COVINGTON- Playing in the Battle-of-the-Border for the fourth consecutive year on Friday night and trying to hold on to the ABK trophy, the Alleghany Cougars established control early and never relinquished it, defeating the visiting Greenbrier East Spartans 42-6 at Casey Field inside Boodie Albert Stadium on first responders’ night to honor the victims of the tragedy of September 11th.
The Spartans (0-3), fielding a young team still finding its way, struggled to slow Alleghany during a decisive first half. The home team scored three touchdowns in the opening quarter and carried a commanding 35-0 advantage into halftime.
Alleghany needed only three plays to cover 74 yards on its opening possession. Buddy Leisure-White broke off a 16-yard run on the first play then Colton Jack broke loose for 44 yards, and Leisure-White followed with gain of 15 yards en route to the end zone, scoring the game’s first touchdown with 10:37 remaining in the first quarter.
After a miscue on the punt snap disrupted Greenbrier East’s ensuing first possession, Alleghany (1-1) quickly capitalized. Leisure-White scored on the very next play on a 13-yard run with 8:14 left, extending the lead to 14-0.
The Spartans later created an opportunity when Shawn Hinkle recovered an Alleghany fumble with 5:32 remaining in the quarter. East moved the ball with a fake punt, as Keshawn Bland gained 11 yards, but the drive eventually ended in a turnover on downs.
Leisure-White then delivered the biggest play of the night, bursting through the defense, zigging and zagging his way around the edge for an 85-yard touchdown run with 1:59 left in the opening quarter.
The score gave Alleghany a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play.
Following that play, a fight broke out between some members of each team, and a few players went to their respective benches and did not return for the rest of the evening.
But Alleghany continued adding to its advantage in the second quarter. Jack capped one drive with a 17-yard touchdown run with 6:56 remaining before halftime. Although the extra-point attempt was blocked, the Cougars later added another score–a 2-yard run from quarterback Talyn Elliot– to take a 35-0 lead into the locker room. The 2-point try was good as Jack caught a short pass from Elliot.
The Cougars controlled the clock through much of the second half and got a lot of backups some meaningful game action as well.
Despite the difficult first half, Greenbrier East continued competing and avoided the shutout when Peyton Ervin scored the first touchdown of his varsity career. Ervin, who also made his first ever start due to Austin Whitt missing the action with an ankle injury, finished as East’s leading rusher with 70 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. Brady Tomlinson added 54 yards on seven attempts.
Leisure-White powered Alleghany’s offense with 184 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries. Jack contributed 87 yards on just five rushing attempts.
Alleghany finished with 382 yards of total offense, including 344 on the ground. Greenbrier East accumulated 234 total yards as the young Spartans continued gaining valuable experience in a very hostile and raucous environment.
The final margin showed Alleghany’s surprising dominance, but the Spartans’ second-half touchdown and continued effort provided something for the developing Spartans to build upon moving forward.
Greenbrier East will travel to Midland Trail next Friday night, September 18. The Cougars will hit the road to Staunton.
Stats courtesy of 103.1, The Bear.
Note* Sam Gabbert, the Spartans starting quarterback went down in the first half with what was called an apparent injury and never returned.
Players of the Game:
Alleghany- Buddy Leisure White
Greenbrier East- Peyton Ervin
