FAIRLEA- With the Greenbrier East Spartans moving down to Class AAA this year rather than the AAAA it has been, the Spartan schedule looks a little bit different this coming season, although the familiarity is still there with several opponents.
We are going to preview the entire schedule in parts, with this being part one, and look at just three games at a time in order not to overload too much at once.
East has a rather unbalanced schedule when you look at it at first glance, but we will dive deeper into that later. The Spartans open their 2024-25 campaign at home against the Riverside Warriors, a team that has a history with the Spartans having last played in the 2019-20 season.
Like the Spartans a year ago, the Warriors shared the same 2-8 record and are in a rebuild mode so to speak for their program. Also, like East a year ago, Alex Daughtery’s program was extremely young and had just eight seniors on their entire roster and some of them were not big contributors. So, Riverside has nowhere to go but up, and if the young players come back for more action in 2024, the Warriors may present a challenge to the Spartans just because most of their roster is back and will be a year older.
But looking at this game even without green and gold glasses on, this is a perfect season opener for East on August 30. They get to march out in front of what will be a huge home crowd and show their own improvements on both sides of the football and will have a legitimate chance to start the season on a winning note.
Week two brings a team to Fairlea no one has probably heard of in the Woodrow Wilson Flying Eagles. They reside in Beckley and are often just referred to as ‘Woodrow.’
Okay, kidding aside, this, in my opinion, will serve as the barometer game for the entire year. With a chance to start 2-0 and your biggest rivals coming into your home stadium, the Spartans will have a chance—assuming the Riverside game went according to plan—to make a nice name for themselves early in the year. Win the game and possibly propel yourselves for a winning year with a playoff push staring you right in the face. Lose it and it creates an uphill battle that may—or may not—be tough to overcome.
Still, any win over Beckley is a good one and the Spartans will look to do just that on September 6.
On September 13, in week three, the Spartans will get on the bus and make their first of four consecutive road trips to Mercer County and battle the Bluefield Beavers. The Beavers always seem to reload each year, but they do have to replace three big time players from 2023 in Sincere Fields, RJ Hairston, and Gerrard Wade. Last season, a lightning delay caused this matchup to be played on a Friday night with a Monday evening conclusion and Bluefield winning 34-19. Hairston (5 rec, 155 yds, 2 TDs) and Fields (230 total yds, 2 TDs) led the Beaver attack.
Any road game is difficult, but the Spartans will have a chance to show not just the area, but the whole state that they mean business in 2024 if they could steal a victory at Mitchell Stadium.
Next Week’s 3-Game Schedule Preview will include:
@ Alleghany (VA)
@ Shady Spring
@ Oak Hill
