Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 56F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Cloudy with occasional rain showers. Low 56F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.

Liberty's Logan Dodrill (13) runs for a first down with a Logan defender on his back Sept. 17, 2021, in Glen Daniel.Tina Laney/For The Register-Herald

Liberty's Logan Dodrill (13) runs for a first down with a Logan defender on his back Sept. 17, 2021, in Glen Daniel.Tina Laney/For The Register-Herald

INSTITUTE — In the Logan room at North-South All-Star Classic camp at West Virginia State University — the room of Independence’s Logan Phalin and Liberty’s Logan Dodrill — the talk of the rivalry wasn’t avoided.

No, it came up quickly on day one and has continued.

The duo played key roles in one of Raleigh County’s enduring rivalries over the past four-plus decades.

Now they are getting to know one another a little better as roommates for Saturday’s North-South All-Star Classic at South Charleston’s Oakes Field. The game kicks off at noon.

“There hasn’t really been any beef between us, it’s all love,” Dodrill said. “We’re all down here because we’re good.”

Over the last two seasons each team won a game, on the other’s field, to win the Battle of '76 contest.

And it turns out the two were armed with ammo for one-upping the other.

“Absolutely,” Dodrill said laughing, when asked if the two had discussed the rivalry. “We’ve been pulling up old highlights. Who’s got the better hit. He’s got a highlight of hitting me, I’ve got a highlight of hitting him. We’ve been comparing them.”

In fact, Dodrill had the best game of his career – a career game for anybody, in fact — when he scored four touchdowns in a win at Independence two years ago. That’s four touchdowns in four different ways. Dodrill has been a touchdown scoring machine during his career and he showed he can do it any time he was on the field, that Independence game being a prime example.

“I had a rushing touchdown, a receiving touchdown, an interception return and a special teams touchdown,” Dodrill said. “That was a night to remember, we got the trophy for the Battle of '76. That was a good night for sure.”

He is hoping for an enjoyable time Saturday as well. He has certainly enjoyed the run-up in practice.

“It’s been very enjoyable, two practices a day,” Dodrill said. “A lot of it is just getting back to the grind, being out of the season for a (few) months now. Just getting back into it.”

And he is learning as he goes.

“I’ve learned a lot about other people’s techniques,” Dodrill said. “I’ve been watching these receivers and their different techniques and it’s all new to me. And the other running backs especially.”

Dodrill can do a little of everything, as he showed in that standout game against Independence in 2020. He will also have a chance to win the punting job in camp. But he made his football bones in the backfield last season for the Raiders.

After Independence and Phalin evened the score with a 47-0 win in the opener, followed by a three-week layoff due to Covid-19, Dodrill went off. He rushed for over 200 yards in three of the final eight games and topped 100 in all but one game. He had 14 touchdowns in that span.

He finished the season with 1,163 yards on 192 carries, had four receptions for 114 yards and two touchdowns and he scored 18 total touchdowns and, including his two-point conversions (4), he averaged scoring 12.9 points per contest for the Raiders.

While his roommate Phalin has said he is going to hit the workforce as soon as possible, Dodrill said he has talked to a few college coaches.

“I’ve talked to a few college coaches, but I haven’t quite decided if I do want to go on to the next level or not,” Dodrill said.

He probably won’t score four touchdowns in four different ways Saturday, but Dodrill has some specific goals for the game.

“I plan to score at least one touchdown,” Dodrill said. “I’m probably going to end up being our punter. I’m just going to do the best I can.”

Could he be given the green light to call a fake punt?

“We haven’t talked about that yet, but I might have to,” Dodrill said.

Continuing his tradition as a touchdown machine.

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