FALLING ROCK, W.Va. – The iconic Joe Eddie Cowley Field will turn on its lights this evening for the Herbert Hoover Huskies football team. The team will play their future home games at the new Herbert Hoover high school starting next year.
The Huskies started playing football in 1963 at Elkview Junior High until Husky Stadium opened in 1965. The field was dedicated to the late-Joe Eddie Cowley in 2010.
Cowley guided the Herbert Hoover football program as the head coach from 1970-98. He remains one of the winningest coaches in Kanawha County.
Before Hoover, Cowley spent three seasons with the Nitro Wildcats. In all, Cowley posted 163 victories as a head football coach.
The Huskies will welcome the Mingo Central Miners in the final contest at the 57-year-old venue.
“I have been part of the final Matewan and first-ever Mingo Central games. Now, it will be the last one here, then the first one at the new field,” said Herbert Hoover, third-year head football coach Joey Fields. “It is exciting but emotional—fifty-seven years of football on this field and fifty-nine as a whole with next year’s team. There have been a lot of great moments. We have a winning record here of 154-122.
“Four or five NFL players have played on this dirt and grass, and not many other places in West Virginia can say that. It is a special place.”
Fields has been trying to keep his guys laser-focused ahead of tonight’s emotional farewell.
“I tell our guys that they go out there and play hard because that is what they can control,” Fields noted. “People who have not been here in a long time are coming back for this game. I also ask them, “what is the last memory you want to leave these people with?” Through their effort, you do that by representing the scarlet and blue on your pads and jerseys.”
The Huskies are 8-3 all-time at home under Fields. However, Herbert Hoover is 2-2 at home, including winning the last two after dropping the first two. This year’s Huskies team is different than what we saw the first two weeks.
“We are in games every week. We are fighting for our lives,” Fields stated. “They could have easily said, ‘we are 0-2, and we knew how good we were supposed to be. You are supposed to win a state championship.’ They told us last year that we were supposed to win it all, and we did not. They told us that they were writing us off this year but did not. We competed better in practice. We managed it better as a staff. You are playing four quarters against someone in practice one day a week. You get better Monday through Thursday, and then you see where you are on Friday. That has been our biggest focus.”
Hoover’s offense has been fun to watch during its four-game winning streak. The Huskies are averaging 45-points per game following their 0-2 start. Fields credits the support and protection upfront for his offense’s success.
“Our offensive line, as a whole, has gotten better,” Fields stated. “Our line is led by Connor Brinkman and Caden Dotson, along with Brandon Ramos, Kole Johnson, and Alek Harrison. Those guys have gotten better.”
Tonight will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two. Mingo Central leads the all-time series 9-1. However, Hoover captured its first win over the Miners last year, 57-0.
Tonight’s matchup will mean more for Fields since he served on staff at Mingo Central for Yogi Kinder as an offensive coordinator. Fields then became the head coach of the Miners for one season in 2017.