Fred Persinger
Verified- Radio Sports Announcer/ MetroNews Affiliate Relations Director, West Virginia MetroNews
- Operations Manager, WJLS-FM (Beckley, WV)
Beckley
Radio sports announcer for the MetroNews Networks-Host of GAMENIGHT and many other statewide shows. I love the Lord -& my special family! All is good!
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Articles by Fred Persinger
Bluefield Man Arrested in Clarksburg on Multiple Felony Charges
CLARKSBURG, W.Va. — A Bluefield man wanted on multiple felony charges was apprehended Monday in Clarksburg. According to authorities, 50-year-old Gary Eugene Wilson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service near 215 West Main Street. Wilson was wanted by the Hinton Police Department on charges including attempting to commit a felony punishable by life in prison, wanton endangerment involving a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, and escape from custody.
Wyoming County Man Convicted on Child Pornography Charge
WYOMING COUNTY, WV — Wyoming County Prosecuting Attorney Derek Laxton announced that Ronald Jackson “Poncho” Sinecoff, 53, of Pineville, has been convicted of possessing child pornography. Sinecoff faces a potential sentence of not less than five nor more than 20 years in prison. He will also be required to register as a sex offender for life. The conviction stems from an investigation conducted by Sgt. Tyler Sizemore of the Wyoming County Sheriff’s Office. After obtaining a search warrant, Sgt.
CAMC Mobile Mammography Unit Coming to Beckley
BECKLEY — Screening mammograms remain one of the most effective tools for the early detection of breast cancer, and Vandalia Health’s Charleston Area Medical Center is working to make those screenings more accessible. CAMC’s mobile mammography unit will be parked at the CAMC Cancer Center in Beckley, located at 275 Dry Hill Road, on Wednesdays beginning January 14, and continuing on January 21 and January 28. Screenings will be available from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day.
Missing Mercer County Man Found Dead; Investigation Underway
An investigation is underway after the body of a Mercer County man who had been reported missing was found Sunday. The Mercer County Sheriff’s Office confirms the body of thirty-three-year-old Travis DeGraw has been located. Chief Deputy Major J.J. Ruble says the investigation is ongoing and no additional information is being released at this time. DeGraw was reported missing after last being seen December 26th in the Nubbins Ridge area near Spanishburg.
Princeton Woman Arrested After Alleged Robbery, Altercation With Elderly Resident
A Princeton woman is facing multiple charges following a reported robbery and altercation at a Mercer County residence. According to court documents, Thirty-five-year-old April Piersall was arrested December 27 after police were called to a home on Brown Street just after 1 p.m. for a reported robbery in progress. Authorities say an unknown woman was outside the residence demanding keys to a vehicle parked on the property, claiming it belonged to her.
Hinton man arrested after allegedly threatening to kill sister and father during domestic incident
HINTON — A Hinton man was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly threatening to kill his sister and father during a violent domestic disturbance, according to police. At around 11:30 a.m. on October 7, 2025, Patrolman K. Higginbotham of the Hinton Police Department responded to a 911 call reporting an active domestic situation at a home on Maple Street in Summers County. When officers arrived, they met a female victim who appeared visibly upset.
Lewisburg woman charged with child neglect; drug distribution items found
A Lewisburg woman is facing charges after police say she abandoned her 14-year-old daughter at Walmart and was later found with items tied to drug distribution. According to a criminal complaint, officers were called around 2 a.m. on September 26 after reports that the girl had been left alone. She told deputies her mother, 38-year-old Lola May Curfman, had left her at the store for an extended period.
Three #2 Seeds = Three State Championships!
Sometimes in life, the timing is just not right! Take for example, the 2021 Super Six Championships.
The Super Six Will Feature Six Deserving Teams!
That very special weekend in high school football is just about here…..the weekend when six high school footballs teams from around the state, who have survived a grueling regular season and three playoff games, will now have a chance at that elusive state championship.
All Is Well With Ones and Twos in the Playoffs!
We have reached the semi-final round of the 2022 High School Football Playoffs and in each class, the three teams that started down the playoff road as #1 seeds and the three teams that began that same journey as the #2 seeds are still alive and just one step away from the big show in Wheeling December 2nd and 3rd! As expected, a couple of games that were played in the quarter-finals last weekend, were classics! And, ironically, they were both in the Class AA classification and featured two...
And Then, There Were 24!
What a tremendous weekend of high school football we had the pleasure of experiencing this past Thursday, Friday and Saturday! There were some “surprises” as always and the weather, sad to say, felt like autumn was gone and winter had arrived. Forty eight teams experienced the excitement and fun of the first week of the playoffs and the twenty four that won and are moving on to the quarter-finals will provide us with a great deal of excitement this coming weekend.
