PARKERSBURG, WV- The Greenbrier East Spartans knew the type of talent they would see across the sidelines on Friday, Oct. 20 when they traveled to Wood County to take on the Parkersburg South Patriots at the Erickson All-Sports Facility.
After all, they were playing the state championship runners-up from last year.
And unfortunately, it did not take long to see that talent come to fruition as Parkersburg South defeated the Spartans 72-7.
In not so good news, that is now officially the largest margin of defeat for the Spartans in school history.
And for that very reason, this will be short and sweet.
Missing starters Nate Suttle and Grant Burdette got the game started off on the wrong foot as both players sat with injuries. But the Spartans still went out and competed hard, regardless of what the score indicated.
The Pats (6-2) took a 7-0 lead on the games first series when all-state running back Gage Wright raced 32 yards to the end zone. That capped a 5-play, 55-yard drive.
Parkersburg South used a longer drive on the ensuing possession. A couple of long passes to Eli Bartley and Devin Forshey set up Bartley’s 6-yard scoring run that gave the Patriots a 14-0 advantage midway through the opening quarter.
A safety after East punter Carter Hamilton stepped on the back line of the end zone made it 16-0 late in the first, and immediately after that, South scored again and made it 22-0 at the end of the first quarter.
They continued to pour it on the rest of the half, but there was a Spartan positive along the way. The combination of Brody Hamric and Abram Wickline stood out as Wickline had 93 yards receiving in the first half on six receptions.
Wickline then carried his personal momentum into the second half to the tune of a touchdown when Hamric placed a perfect pass in stride that Wickline snagged across the goal line. That made the score 49-7 at the point in the game.
Unfortunately, not much else went right for Greenbrier East (1-7). Both teams emptied their benches for most of the shortened, 12-minute second half quarters, and Parkersburg South scored a few more times to end the evening.
Hamric was chosen as the McDonald’s player of the game after throwing for 166 yards and a score on 11-of-27 passing. Wickline finished with seven catches for 105 yards and a TD.
Patriot quarterback Turner Garretson went 15-of-20 for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Bartley caught three passes for 140 yards and Wright ran only six times for 122 yards and two scores.
East will return to the friendly confines of Spartan Stadium on Friday, Oct. 27 for a homecoming battle with Princeton. East has already played the Tigers this season, a few weeks ago, and lost 56-7 at Anne S. Hunnicutt Stadium in Princeton.
Stats courtesy of 103.1, WRON.
