WOAY – Independence senior running back Atticus Goodson is the 2021 recipient of the Kennedy Award as the best high school football player in West Virginia, as decided by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association.
Goodson is the seventh player from Southern West Virginia, and the first since Bluefield’s Mookie Collier in 2017. The only other Raleigh County recipient was Randy Broyles (Woodrow Wilson, 1948).
Goodson ran for more than 1,900 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2021 as the Patriots reached the Super Six for the first time in school history, finishing the year as Class AA runner-up to Fairmont Senior. He finished his high school career as Independence’s all-time leader in rushing yards and total touchdowns.
Earlier this week, he won the Curt Warner Award as West Virginia’s best running back, and Goodson is the first two-time WOAY Football Player of the Year.
Huntington quarterback Gavin Lochow was the runner-up in the Kennedy Award voting, while Martinsburg’s Hudson Clement was third.
Goodson will be honored with both the Kennedy & Warner Awards at the Victory Awards in Charleston next May.
Southern West Virginia recipients of the Kennedy Award
1947 – Darrell Patrick Shires (Hinton)
1948 – Randy Broyles (Woodrow Wilson)
1963 – Jim Smithberger (Welch)
1978 – Curt Warner (Pineville)
2008 – Will Cole (Bluefield)
2017 – Latrell “Mookie” Collier (Bluefield)
2021 – Atticus Goodson (Independence)
