Head Coach Matt Lacy competes during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday. 
Kirk Black competes during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday. 
Jack Grushecky competes during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday. 
Caleb Neer (left), Broderick Washington, Aiden Shipley and Ethan Hagan competes during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday. 
Lukas Proctor competes during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday. 
Players compete during the Hot Wing challenge on Tuesday.
WESTOVER, W.Va. — A jam-packed Colasante’s Ristorante & Pub played host to a battle of wits before the Morgantown High football team travels to Parkersburg to open its season against the Big Reds on Aug. 30.
It was a true test of stamina, grit and endurance, and more importantly, a chance to earn bragging rights for the next year between players and coaches in the second wing-eating contest.
There were four periods at five minutes each — freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and coaches competed against each other. The coaching staff was looking for revenge after falling to the seniors last year. According to the most, defensive coordinator Matt Kelly brought the team down following a 15-wing performance.
“That one was my bad,” Kelly said.
Kelly outdid his performance from last year by one, finishing with 16, and head coach Matt Lacy polished off 25.
However, it wasn’t enough for the coaches to take home the trophy. The junior team of Cam Rice, Logan McDonald, Kirk Black and Kyle Hawkins finished with a whopping 85 wings between the four of them, led by 27 from Rice. Freshmen Dean Pownall, Hank Marlin, Eli Stahara and Alex Home finished second with 78 wings, while coaches Lacy, Kelly, Sammy Lusk and Jace Neville came in third with 74.
While Lacy held up his end of the bargain, the small trash talk all week didn’t pay off in the end.
“We joked about the fun stuff and that we had the old man experience that we’ve got on them,” he said. “Some of them think it’s really easy, but then when you get into about four or five minutes, you realize just how hard it is. The hardest thing is that the wings come out so temperature hot. They aren’t spicy hot, but they come right out of the fryer. Just to keep eating those things … it can get rough.”
All of the wings were in mild sauce, and co-owner Cindy Colasante, who is the head cheerleading coach at MHS, said that hundreds of wings are prepared for the contest. They are purchased through donations from the restaurant, community and vendor donations, as well as parent contributions.
“They asked us last year if we would be interested in doing this with them, and for us, it’s a good promotional opportunity to have all of these families and kids in our restaurant, but it’s also a team-building activity,” Colasante said. “We liked the idea and thought it was unique, so we thought, ‘Why not?’ ”
The original idea formed as a joke last year, according to Lacy, after coaches and players started getting after each other on social media about who could eat the most wings. It became a reality when a few realized that it was a good way for the team to get together before the grind of the season.
“It evolved into this whole thing and we were able to put it together,” Lacy said. “We are able to raise a little bit of money for the program and are having a lot of fun while doing it.”