From 111 to 48 - And 3 State Titles Await!
When the final horn sounded this past Saturday afternoon on the Martinsburg game, the 2022 regular season officially came to a close. And now, for 48 teams, the “second season” will get underway this weekend and heading into the playoffs all teams are (0-0)! With the start of the 2022 playoff schedule, we have a bevy of new faces that have played their way into the second season.
Some Very Important Games Among The 53 in Week #11!
And, away we go with week eleven and the final week of the 2022 WV High School Football regular season! A total of just ten teams wrapped up the regular season last week and that means we have 52 games being played across the state this weekend in what will be the final regular season games for the 2022 school year! Among those 52 games are several teams that need a win, either to make the playoffs or to afford themselves a better seed in the playoff field which begins one week from this...
Regular Season Closes for Nine Teams this Weekend!
Week #10…..where has the time gone? This Friday night, of the 111 teams that play high school football in WV, 9 of them will bring their 2022 regular season to a close. And, of those nine teams, four will also turn in their gear because making the playoffs is out of the question.
Week #9.....'21 vs. '22!
For those of you keeping track, the 2022 high school football season is flying by as we enter week #9 of regular season play this weekend! Sometimes, it is just fun to look back to last year and see where we would be standing if the championship games were being played this weekend! Last year’s championship games featured Huntington and Martinsburg in Class AAA with Martinsburg winning.
Week #7 Is Here and Comparisons Can Be Fun!
As we get set to head into week number seven of the 2022 High School Football season, we are headed into that time of the year when winning is very important! If you take a look back at the teams that were in the football playoffs last year, Class AAA is almost a mirror image of 2021, while Class AA and Class A, at this point, have a lot of new faces seemingly headed to the playoffs for 2022.
A Respectful Number of Undefeated Teams!
With week #5 of the high school football season now officially in the books, we have only six more weeks of the regular season left to be played! And, with that said, we have a respectful number of undefeated teams remaining, especially in Class A. Looking at the specific numbers, in Class AAA there are only two teams still undefeated through week #5 and they are Parkersburg South (5-0) and Spring Valley (4-0).
Halfway Mark Coming Up - Still 25 Teams Undefeated!
I know, we say it every year, but the high school football season is really flying by! It almost seems impossible, but after play this weekend, more than half of the teams that play high school football in WV will have played five of their allotted ten games! And, as we near the half way point of the season, we still have 25 teams that are undefeated. There are 5 teams in Class AAA……7 in Class AA….and 13 in Class A.
3-0 Is A Magical Start!
With the 3rd week of the 2022 high school football season in the books, we find a number of teams off to a perfect 3-0 start and for some, it’s something they have not experienced in quite a while. Even more exciting, one team has never started a football season at 3-0 until this year! Let’s break it down by classification beginning with Class A and that is where we find the team in unchartered territory.
Heading Into Week Three, 36% Of Teams Still Undefeated!
High School football in WV is off and running with two weeks of the regular season already in the books! And, in those first two weeks, we have seen tons of scoring with a lot of teams putting 40 points on the scoreboard…..many teams lighting the scoreboard with 50 points…..several teams lighting the scoreboard up for 60 points and, a few teams have even reached towering heights by putting up more than 70 points! And, as one might expect, with that many points scored, a number of teams have...
As Expected, Friday Night Lights Were Bright in Week One!
Week number one of the 2022 H. S.
Let The Games Begin!!!!!
Is there really any better time of the year?
2021 Super Six - Great Games, Even Better Weather!
The 2021 Super Six in Wheeling did not disappoint! However, after everything we all went through in 2020, just finding out the games were going to be played was certainly the best news of all! Once again, the Super Six Committee did not disappoint! The wonderful men and women that are a part of this Super Six Super Group do an unbelievable job every year of putting the kids first.
2021 Super Six - #1 vs. #2 - #2 vs. #16 - #4 vs. #6
It is finally here….that very special week that generally falls around the first few days of December….and considering what 2020 was like for high school football fans in WV, this very special week in 2021 has been a long time coming! We certainly don’t have the time to go over every disappointment that was generated in 2020 because of COVID! However, when we do stop and reflect back on some of those, certainly the many wonderful residents of the Mountain State who lost their lives because of...
2021 Proves Numbers Mean Very Little!
#1, #2, #3, #5, #2, #5, #14, #16, #2, #4, #6, #8……those are the seeding numbers of the 12 teams remaining in the hunt for three State Championship football trophies! The classification that came the closest to the top seeds advancing is Class AAA where #1 Huntington (12-0), #2 Martinsburg (11-1), #3 Bridgeport (12-0) and #5 Cabell Midland (11-1) have advanced to the semifinals that will be played this weekend.
