BECKLEY, WVa- The old saying goes, “just leave it all out on the field.”
After the conclusion of Fridays’, Sept. 1 football game between Greenbrier East and Beckley, the Spartans did just that.
East lost 42-39 to the Flying Eagles at Van Meter Stadium in Beckley, but the entertainment that both teams provided made this one a game for the history books.
A series that has been played for decades, the Spartans and Eagles do not have very kind feelings for each other, and this game was a perfect example as to why.
“What an exciting game. A great game to be a part of as a player, Coach and a spectator, that’s what Friday night football should look like,” head coach Ray Lee said postgame.
Woodrow (2-0) opened with an onside kick that caught East by surprise and the Eagles’ Andre Thomas jumped on it for Beckley. They then used their wishbone style offense to move down the field, and the opening series was finished off with a 6-yard touchdown from Elijah Redfern and a 7-0 Beckley lead with 9:40 left in the first quarter.
Beckley’s Ja’Marques Manns sacked East QB Brody Hamric to stall the ensuing drive for East, and the Eagles took the ball right back, but a missed field goal from Tyler Radford kept East down just one score.
However, two possessions later, Woodrow struck again. Konnor Ray rumbled for eight yards and three plays later, Elijah Waller scooted for 24 more. On the drive’s sixth play, Redfern scored his second TD of the night, and Beckley led 14-0 with just 1:03 left in the opening quarter.
East started with good field position at the Eagles 49-yard line on the following series, but on the second play, Hamric was intercepted by MJ Staples. Then, the very next play saw Redfern, again, get loose for a 40-yard touchdown catch on the final play of the quarter and Woodrow Wilson held a commanding 21-0 lead, and it looked as if the blowout was coming to the East side pf the stadium.
Actually, it was anything but.
The Spartans (0-2) showed their big-play capability on their next possession. On third-and-15 and needing something positive to happen, Hamric dropped back and hit tight end Grant Burdette with a 68-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field, and East got what they needed at that moment and trimmed the deficit to 21-7 with 10:25 remaining in the first half.
Photo by Melissia Olczak: Brody Hamric awaits the snap.
But just as the momentum pendulum was beginning to swing towards the Spartans, Beckley’s Waller returned the ensuing kick 81 yards for a score, and just like that, the Eagles were back up by three scores, 28-7.
East then went into their long, methodical drive playbook. They chewed up some clock, ran 11 plays, and Hamric found Nate Suttle on a fourth-and-long for a 39-yard touchdown reception where Suttle snuck out of the back field and then broke four tackles along the way, and at that point, East trailed 28-14 with 3:48 left in the half.
After the East defense came up big on a fourth down stop on Beckley’s next possession, the offense went back to work and picked up where they left off. Hamric hit Kaden Stone for a 23-yard completion on the fourth play of the drive. Two plays later, Hamric found Suttle down the middle again, this time for a 16-yard score, and East cut the Woodrow lead to 28-20 after the missed PAT.
Woodrow tried a couple of hail mary’s to end the half, but a big sack from Sam Wright halted those efforts at the beginning of the possession, so the score stayed the same heading to halftime and the Spartans had every ounce of momentum.
“I am very proud of our team’s effort. They showed great resilience and perseverance by not showing any quit. Being down 3 scores in the first quarter they could’ve easily thrown in the towel, but they didn’t and kept fighting back,” Lee stated.
However, sometimes momentum switches, and switches quickly. That happened at the opening kickoff of the second half when Staples fielded the ball and darted 65 yards to paydirt for a Woodrow touchdown, and just 10 seconds into the third quarter, the Eagles went ahead 35-20.
“They (WW) played a good game we had those breakdowns on special teams that we gotta get fixed,” Lee explained.
The Spartans then decided to strike again in their own way. Hamric hit Abram Wickline with a 9-yard pass for a key fourth down conversion, then a couple plays later found Stone wide open in the corner of the end zone for a TD, and East trimmed the deficit back to nine points at 35-26.
Waller then answered again when he took a handoff, waited for his block then exploded through the line for a 43-yard touchdown run and a 42-26 advantage for Woodrow with 4:35 left in the third.
East’s offense stalled on their next series, so their defense stepped up to be the offense shortly thereafter. With the Eagles back to punt, Carter Hamilton got through to block the punt and Wickline pounced on it in the end zone for a spartan score. After that sequence, East trailed 42-33 with 11:54 left in the game.
Suttle scored on a 2-yard run with 45 seconds left in the contest, but Owen Romero’s onside kick was recovered by the Eagles, and East’s resilient effort fell just short.
East had 326 yards of total offense. Hamric threw 253 of those to go along with four touchdowns and a couple interceptions. Stone had three catches for 75 yards, Suttle (57 rush yards, TD) had three for 57 and two TD’s, and Burdette had four receptions for 97 yards including his 68-yard touchdown catch.
“We will continue to work hard and keep improving each day we show up to practice and we will continue to get better,” Lee concluded.
Beckley racked up 199 yards on the ground and was led by Waller’s 93 yards and a score. Redfern had 87 yards receiving, three touchdowns, and an interception on defense.
East’s Sam Wright was named the McDonald’s player of the game. He had two sacks and a tackle for loss that eventually set up the blocked punt for a touchdown.
East will stay in Spartan Stadium next Friday night, Sept. 8, and will host the Bluefield Beavers in their home opener. Bluefield lost to Princeton 27-6 this evening (Friday, Sept. 1).
Stats courtesy of 103.1, WRON.
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