How Philippi’s new semi-pro football team came together

PHILIPPI, W.Va. (WBOY) — Back in January, the fate of the former Alderson Broaddus University (AB) campus in Philippi was still up in the air. Less than six months later, not only has the site reopened as a commercial facility, but one of its tenants is West Virginia’s newest semi-professional football team, the Appalachian Thunder .

“On Christmas Eve we got a group of—small group of 10 guys together, to start the team. From there, we started practicing in January. Main thing is just to make young men better, also be role models for the kids inside the area,” Co-Owner and player Brandin Carr said.

Brandin Carr and Eddie Gannon are the co-owners of the Thunder, which will participate in the Tri-Point Football League , which has teams in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Gannon told 12 News that he had already semi-retired from coaching after four decades of coaching high school football, but decided to jump back in when Carr approached him with the idea of starting a new team.

“It’s just exhilarating, because I’ll tell you, I feel so refreshed as a coach, you know. Once we get on the field we put the owner part aside, you know, I’m just a coach. And being out here and seeing the progress we’re making, week to week, it’s really an exciting time,” Gannon said.

Building a team from the ground up and finding a home takes time, but thanks to support from every corner of the Philippi community including local businesses like Freedom Bank, the team is now ready to make its debut on May 11.

“Chuck Ackerman contacted me out of the blue, and said you know, ‘I’m gonna buy Alderson Broaddus, would you be interested? I heard you have a team, would you be interested in playing in it?’ Well then he got outbid by Craig Phillips and I was able to reach out to Craig and Chuck had already spoken to him and things really just worked out from there,” Gannon said.

Because Elkins businessman Craig Phillips bought the entire campus, everything left by the former university is owned by Phillips’ new organization called Battlers Knob, LLC. With the Thunder as one of its newest tenants, the team is able to not only rent the field but also the football gear and training equipment left by the former university’s team.

Carr and Gannon said that since everything on the property is set up to represent the Alderson Broaddus Battlers, they’re considering changing the team’s name to the Battlers next season to match the field, the equipment and to honor the former team and school community.

Tickets for the team’s inaugural game on May 11 are available to purchase for $10 at the Shop ‘n Save location in Barbour County, the Medallion Restaurant in Philippi, and in all Freedom Bank locations across Upshur, Randolph and Barbour counties. Carr said the team is hoping to make online tickets available soon and that team merchandise will be available at the first game.

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