2021 Seedings Are A Little Misleading!!!
It always happens……there is always an “upset” or two in the first round of the high school football playoffs! However, in 2021 there were six! Six games in which the “favorite” came up on the short end when the final score was posted on the scoreboard! Running down those upsets, we had one in Class AAA when #9 George Washington went on the road to Fairlea and upset #8 Greenbrier East 21-7.
48 For 6! - WV MetroNews
The second season has begun for the top 48 teams in the state and that number will start to rapidly shrink when playoff play begins this Friday night! And, it will be an exciting weekend of high school football this Friday and Saturday as several key games are slated! We begin in Class A where most of the games (2 of 8) will be played on Saturday. The only two Friday night games in Class A include #12 Sherman traveling to Welch to take on #5 Mt. View.
Last Week of the Regular Season and 51 Games!
Ten weeks down and just this one final week remains in the regular season of high school football in WV! I can remember many times over the past several years when we reached the last week of the regular season, the number of games played on that final weekend would be far less than 51! But the reasons why this year are easy to figure out! Once again, it is that dreaded word Covid that has caused so many teams to be playing the final week of the regular season.
Two Weeks To Go, And Still A Lot of Ifs!
As we enter week number ten of the high school football season, we have a lot of teams wondering if they will have football to play after November 6th! As we all know, 2021 has not been nearly as bad as 2020, however this year and this football season has certainly had it’s ups and downs. Let’s begin with something we have all known from the start – the number of games a team must play in order to be eligible for post-season play is eight. That number was relayed from the SSAC to schools early on.
Week #8 - Who's Probably In & Who's Probably Out! - WV MetroNews
With week #7 officially in the scorebooks and Covid 19 or 20 or whatever number you want to use still playing havoc with some teams, the playoff field of sixteen is starting to play itself out. With teams still having four weeks remaining in the regular season, there is time available for those teams that are currently on the outside of that field of sixteen to turn things around and put some wins on the scorebook.
Week #4 Brings SSAC Rankings and Big Time Games!
Is this possible? Week #4 in the 2021 high school football season is already here which means we are very close to the halfway point of the year! And, as we enter week #4, it has certainly been a trying season for a lot of the teams around the Mountain State.
Fred Persinger: WV needs the Local Radio Freedom Act (Opinion)
Congress recently stood up for economic growth and the future of West Virginia’s local radio stations by introducing the Local Radio Freedom Act, a resolution that states Congress should not add new and costly fees for playing music on radio airplay. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that all the state’s representatives are co-sponsors of the Local Radio Freedom Act, and its two U.S. senators, Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, have supported it in years past.
Super Six or Super Four?
The high school football championships are less than two weeks away and still a lot of questions remain! But, before we look ahead, let’s take a quick look back! Last weekend, the quarter-finals were much like the 1st round with several games lacking opponents! In Class AAA, only one game was actually played out of the possible four.
First Round of Playoffs: 12-12!!
Last weekend, the 2020 high school football playoffs got underway and once again it was the Coronavirus making the headlines.
Typical 2020 - 24 Playoff Games - 12 Could End in Forfeit!!
It is a weekend that almost wasn’t and even though the matchups for the first round of the football playoffs are set, we could be looking at half of the games never kicking off! It is certainly no secret Governor Jim Justice toyed with the idea last week of cancelling all post season play in high school sports.
It's Time For A Big Pat on the Back!
It certainly is no secret, 2020 has been a very lamentable year! However, high school athletics is much like show business…..and that is, the show must go on! This year, more so than any other, Athletic Directors around the state have been busier than ever just trying to give their high school football players and coaches a game each week.
Covid Continues To Reign Supreme!
As we enter week #9 of the high school football season this week, one thing is for certain……the playoff field is going to look unlike anything we have seen since the number of playoff teams was increased to sixteen back in 1991! One major change in the playoff field, because of the coronavirus, is the number of games a team must play in order to be eligible to compete! That number has always been 8….this year, the number of games a team must play to be eligible is 4! And, some teams have...
Covid Map Strikes Again.....How Many More??
I am confident I was with the majority this past Saturday evening at 5p when I ventured on to the website of the WV Board of Education to check out the Covid 19 colored map! For you see, that colorful map of West Virginia is our go to……it is the piece of document we all check just so we will know what the following week will be like.
Six Weeks Down - With Fingers Crossed, Four Weeks to Go!!
