PRINCETON- It was billed as the game of the week throughout the southern part of West Virginia by many and for the most part, the 3rd ranked Greenbrier East Spartans and the no. 2 Princeton Tigers lived up to that billing.
At the end of the day, however, it was the Tigers that made just a few more key plays here and there as Greenbrier East suffered just its second loss of the season, 35-14 on Friday night, Oct. 10 at Hunnicutt Stadium in Mercer County.
There were several exciting matchups to look forward to in this one, including some Kennedy Award candidates, and in the early stages of the contest, those players stood out for both teams.
After a three-and-out for the Spartans on their first possession, the Tigers (6-0) took over on offense and started rolling. Alex Cox went for 17 yards on the drive’s first play then two plays later, Brad Mossor–who scored five TDs last week– caught a 19-yard pass. Mossor would finish the drive off with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone and a 7-0 Tiger lead with 7:57 remaining in the first quarter.
But that score didn’t shake the Spartans confidence.
East got the ball back and immediately answered with an 8-play drive. Nate Suttle hauled in a 16-yard reception and then a drew a pass interference penalty that moved East deep into Princeton territory. Two plays after, Suttle got loose and scored on a 22-yard pass from Brody Hamric where the senior stretched the ball over the goal line at the end of the run, and East had knotted the game at 7-apiece.
Suttle then made his presence known on defense with a pick of all-state quarterback Chance Barker on the subsequent drive, but East eventually turned the ball over on downs and couldn’t capitalize.
The score remained tied until midway through the second quarter when the Tigers roared again. This time it was Jake Belcher who took a handoff and found a crease for a 40-yard touchdown run with 7:00 left in the first half. That run made the score 14-7, Tigers.
Greenbrier East (4-2) had the ball with just under a minute to go until the break, but Damien Thomas recorded his third sack of the half which forced the Spartans to kick the ball away.
Then, a back-breaking moment happened.
Opting out of a 41-yard field goal with four seconds on the clock, Princeton coach Nate Tanner kept his offense on the field which turned out to be the right decision. Barker gave himself time on the following snap and lofted a lob pass into the end zone from 24 yards out, and the ball was grabbed by the Tigers’ Wyatt Cline as time expired, and the score gave Princeton a ton of momentum going to the locker room with a 21-7 advantage. The throw was basically a shorter hail mary.
The Spartans still made it interesting five minutes into the third.
Hamric hit Kaden Stone on a long pass, and the possession was capped by a pretty play action fake from Hamric who found Grant Burdette across the goal line for a 9-yard score. The Spartans cut the deficit at that point to 21-14 with 7:11 to go in the third.
But from that point on, the Tigers kind of controlled the game. Greenbrier East had a couple opportunities late, but Princeton just kept them at bay and did just enough to secure a victory. Their last two scores were a Mossor 1-yard run and a Corbin Justice 19-yard catch.
Princeton’s offense racked up 472 yards including 208 on the ground. Barker threw for 264 yards also and a couple TDs. Mossor had a big game as well with two scores.
For the Spartans, they were held to just 30 rushing yards which included the sacks against Hamric, and AJ Godfrey who averages over 125 yards per game only got 44 on 18 carries. It was clear he was the focal point for the Princeton defense.
Hamric had a nice game and went 20-of-36 for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Stone had four catches for 63 yards, Suttle had six for 44, and Braylon Godfrey caught 2 passes for 44 yards.
Greenbrier East will need to shake it off and move on quickly as next week they will be back on the road to face Nicholas County.
Stats courtesy of 103.1, WRON.
