CHARMCO – For a moment, it looked like James Monroe might be on their way to an 8-0 halftime lead in a game that mattered to most Class A football fans statewide. Moments can be fleeting, however, and Greenbrier West answered the adversity with aplomb. You might even call it a bomb. Whatever your description, the Cavaliers erased the 8-point deficit with a monster kickoff return and a 2-play, 59-yard drive that took exactly 22 seconds to execute. Greenbrier West 8, James Monroe 8 at the break with momentum on the Cavaliers’ side. Greenbrier West would ride that momentum into the second half to defeat the co-#1 rated Mavericks 25-8.
Although these two schools know each other all too well, a feeling out process took place between the squads for the bigger part of the first quarter. Each team poked and prodded at the other to find something that would work effectively. James Monroe started the game with a three-and-out series that saw quarterback Layton Dowdy scrambling under heavy pressure from the Cavalier front four. West started at the midfield stripe but could only generate one first down before turning the ball over on downs.
On James Monroe’s second possession, Dowdy made his playmaking ability known with a couple of completions to Chaz Boggs that kept the Maverick drive alive. Dowdy first connected with Boggs for 23 yards and a big third down conversion. An incidental facemask call against West added five yards to the gain, putting the Mavericks at the Cavalier 40-yard line with a first down. Next, it was a fourth down scramble and pass that Dowdy was able to narrowly complete to Boggs that advanced James Monroe to the Cavalier 25-yard line. From that point, West’s defense came to life and strung out two Maverick ball carriers. Facing third and ten, Maverick head coach John Mustain elected to roll Dowdy to his right, a concept they were having some success with. Greenbrier West defensive coordinator Jared Robertson dialed up a Jake Pate blitz off the Cavaliers’ right edge. Pate burst into the Maverick backfield, tracking Dowdy down from behind for a nine-yard sack and forcing the Mavericks to punt.
James Monroe’s punt would skirt into the endzone, giving West the ball at their own 20-yard line, but the Mavericks had shifted field position in their favor. With 80 yards ahead of them, West tried to go to work. A seven-yard keeper by Cole Vandall was followed by two Pate carries that netted one yard each, and that was followed by the buzzer that ended the first quarter. With the game scoreless through one quarter, the Cavaliers would try to convert a dangerous fourth and one from their own 29-yard line when the second quarter commenced.
After switching ends of the field, the Cavaliers lined up in the “I” formation to attempt to convert on fourth down. A false start, however, thwarted Cavalier plans to go for it before they could try. Isaac Agee, who had attempted only three punts all season, lined up deep to receive the snap. As the ball was snapped, it launched high over Agee’s outstretched arms and bounded into the endzone. Agee turned and gave chase, as did at least four Maverick defenders. Agee scooped up the loose ball and tried to run out of the endzone. After eluding the first tackler, Agee went down in the grasp of Gavin French, scoring a team safety for the Mavericks. As luck would have it, the safety was probably the best of the worst-case scenarios that could’ve played out. The Mavericks led 2-0 with 11:52 remaining in the first half.
Agee would get to display his leg on the next play, a free kick to James Monroe. Agee’s kick soared through the Charmco sky, sailing over both deep returners for the Mavericks. Ryan Mann finally tracked down Agee’s kick at the Maverick 16-yard line. Mann managed an 11-yard return before he was buried under an avalanche of Cavalier kick coverage.
The teams would again trade possessions with James Monroe punting followed by a turnover on downs by Greenbrier West. Starting at their own 44-yard line, the Mavericks stayed committed to their running game. Mixing carries by Cooper Ridgeway and Frederick Parker, James Monroe advanced the ball to the Cavalier 17-yard line in eight plays. A series of strategic timeouts ensued, one by James Monroe followed by two more by Greenbrier West. The chess match between the coaching staffs was helping to create high drama. When the time outs ceased, the Mavericks converted a crucial first down on a Dowdy quarterback keep as time was winding down in the half. One more carry by Parker set the Mavericks up to try a little deception. Dowdy opened to his right and faked a pitch to Ridgeway, then reversed direction and rolled toward the James Monroe sideline. Boggs, lined up as wing on the right side, fanned out of the backfield to his right, then broke for the left corner of the endzone. Dowdy lofted a pass into the corner that Boggs gathered up for a 10-yard touchdown. Now up 8-0 with only :31 remaining in the first half, Peyton Gardinier had a chance to give the Mavericks a two-score advantage heading into the halftime break. This is where the drama really began to unfold. Gardinier’s point after attempt sailed wide-right, keeping the Cavaliers within one score of a tie ballgame.
Little did anyone know that the tie was about to become a reality. Gardinier knuckleballed a kick to the West 24-yard line that was fielded by Pate. Ethan Holliday laid the first key block at the Cavalier 30-yard line, chipping Jacob Clarkson to the left of Pate as he motored up the center of the field. The next lane-clearing block came from Jacob Whitt at the 40-yard line as he steered Gavin French to the right and out of harm’s way. Pate shifted hard right at the 50-yard line and started down the Maverick sideline, but Gardinier used the angle to force him out of bounds at the James Monroe 20-yard line It looked as if the Greenbrier West would start their drive in the red zone, however, a flag for an illegal block in the back cost the Cavaliers 39 yards of field position and pushed them back to their own 41-yard line.
