FAIRLEA- The 2025 football season was as good of a year the Greenbrier East Spartans have had in several years.
Unfortunately, on Friday night, November 14, in the state playoffs, it came to an abrupt end.
The Spartans went back-and-forth and toe-to-toe with the Chapmanville Tigers but ultimately came up a little short and on the wrong end of a 46-37 shootout at Spartan Stadium.
The way the game started, it appeared Greenbrier East was coming out of a cannon. Nate Suttle took the opening kickoff and raced down the sidelines for an 83-yard touchdown. The extra point was missed, however, but East led 6-0 just 13 seconds into the game.
Chapmanville answered with a nice drive of their own but got a little help from the Spartans as well. After a short completion, East was called for a personal foul that moved the Tigers up to the Spartan 30-yard line. A few players later, Preston Kovach rumbled into the end zone from a yard out and the Tigers took a 7-6 lead.
Then, it was the Spartans this time who refused to be turned away. Quarterback Brody Hamric scrambled his way to a first down run on a crucial fourth-down play and then hit Nate Suttle with a 10-yard pass. He then found Kaden Stone on a 24-yard strike to the 1-yard line, and from there, AJ Godfrey scored on a 1-yard run to give Greenbrier East the lead back at 12-7 following a failed 2-point try.
But the Tigers kept the frenzied first quarter pace alive. Dakota Dalton hit Trey Ward with a 28-yard catch and that eventually set up Austin Adkins’ 12-yard touchdown catch, and Chapmanville had regained the advantage 14-12.
That was the score at the end of the first quarter.
There was no quit in either offense and at one point it seemed like the first team played defense would come out victorious. The Spartans got the ball back and moved it down the field quickly again. Suttle caught a 15-yard pass and had 15 yards tacked on due to a facemask. Several plays later, Hamric threw a perfect pass to the end zone and found Jy Green who made a gorgeous catch and the Spartans went back up 18-14 with 8:52 until halftime, but once again, missed the 2-point attempt.
Before the half ended, there were three more scores. For Chapmanville, Trey Ward scored on a 10-yard run and right before the break, scored again on a 10-yard touchdown catch. Sandwiched in between those two scores was Grant Burdette’s 65-yard touchdown catch.
At halftime, it was officially a shootout as the Tigers held a 27-25 lead.
Ward scored his third TD of the game with 4:58 remaining in the third when he took a handoff and ran 38 yards for a score. That made the score 33-25 at that point.
The Tigers (11-0) then got the ball back after the Spartans turnover on downs and just when it looked like Greenbrier East was dead in the water, they came out breathing again. With the Tigers driving at the Spartan 33-yard line ready to put the game out of reach, a mishandled exchange from Dalton and Jeremy Collins left the ball on the turf and East’s Brayden Brown scooped it up and ran 64 yards the other way for a huge touchdown. After the missed 2-point try that would have tied the game, the Spartans trailed just 33-31 with 3:13 left in the third.
Adkins scored on a 5-yard run for the Tigers early in the fourth and although Kaden Stone made a beautiful sliding TD catch with 8:30 to go that cut the deficit to just three points at 40-37, it was the Tiger offense AGAIN that had an answer on the next possession.
Dalton took the snap and threw a backwards pass to Adkins. Adkins faked like he was going to run then heaved it downfield to a wide-open Collins and Collins took it 55 yards to the house for decisive final score of the evening.
Greenbrier East had a tough time stopping the Tigers offense and in particular, Kovach. The senior carried the ball 26 times for 185 yards and a score and was critical in the fourth quarter keeping drives alive. Dalton went 14-of-15 for 152 yards and two TD. Ward and Collins combined for 100 yards rushing and contributed to the Tigers 305 rushing yards and 512 yards of total offense.
Hamric ended his stellar Spartan career on a high note. The signal caller did all he could to keep his team within striking distance all night and finished 14-of-21 for 227 yards and three scores. Stone had three grabs for 67 yards and a score, Burdette had three for 78 and a score, and Green caught four passes for 54 yards and a TD as well.
East only ran the ball for 30 yards and left several points on the field on some unfortunate–or unlucky– missed 2-point tries.
That wraps up the season for Greenbrier East. They finished 6-5 with a tough schedule and a home playoff game in a year that will not be forgotten anytime soon. The Spartans will say goodbye to 16 seniors and the up and comers and returnees will be back at the Stadium in August of 2026.
Stats courtesy of 103.1, The Bear on WRON.
