season. […] It was a no-brainer to reach out to him this year and it was something he wanted to do. We are delighted with where he is now and he is looking forward to taking the next step in the NAL.”

Peach State is coached by James Moreland and the Cats won their own division championship against the Waco Tornadoes 30-2.

“They have some players who have experience, their coach/owner is a former player,” Resignalo said. “He's done a good job with this team the last few years and they'll definitely be ready to play.”

With a move to the NAL planned for next season, Resignalo sees an opportunity to leave the AAL2 as conquerors – with a perfect record and a championship trophy to show for their first year in operation.

“I feel like we've gained momentum after every game, we've gained more fans after every game, which is great,” Resignalo said. “I think capping off a perfect, undefeated season with a title would set us up really well, give us momentum going into the offseason and get us ready to go into the NAL.”

“It’s going to be a fun time for everyone, and I would say the Peach State is in trouble.”