Undaunted by the penalty, the Cavaliers went to an empty backfield with four wide receivers to the right and a single wide receiver to the left. From the right hash, Cole Vandall took to the air and lofted a beautiful pass to Holliday who was running a corner pattern on the left side. Holliday caught the ball in stride and stepped out of bounds at the Mavericks’ 34-yard line. James Monroe tried to adjust their coverage, bracketing Holliday with Boggs and Ridgeway. After a timeout, the Cavaliers lined up in the same formation, this time from the left hash. Holliday burst off the line and ran past both defenders. Vandall again laid up a perfect ball, leading Holliday into the endzone for a 34-yard touchdown. The packed house at Cavalier Field went wild. Now down only two points, the Cavaliers burned a timeout to strategize for the conversion that would tie the game. West settled on a direct snap to Holliday, one that he would take and sprint to the pylon on the right side, diving into the endzone to tie the game at 8-8. The scoring drive took only 22 seconds, but it took much more from the Mavericks. Momentum was on the Cavaliers’ side, especially since they would be receiving the second half kickoff.
Gardinier’s second half kickoff sailed to the West one-yard line before being scooped up by Holliday. Holliday darted up the middle, then broke to the Cavalier sideline at the 25-yard line. Holliday hit full stride down the sideline and carried the ball all the way to the James Monroe 38-yard line. A short run by Vandall was followed by a quick hitch to Pate for a gain of twelve yards. Vandall kept the ball again for a gain of nine up the gut, then lost the handle on a pass attempt for a loss of five yards. Facing a third and seven at the James Monroe 22-yard line, Vandall victimized the Maverick secondary again. This time, Colton Dunbar slipped between two defenders and hauled in a 22-yard touchdown reception. The scoring toss was significant in a couple of ways. Foremost, it gave West their first lead of the game. Second, it was Vandall’s 23rd career touchdown pass, breaking the program record for the most career touchdown passes at Greenbrier West set by B.J. Adams between 1995 and ‘97. Hayden Ridgeway tacked on the extra point for a 15-8 lead with 10:08 to go in the third quarter.
The electricity in the Charmco air was palpable. The Cavalier faithful that had packed the stadium were showing their appreciation with thunderous applause. Hayden Ridgeway’s kick skittered across the turf surface back to the Mavericks’ 19-yard line. Although returned to the 30-yard line, a holding penalty would force James Monroe to start from their own 17-yard line. The aggressive Cavalier defense smelled blood. Cooper Ridgeway hit the left side for a gain of five yards, but the Mavericks were flagged on their next play, backing them up to the 12-yard line. Dowdy dropped to pass but was flushed from the pocket by Brandon Poticher into the arms of Dunbar and C.W. Sturgell. On third down, Jacob Whitt joined the Cavaliers’ fire drill pass rush and sacked Dowdy at the two-yard line, setting up a Maverick punting situation.
James Monroe barely avoided a punting mishap of their own when Carter Miller fielded a short hop snap and bobbled the ball a second time before rushing a kick out of the endzone. The result was a 23-yard punt that positioned West to start its next drive from the Maverick 25-yard line. A five-yard keeper by Vandall led into a Pate run that left Mavericks strewn across the turf and grasping for air. Pate ran through Parker and Dowdy arm tackles, leaving both lying on their backs as they watched him slip through the grasp of Mann before finally being wrangled out of bounds by French at the six-yard line. Pate would get bottled up for no gain on the left side on the next play, setting up second and goal. Vandall play faked to Pate this time, setting his feet and lofting a pass to the back of the endzone. Tucker Lilly backpedaled as he hauled in his team-leading fifth touchdown catch of the season. Hayden Ridgeway nailed the extra point and the Cavaliers led 22-8 with 6:03 to go in the third quarter.
James Monroe faltered on their next possession and punted after a three-and-out. West would fare a little better on the strength of several Vandall completions and a few designed runs, but ultimately the Cavaliers punted the ball back to James Monroe. The Mavericks would find mild success on their next possession, most of it on the merits of a Boggs reverse for a first down. The success would be short-lived, however, as Lilly broke up a fourth down pass attempt from Dowdy to Boggs as the third quarter ended.
The Cavaliers, armed with great starting position at the James Monroe 33, looked to ice the contest. Vandall ignited the drive with a pass to Dunbar for a gain of eight. Vandall then burst up the middle for a first down at the Maverick 15-yard line. The battle-tested Mavericks would not go down without a fight, however, and stopped Holliday for no gain on first down. After dropping Agee for a one-yard loss, the mavericks would jump offsides giving West a manageable third and six. Vandall rolled right but had to throw the ball out of bounds as James Monroe blanketed the ride side. The Cavaliers are not without weapons, though, and trotted out Hayden Ridgeway for a 28-yard field goal attempt. Ridgeway struck the ball perfectly and nailed the three-pointer, making the game 25-8 with 8:56 remaining. The field goal was the first for Greenbrier West since Kaiden Pack hit a 27-yarder in November of 2020.
The two teams would alternate possessions to end the game, with Vandall getting the sweet privilege of lining up his team in victory formation. Vandall now sits alone atop the Cavalier record book with 24 career touchdown passes. B.J. Adams is second with 22 while Robbie Bragg (1993-95) is third with 21. Vandall is one touchdown pass away from tying the single-season touchdown mark of 15 set by Adams in 1997. Several more passing records are within Vandall’s reach by season’s end.
Kelly Vaughan has tied his former Cavalier head coach, Howard Hylton, and his former teammate and co-coach Lewis McClung for the most consecutive wins to start their Greenbrier West careers with six. Hylton, who attended the game, was beaming following the Cavaliers win over the Mavericks. Hylton stated “I’m extremely happy for Kelly. This team has really taken on his personality. He deserves this.” The win was also the first–ever victory over a #1 rated opponent in school history.
Greenbrier West moves to 6-0 on the season and hosts 4-2 Petersburg Friday night at 7pm. James Monroe falls to 4-1 and hosts Midland Trail on Friday.
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