A squirrel dashed across the East Hardy Football field during a playoff game and eventually scored a touchdown with Hardy County’s own radio broadcaster Sam Blizzard making the play-by-play.
This was one of the most unique broadcasting moments for Sam Blizzard during his career behind the microphone having called over 300 games for the tri-county area including Hardy County, Grant County and Pendleton County.
“I was doing a football game with Bishop Donahue at East Hardy and a squirrel ran on to the field as I was coming out of a timeout. Both teams stayed on the sidelines and I was doing play-by-play of the critter running down the field,” Sam Blizzard remarked about the funniest moment in broadcasting.
Blizzard enters his eighth season as a sports radio broadcaster this Fall and has been in the booth with WELD for the past six years, the radio station is based here in Hardy County in Fisher.
“I guess just a love of sports initially got me interested in broadcasting. It is a good way to stay close to the teams and the games in the area. I believe the tri-county area is often overlooked on a state wide level when it comes to the quality of teams, players and coaches that we have here. I see it as doing my part to publicize the quality of play in the area be it with a broadcast or the accompanying live audio stream. I strive to paint a picture for the listener describing the sights and sounds of the game that I am covering,” Blizzard commented.
Blizzard does his best to bring the game alive on the radio broadcast sharing the sights and sounds of each contest for the listeners to enjoy.
Blizzard has lived in Hardy County for 20 years this October and has been involved in the community not only as a radio broadcaster, but an avid supporter and coach of youth sports leagues.
Born and raised in Harman, W.Va., Blizzard mentioned there was a limitation on sports during the 1970’s and the only sport offered at Harman High School was basketball.
“Growing up there in the late 70’s there was no ESPN or cable sports on TV. You would get a college game on Saturday and pro football on Sunday afternoon so college and pro sports were not followed as much at that time,” Blizzard noted.
“The local high school was your connection to sports. I remember thinking if I could just wear the uniform and sit on the bench I would be big time. The only sport offered at Harman at that time was basketball so if you wanted to play that’s what you did.”
Blizzard developed his basketball skills in his driveway starting in the third grade using an oak pole with a wooden backboard that had a rim attached.
“That’s where I spent most of my time from about third grade on. Once I got to high school I started three years on the varsity team. We didn’t win a lot, but I would not trade the experience for anything,” Blizzard added.
Blizzard graduated from Harman High School in 1989 and furthered his academic pursuits at Davis and Elkins College earning a degree in Business Management, but initially studied education with a desire to be a physical education teacher during his first year prior to changing majors.
The love of sports never faded for Blizzard as he became a certified coach and returned to his alma mater becoming the varsity girls basketball and junior high head coach at Harman High School during the 1995-96 season.
“The sports fever was too much for me to get away from so I took the coaching course offered by the SSAC in 1995. I went back to Harman to coach the girls varsity and junior high programs for the 1995-1996 season, which happened to be the first year that the girls games were moved from the fall sports season to the winter with the boys,” Blizzard said.
In 1996, Blizzard married Angel Chewning who was a Moorefield graduate and they lived in Bridgewater, Va. for over four years before moving back to West Virginia in October 2000 taking up residence in Moorefield.
Sam Blizzard traveled to Harrisonburg for work for a decade before beginning a position at Allegheny Wood in Petersburg in January 2011 as an export specialist shipping lumber and logs overseas.[private]
This job location freed up time for Blizzard to find a way to get back into sports in some manner.
“I am not much of a talker, but if you get me started on local sports it just comes natural,” Blizzard stated.
The very first broadcast for Blizzard was in the Spring of 2013 working for WQWV radio station, covering a Pendleton County Softball game against Moorefield in Franklin.
Access to the radio station was easier as his wife Angel was managing WQWV in the beginning.
Blizzard ventured into the football season the following Fall with his first broadcast of the gridiron between Moorefield and the Vikings in Petersburg.
In the Fall of 2014, Sam Blizzard joined forces in the broadcast booth with WELD which completed a merger with WQWV.
“My first game on WELD had Moorefield at Frankfort to start the football season,” Blizzard noted.
Blizzard covered a few games for the Logan County radio station WVOW when the state Little League Baseball Tournament was in Petersburg several years back as their Chapmanville team wanted coverage and it worked out to benefit the air waves for the area.
