Charmco – Greenbrier West had their second setback of the season Friday night, a 20-14 loss to James Monroe. Two things are often precursors to success on the gridiron, running the football and protecting it. The Cavaliers ran the ball effectively, but turnovers and penalties were untimely and costly. In front of an overflow crowd on homecoming night, the Cavaliers’ effort came up just a little bit short.
James Monroe won the coin toss and took possession of the football to open the contest. The Mavericks moved the ball from their own 37-yard line to the Cavalier 15 before three straight penalties stalled the drive. On fourth down, Greenbrier West free safety Kadin Parker made the first big play of the night when he drew a bead on Maverick quarterback Layton Dowdy and sacked him at the West 30-yard line to turn the Mavericks over on downs.
The Cavaliers immediately went to work with their ground game. Ty Nickell and Cole Vandall alternated carries to get the Greenbrier West drive started. The biggest play of the drive began at the Cavalier 47-yard line. Vandall handed off to Nickell running left to right. Senior linemen Dale Treadway and Elijah Perkins washed down on the Maverick’s defensive linemen, and Tucker Gibson pulled to his right and cleared the defensive end. Reney Cordial trailed Gibson on the pull and lead Nickell into the hole, kicking out the linebacker. As he crossed midfield, Nickell slid through two tackles and continued up the field. Nickell ran through an arm tackle at the 40-yard line and into the chest of another Maverick defender, spinning out of his grasp at the Maverick 32. He continued to the Maverick 15-yard line before being knocked out of bounds. Three plays later, Nickell burst into the endzone from the 10-yard line, running over Carr at the goal line. The Cavaliers’ conversion attempt failed, but Nickell had set the tone early.
The momentum gained by the Cavaliers on their opening drive was quickly erased. Maverick kick returner Braydie Carr settled under Jayden Robinson’s kick at the James Monroe 15-yard line and started up the field. Veering slightly to his right, Carr found a running lane as he ripped through the majority of the Cavalier coverage team. Carr met the final West defender at the Maverick 43-yard line and slipped around the diving tackle attempt. From that point, Carr turned on the jets and pulled away from everyone on the field including his teammates. Eli Allen added the PAT and James Monroe retook the lead :13 after the Cavaliers had seized it.
The Cavaliers immediately went back to work methodically navigating through the Maverick defense. Starting at their own 29-yard line, the Cavaliers mixed up runs from Kadin Parker, Vandall and Nickell to venture into Maverick territory. On first and ten at the James Monroe 23-yard line, the Mavericks got the break they were looking for. Nickell started to his right and cut inside of the Gipson and Cordial blocks. Meeting the weak side linebacker at the 20, Nickell hurtled into the air and somersaulted to the turf. As he landed, the football squirted free. Several players from both teams jockeyed for the football before the Mavericks secured possession. A promising twelve-play drive came up empty for the Cavaliers at the James Monroe 13-yard line.
The Mavericks were determined to set out on a ball-control drive of their own. Moving to the Cavalier 20-yard line in 10 plays, Cooper Ridgeway carried the load for the Mavericks. Eight of the plays on the drive were Ridgeway carries. Facing a fourth and one at the West 20, the Mavericks lined up with an empty backfield and Ridgeway in shotgun formation. Nickell burst into the backfield from the right edge while Mason Thornton did the same from the left. The two Cavaliers defenders met Ridgeway at the 24-yard line, getting assistance from Joey Terry to end the Maverick scoring threat.
Knowing they’d be getting the ball to start the second half, Greenbrier West wanted to score before the break to possibly build a two-score lead. Nickell carried three times to the Cavalier 46 before Vandall took a shot down the field. Parker had gotten past the Maverick secondary and settled under Vandall’s pass. Parker was wrangled down at the James Monroe 20. Five plays later, the Cavaliers took the lead on a one-yard Vandall touchdown run. Nickell added the two-point conversion run for a 14-7 Cavalier lead with :18 remaining in the first half. West would carry the seven-point advantage into the break.
Starting the second half with the football, Nickell put the Cavaliers in good field position with a 36-yard kickoff return to the Cavalier 49-yard line. Parker immediately attacked the Maverick defense and took an inside handoff for a 28-yard gain. Now inside the red zone, the Cavaliers began chipping away at the Maverick defense with power runs from Robinson and Nickell. The promising Cavalier drive started to crumble on 3rd and goal from the five. A high snap sailed over Vandall’s head and he had to scramble back to the 19 to recover for the Cavaliers, setting up a long 4th and goal. Vandall was able to connect with Parker at the back of the endzone, but Parker’s catch was ruled out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Mavericks on downs.
