SPENCER – Forgive Cavalier fans if they were feeling confident early in Saturday night’s season opener. Greenbrier West marched sharply into the endzone on a two-play, 61-yard scoring drive that looked rather easy. Senior quarterback Colton Dunbar, starting his first game as the team’s signal caller, got to the edge and raced around the Roane County defense for a gain of 32 yards on West’s first play of the season. Ben Butler took a handoff from Dunbar on the next play and scooted 29 yards into the endzone for the first score of the season. Dunbar followed Butler into the endzone for the two-point conversion and the Cavaliers found themselves with an 8-0 lead twenty seconds into the contest.
Roane County, the 2024 Class AA runners-up, answered the Greenbrier West scoring drive almost as quickly. Bolstered by a kickoff return to the Cavalier 21-yard line, the Raiders countered the Cavaliers’ touchdown in only three plays, capped by a 1-yard sneak by quarterback Jacob Greathouse. Then Greenbrier West dug in their heels and squashed the Raiders two-point attempt to hold on for an 8-6 lead with 10:30 to go in the first quarter.
Cavalier fortunes took a turn for the worse on West’s second possession. Butler took a pitch from Dunbar off the left edge and carried 16 yards for a first down into Raider territory. Butler was double teamed on the tackle and was unable to bounce up afterwards. After immediate action from the training staff, Butler’s night was finished as a precautionary move after an apparent shot to the head. The sophomore tailback would carry the ball twice for 45 yards and a touchdown. His production would be sorely missed for the remainder of the game.
Following Butler’s departure, the West drive quickly stalled, and the Cavaliers punted the ball away. Roane County methodically marched 85 yards in eight plays, all of them on the ground, and capped the scoring drive with a 3-yard Koltyn Starcher touchdown run. Starcher added the conversion run and the Raiders had their first lead of the night, 14-8 with 3:17 remaining in the first quarter.
Down by six, the Cavaliers went back to work. Three straight running plays resulted in a West first down. On first down from the 26-yard line, Colton Chrisman ran the ball off the left side and was lifted into the air on the tackle. Raider defensive tackle Braxton Browning reached in and ripped the ball away, returning it for a momentum-shifting touchdown. Brodey Proctor added the conversion run and Roane County suddenly had a 22-8 advantage at the 2:06 mark of the opening quarter.
After generating a first down largely on the legs of Dunbar, West’s next possession fizzled at the Raider 41-yard line and the Cavaliers turned the ball over on downs. Roane County was feeling it offensively at this point, and they would take advantage of the possession immediately. Proctor took a misdirection handoff to the right side and got around a pair of Cavalier defenders. Hitting the right sideline, Proctor cut back at the West 35 and slipped inside several West pursuers before bouncing it back outside and outracing the last defender for the goal line as time expired in the quarter. Javon LeTourneau ran for the conversion and Roane County had built a 30-8 first quarter bulge.
Roane County added three more scores in the second quarter. Starcher found the endzone two more times, scoring on 12 and 51-yard runs. LeTourneau capped the Raiders first half scoring with a 39-yard run. The Raiders held a commanding 51-8 lead at halftime while the Cavaliers were left to search for answers.
Reserves played a majority of the second half. The only score of the third quarter came when Cavalier punter Scott McClung had to chase down a high snap in the endzone and was tackled for a safety. Evan Greathouse added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns for Roane, sandwiched around one of the brighter plays of the night for Greenbrier West. Freshman Elijah McDaniiel took a kickoff return 86 yards for a touchdown. A fellow freshman, Hayden Holliday, ran in the conversion. McDaniel’s touchdown was West’s first kickoff return for a score since November of 2023.
Colton Dunbar had respectable numbers in his debut at quarterback, carrying the ball ten times for 82 yards. Dunbar was 3-4 passing for 6 yards. As a team, West rushed 24 times for 111 yards and went 3-5 passing for 6 yards. Roane County earned 344 yards on 25 carries and went 1-1 passing for 14 yards.
The Cavaliers return to action Friday night at Summers County to face the oldest rivals on their schedule, the Summers County Bobcats. Both teams will be seeking their first win of the season.