Blizzard called a handful of basketball games for the Hampshire High School radio station WHHS this past winter working alongside student broadcasters and helping his wife who is the broadcast technology teacher at the school.
“It was rewarding working with aspiring broadcast students while getting to see some different teams and players,” Blizzard explained.
There are a plethora of favorite broadcasting memories for Blizzard during his career.
“There have been so many great teams and players over the last few years I could write a book. You have the back-to-back title runs for Moorefield Baseball the last few years. East Hardy’s playoff run in football to the state title game in in 2015 and 2016 years. The size of the crowd for the 2015 Hardy Bowl in Baker. The boys basketball sectional game this year that came down to the last shot and could have really went either way. It’s also fun to watch groups from season to season such as the seniors Moorefield had in girls basketball this year and the girls basketball team East Hardy has a few years back that carried the program for three years,” Blizzard remarked.
Over the seasons of post-game interviews, one of the most famous individuals joining the booth with Blizzard was former West Virginia University Men’s Basketball player and current Notre Dame Catholic High School Boys Basketball coach Jarrod West.
“Moorefield hosted Notre Dame a few years ago, I got to talk to the Irish head coach Jarrod West who played basketball at WVU and hit a 40-foot shot at the buzzer to send WVU to the Sweet 16 in 1998. His starting point guard that night was his son Jarrod West who has been a starting guard at Marshall University (declared for NBA Draft). On a side note, I am blessed to have a group of coaches here who are always willing to help with information on their teams in any way they can,” Blizzard commented.
Blizzard’s love of sports has grown exponentially to the extent that he gathers the information shared by the coaches for an annual football preview book for the entire Mountain State.
When asked what the funniest quote that was shared on the radio, Blizzard remembered the following experience: “As the 2015 Moorefield versus Pendleton County Football game was going into overtime, I remember saying ‘if you are listening and not here, find a spot to park your Pinto and come on in for what should be a great finish.’”
How special is it sharing the live updates of the games on the radio and to promote the youth of this area?
“I like to think that I am there to bring the sights and sounds of the game to people who can’t be there. This may be for someone who is listening for a particular team, to hear a relative in the game or in a broader sense, to bring information from all parts of the state in to the broadcast. When I correspond with broadcasters outside the area, I always strive to point out the talent that is here,” Blizzard said.
How proud are you to be the Voice of Hardy County and surrounding counties bringing the sports to life on the radio?
“It’s nice, but I put all of the focus back on the teams. I am always ready to talk local sports and I try to stay up to date on everything as much as possible to sound like I know what I am talking about. I am truly honored when someone takes a few hours out of a day to listen to a broadcast,” Blizzard added.
Are rivalry games the most electrifying or fun contests to cover?
“They are great no doubt. When East Hardy and Moorefield get together you can feel the intensity with the players, the coaches and the fans no matter the sport. They could play checkers and have the rivalry come out. When you mix in the rivalries the two teams share with Petersburg and Pendleton County it makes for a lot of fun and great radio,” Blizzard exclaimed.
How much does emotion play in broadcasting?
“It’s huge, but I am careful not to overdo it to the point of showing bias. You never know who may be listening. I consider it a privilege to cover the Cougars and the Yellow Jackets as well as Pendleton County and Petersburg and all of the local teams. I think the day I don’t feel the emotion of the games or rivalries will be the day I step aside and hand the headset over to someone else,” Blizzard noted.
What was the biggest game or championship you have covered in your career?
“That is too close to call I believe. There are so many that stand out for one reason or another. The 2015 football playoff run does jump out. Moorefield entered the playoffs at No. 4 and East Hardy was No. 2 which meant they could potentially play in the state title game. I remember the talk of the county was the possibility of that happening. Week one passed and the dream was still there. Week two was done and there was still a shot. Both teams made it to the semifinals with East Hardy advancing on to the title game while Moorefield lost a heartbreaker to the eventual state champion Magnolia by a score of 13-7 on a cold rainy day in New Martinsville,” Blizzard commented.
In sports there is the strength of teamwork and Blizzard has built a bond with other broadcasters sharing the booth during games throughout his career.
“I have been blessed to share broadcasts with many great people over the years. This makes it truly entertaining and enjoyable,” Blizzard concluded.
Signing off from the radio broadcast, Blizzard finishes with the following words: “Good night, God bless and thanks for listening to high school (enter sport here) on WELD.”[/private]