FAIRLEA- Greenbrier East (1-7) looks to bounce back from its 61-12 loss to Bluefield when it hosts the Ripley Vikings this Friday, October 30 at Spartan Stadium in Fairlea.
The Vikings are 4-4 and are coming off a 62-7 loss to Class AAA’s top ranked team, Herbert Hoover.
Ripley running back Jordan Adkins is the player the Spartans will need to contain as the junior has rushed for 889 yards and 14 touchdowns this season; he ran for 138 yards and a 93-yard score against Hoover, who has one of the better defenses, regardless of class, in the state.
The Vikings like to keep the ball on the ground. Their pass/run play ratio is 21 percent pass and 79 percent run and as a team, they have passed just 76 times in eight games. Quarterback Jackson Moore IS capable of throwing the ball when he needs to as evidence by his 597 yards through the air, but the dual threat has run for 601 yards and eight scores to compliment Adkins on the ground.
The Spartans will look to quarterback Sam Gabbert, who has thrown for 779 yards and seven touchdowns and nine interceptions. He had his best game of the year last week when he connected on two TD passes of over 60 yards. East will also look to runners Keshawn Bland and Peyton Ervin. Bland has 324 rushing yards and five touchdowns, while Ervin has 307 yards and two scores. Receiver Braylen Godfrey has 32 catches for 401 yards and five touchdowns. Bland and Godfrey are also two of the biggest factors on the Spartan defense and will need to be able to stop the Ripley ground attack.
Speaking of that, stopping the run has been the biggest Achilles heel for this young 2026 Spartan team. Things aren’t going to be any easier on Friday with Adkins and Moore “running” into town. If Greenbrier East is able to break the trend–even just a little bit– they match up pretty evenly in other areas of the field.
It will be interesting to see if the Spartans rise to the occasion and put all their focus into these last two weeks of the season.