Last Wednesday night (October 7th), WVSSAC Executive Director Bernie Dolin was gracious enough to appear on High School Sportsline and I thought his most profound statement was “we plan to start the football playoffs on time”! That would mean we have four weeks left in the regular season, already shortened by one week, and the playoffs will begin Friday, November 13th! The head man at the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission also said the decision on how many games a team must...
It's Time For Steam Release!!
As we enter week #6 of the 2020 High School Football season, I want to write about a subject that is, without question, very frustrating! That subject is all encompassing as we talk about Covid 19, the daily infection rate, the positive cases in relation to 100,000 and that brightly colored map that is filled with green, yellow, gold and orange! Just thankful this week there is no red! Please let me say I am not a doctor or nurse or any type of health care expert! I am thrilled I do not have...
What A Difference One Week Can Make......
Green 39 – Yellow 10 – Gold 4 – Orange 2 – Red 0! I’m certain all of you know what those colors and numbers mean I’m also certain you know the numbers, along with their corresponding colors, indicate what we all saw this past Saturday evening at 5p when the new map was released by the WV Board of Education! For those of you without school age children, these updated colors simply mean beginning this week, there will be more students in actual classrooms and they will be taught by actual...
Gov. Justice Puts His Nose Where His Mouth Is On Testing
West Virginia is doing a better job testing for Covid-19 than most of the country. The DHHR dashboard said as of yesterday there have been 525,236 confirmed laboratory test results. That is the equivalent of 29.4 percent of the state’s population. That is slightly better than the national average of 28.6 percent and better than any of our surrounding states. However, Governor Jim Justice and his top health advisors say the amount of testing still needs to increase significantly.
MetroNews Power Rankings - 3 New #1's - WV MetroNews
As we traverse through 2020, everywhere we look, something new and very different is happening in just about every walk of life, and I am very certain it’s not always good and well received! This calendar year of 2020 has been one we would all at times like to forget, however we still have over three glorious months to get through! As we get set to enter week #4 of the high school football season, which if not for Covid 19, would be week #5, we find ourselves looking at something else that is...
A Lot of Extra Miles - Thanks Covid 19!
As we enter week #3 of the 2020 High School Football season, the biggest effect the coronavirus has had on high school football teams in WV has been several teams have yet to play a single game! The orange and red colors have so far derailed the start of the season for many large and small schools in the state including seven teams that competed in last year’s football playoffs! For several other teams, their seasons were started and now have been put on pause because of beginning the season...
Remembering Our Generation's Pearl Harbor
(Editor’s note: This is a slightly updated version of a commentary I posted a few years ago on the anniversary of 9/11.) Has it really been 19 years since the September 11th attacks? Just consider that this year’s college seniors cannot remember watching live as the World Trade Towers burned and collapsed. Perhaps for them, and those who will come afterward, it will be as it was for us and Pearl Harbor.
Common Sense....Where Did It Go?
Seemingly every day, we are finding something new and different concerning the coronavirus. And, I know, I have heard it thousands of times…..the coronavirus is new….we have never seen anything like it and we don’t have a play book that tells us what to do! While all of that is true, it still leaves me wondering, when did we as proud Mountaineers forget about using some plain and simple common sense?
High School Football in 2020 - All About the Colors!
I know we all remember in years gone by, when we would talk about high school football, it was all about the x’s and o’s…..the Jimmy’s and Joe’s……and the wins and losses! Well, here we are in 2020 (a year we will never forget) and it seems as if we must now include colors…..four to be exact! We have green….yellow…..orange and red! Green is good…..yellow is ok…..orange is ok, but not really….and, red is stop! Also, we only really have to worry about the colors at 9pm on Saturdays! Because...
Southern Report: Week 4 - WV MetroNews
— By Fred Persinger GAMES TO WATCH CLASS AAA No. 11 Huntington (1-1) at No. 15 Woodrow Wilson (1-2) When: Friday at 7:30 p.m. Last week: Huntington was edged against George Washington, 31-30. Beckley lost to Parkersburg, 35-6. Why is this game important: For Huntington, it’s a chance to bounce back after the tough and surprising loss to George Washington. With the remainder of the Highlanders’ games against teams that could factor into the Class AAA playoffs, this game becomes even more important.
What Have We Learned in Just Two Weeks?
Hard to believe, but this weekend we head into week #3 of the 2016 high school football season, and after just two weeks of play about the only thing we have learned is we can all expect the usual suspects when the playoff field starts to form! In the MetroNews Weekly Power Rankings, we find Martinsburg, Huntington, Morgantown, Spring Valley and Capital.
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