POINT PLEASANT, WV- The Greenbrier East Spartans began the 2023 campaign as road warriors and made the long trek to Point Pleasant on Friday, August 25 after a long-awaited season opener and a successful fall practice camp.
Honestly, not knowing what to expect with East being such a young team, the Spartans did a lot of good things they can build on even though they suffered a 26-7 setback to the Big Blacks.
“We played a very good Point Pleasant Football team,” coach Ray Lee said after the game.
“Our guys played well and just came up a little short in the end,” he added.
East (0-1) took the ball first and quarterback Brody Hamric got sacked on the very first play of the night and lost a quick five yards. However, two plays later, he hit Grant Burdette in stride for a 12-yard pickup, then Nate Suttle converted a fourth down into a new set of downs for East. After another 7-yard pitch-and-catch to Burdette, Hamric and Suttle mishandled the football exchange and Point Pleasant jumped on the ball and took over.
With the great field position for Point Pleasant (1-0), East buckled down and stepped up on defense. With a fourth-and-two and a chance to steal momentum early, Brody Bowen took a pitch to the left and tried to get to the outside, but Burdette, Aiden Cole, and Weston Pence were there to meet him behind the line and East forced a crucial turnover on downs.
However, the Big Blacks would stand firm, and then their offense finally got going. A 10-yard run from Bowen and a 13-yarder from Nathan Bentz got them off and running early. Then Bentz scrambled for 23 yards down the sideline to set up a first-and-goal. The very next play, Bowen went straight up the middle, capped the six-play, 62-yard drive, and scored on a 7-yard run. Alex Shrader did miss the extra point, but the Big Blacks led 6-0 with 11:49 left in the first half.
Needing to rest up the defense, the Spartans then went ball control and succeeded. After eight consecutive runs to start the series, Hamric then found Kaden Stone wide open down the seam for a 34-yard gain. Two plays later, Carter Hamilton found the end zone from four yards away, and the Spartans took a 7-6 lead after Owen Romero’s extra point. The drive went 12 plays and 80 yards.
“The positives were seeing the confidence in our young players and watching them develop and grow up quick. Over half of our offense and defense was their first start in a varsity football game,” Lee said.
Cole came up with back-to-back sacks to end the first half, as East went into the locker room ahead 7-6.
Things turned a bit in the second half, and Big Blacks signal caller Jason Hughes was a big reason why. Following some positive runs for seven straight plays, Hughes hit Bentz for 25 yards. The next play, Hughes used a fake handoff QB keeper to race into the end zone on an 8-yard TD run. East blocked the extra point, and Point Pleasant held a 12-7 lead with 7:19 left in the third quarter.
On their next possession, Hughes went off and running again. It took just two plays to go 60 yards as Hughes got loose on another keeper play and went 53-yards to paydirt for a 19-7 Point Pleasant advantage.
A scare left the stadium quiet in the fourth. After Hamric sat out a handful of plays after getting dinged up, he came back in the game. But, on the Big Blacks possession with 5:41 left in the contest, Hughes scrambled for a first down but landed awkwardly and immediately grabbed his right leg. After about a 10-minute delay, emergency personnel were finally able to load him up on the stretcher and carry him off the field. Currently, we do not have an update on his status, but here at the WVDN, we hope for nothing but good news for the Point Pleasant QB.
Bentz added a 1-yard run late to cap the scoring, and a Big Blacks victory, but the Spartans never quit and played until the final whistle. This Spartan team is going to be fun to follow for the remainder of the season.
“We want to work on getting our players to move on from the last play and not dwell on mistakes or their big plays. Don’t know if it could have changed the results, but it would’ve been a closer game which would’ve given us a chance to possibly win the game,” Lee explained.
Point pleasant had 13 first downs in the game and East had 10.
Hamric went 9-for-20 for 127 yards in his first career start. The sophomore showed some poise and maturity and will only improve from here forward.
“Hamric played with a lot of poise and did the things he was coached on, really stepping into the leadership role as our QB,” Lee stated.
Burdette, who had four catches all last season, was Hamric’s favorite target with six receptions for 62 yards.
East finished with 173 total yards.
Hughes had 11 carries for 70 yards and two scores before his injury.
East goes to Beckley on Friday, September 1 for a battle with the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles. Woodrow (1-0) defeated Riverside 38-13 in their opening game.
RUSHING- GE- Hamilton 11-16, Hamric 6-12, Suttle 12-25, Stone 1-(-9) PP- Bowen 14-46, Bentz 8-55, Hughes 11-70, Marrero 3-11, Hill 1-(-7), Schoon 2-7
PASSING- GE- Hamric 9-20, 127 PP- Hughes 1-4, 25
RECEIVING- GE- Burdette 6-62, Stone 1-34, Suttle 2-31 PP- Bentz 1-25
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