WHO: #5 Greenbrier East (4-2) at Nicholas County (2-4)
WHEN: Friday, October 17 @ 7:00 PM
WHERE: Nicholas Memorial Stadium in Summersville, WV
LAST WEEK: GE (lost to Princeton 35-14) NC (lost to Bluefield 36-7)
LAST MEETING: Nicholas County defeated the Spartans 26-6 in Fairlea in 2024
Nicholas County and their first-year head coach Matt Morriston will host the fifth ranked Greenbrier East Spartans this Friday night in what I will call the most critical game for Greenbrier East so far this season.
The Spartans are still sitting pretty at 4-2 but coming off a loss at Princeton last week–THAT BALL HIT THE GROUND, BTW– East will need to make sure the Tigers don’t beat them twice with any kind of letdown against the Grizzlies in Summersville.
Nicholas County has had an up and down year so far and come into this contest at 2-4 on the season. They hammered Shady Spring 46-14 then won a shootout with Lincoln County 63-48, but since those two victories, they have lost two games in a row and averaged just 13 points per game. On the season, they are averaging 27.3 points per game and allowing almost the same, 27.1. For the Grizzlies to have any chance at keeping their slim playoff hopes alive, they face a must win against East and will be ready to go full speed ahead this weekend.
Players to Watch for Greenbrier East:
Brody Hamric: 75-of-131, 949 yds, 12 TD– 114 rush yds, 2 TD
Nate Suttle: 25 rec, 289 yds, 6 total TD– 4 int on defense
AJ Godfrey: 145 carries, 704 yds, 10 TD
Grant Burdette: 23 rec, 305 yds, 4 TD
Kaden Stone: 14 rec, 210 yds, 4 TD
Zayir Lee: interception
Keshawn Bland: One of the leading tacklers
Jackson Morgan: paves way on offense, fills gaps on D
Brayden Brown: 3 fumble recoveries, TD
Hamric is on a 4-game stretch where he has been as consistent as he’s been in his Spartan career. Even though AJ Godfrey was bottled up in the loss to Princeton, Hamric still threw for 195 yards and a couple touchdowns. Speaking of Godfrey, the Grizzlies just recently allowed a 200-yard rusher and the Spartans feeding Godfrey the football might be a wise move. When the senior transfer from Alleghany has room to run, he typically runs it well and by the fourth quarter, opposing defenses like to stay as far away from him as possible.
I really liked Lee’s active play against Princeton. He was in on several tackles and he, Bland, Gage Blevins, Jackson Morgan, Logan Vanfosson, and others will be tasked with filling gaps and shutting down Nash.
Players to Watch for Nicholas County:
Devin Nash
Coleton Hellems
Lucas Milam
The Grizzlies keep their official stats wrapped up tighter than classified documents at the DOJ, but one stat that could not be hidden to anyone was the performance of running back Devin Nash against Lincoln County. Nash rushed 38 times for 523 yards and seven touchdowns, and yes, that was in one game. Most players don’t put up those kinds of numbers in an entire season, but the Grizzlies star got loose early and often that night.
The Grizzlies will stay in the game if Nash has holes to gash through and will get run off the field if he doesn’t so the Spartans gameplan in week eight seems pretty simple.
Tale of the Tape Outlook:
There are a couple of things that just seem to jump off the page when it comes to what Greenbrier East needs to do to get to five wins: Contain Nash and feed Godfrey, which has already been mentioned. If those two things happen and play out like it should, at least on paper, the Spartans will be 5-2 this time next week with a huge home game with Bluefield up next.
Something to Watch:
The Spartans cannot have a letdown. Going on the road against a team that beat them handily last year in Fairlea can be tricky, but the Spartans are a confident team this year that knows some special days are in front of them if they just take care of business.
**Spartan fans are encouraged to make the trip to Summersville if at all possible, to fill the away bleachers and cheer on the Spartans! **