Dodging a West bullet to start the second half, the Mavericks got a big 28-yard carry by Ridgeway. That advanced the ball to the Cavalier 41, and after a few short gains by Ridgeway, the Mavericks found paydirt. Grant Lively lined up at the right-wing and slipped underneath his offensive line to the left. Allen shoveled a pass to Lively who scooted around the left edge and into the endzone for a 28-yard touchdown reception. Allen tied the score at 14 with his PAT.
What followed was one of the stranger sequences of the season. Roy Loudermilk returned the kickoff to the Greenbrier West 42-yard line. Hit hard on the tackle, Loudermilk had the ball pop loose but was ruled down on the play. Escaping a turnover, the Cavaliers went to work to answer the Maverick score. A short Vandall carry was followed by a screen pass to Nickell that put the Cavaliers across midfield. Vandall swung another pass to Tucker Lilly for minimal gain bringing up a 2nd down at the Maverick 36-yard line. Vandall dropped back and rolled slightly to his left looking to get a pass off, but senior Maverick defensive lineman Jakobey Meadows pressured Vandall as he released the ball and deflected the pass attempt straight up into the air. James Monroe lineman Jacob Profitt found himself in the right place at the right time and settled under the wobbly floater for an interception, setting the Mavericks up at their own 49-yard line. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, it was later revealed that the Mavericks had used twelve defenders on each of the Cavaliers’ four plays, a glaring oversight given events that would transpire later in the contest.
The Mavericks quickly went to work mixing carries by Ridgeway, Lively, and Allen to advance the football to the Cavalier 12-yard line. Allen took a shotgun snap and turned left, faking a handoff to Lively, and began to roll to his right. Cameron Thomas had lined up to the left of the formation and looped behind the secondary just across the goal line, waving a hand to signal to Allen that he was open. Allen released the ball on the run and off one foot, taking some zip off the throw. The ball sailed in Thomas’ direction but was slightly underthrown, giving Marcus Adkins the angle needed to recover on the play. Adkins laid out across the goal line as the football spiraled into his hands, but he couldn’t complete the interception. Given new life, Ridgeway eked out a first down at the ten as the third quarter ended. On the first play of the fourth, Ridgeway carried the ball in from ten yards out to put the Mavericks out front 20-14. Allen’s PAT would sail wide left, keep the Maverick advantage at 6 points.
West now trailed in the fourth quarter for the first time all season, but with over eleven minutes remaining and a six-point deficit, there was plenty of time to stick with the game plan and run the football. Working from the 30-yard line, Nickell carried up the middle followed by a Parker carry for no gain. Vandall carried over the left side for a first down, then disaster struck the Cavaliers on a second straight possession. Vandall, running a keeper, escaped the tackle of Ridgeway before colliding with two defenders at the 50-yard line. The ball squirted loose and after a scrum, the Mavericks recovered again at midfield. The Cavaliers’ defense would hold the Mavericks, though, and would take over at their own 20-yard line after a punt into the endzone.
Nickell started the next drive with another spectacular run, breaking four tackles before diving out to the 41-yard line. He followed that up two plays later with an option to the left for a 16-yard gain and an 8-yard carry to the right. Now at the James Monroe 35-yard line and needing two yards for a first down, the Cavaliers tried to run between the tackles, but Vandall was stopped when he slipped on the wet Cavalier Field grass. On third down, Vandall tried a sneak to the left but the ball was marked less than a yard short. The Cavaliers opted to sneak again, but linebacker Ethan Gunnoe jumped to the edge of the Cavalier line, stopping Vandall short and turning the ball over on downs.
The Mavericks would set out to run valuable time off the clock, but the Cavaliers held Ridgeway to minimal gains. On third down, Allen bobbled a shotgun snap and was dropped for a seven-yard loss. Sensing an opportunity to get the ball back in good field position, the Cavaliers called a timeout to set up a punt return. The decision was made to drop two returners deep with the Mavericks facing a fourth and fourteen situation at their own 30-yard line. As the ball was punted away, it sailed wide-left of the Cavalier returners and onto the track, however, a yellow flag also sailed in from behind the West punt returners. The game officials huddled at midfield to hash out the infraction. After a lengthy discussion, West was penalized for illegal participation for having twelve men on the field. The penalty didn’t come with an automatic first down, but the yardage was enough to give the Mavericks the extra yard needed to move the chains. In hindsight, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
Now armed with a new set of downs, the Mavericks were able to burn precious minutes off the clock. Ridgeway carried for a healthy gain of eight on first down. Now with their backs against the wall, the Cavalier defense made one final stand. West stopped Ridgeway for no gain on second down and engulfed Allen as he slipped on the turf, forcing a punt with less than a minute remaining.
Starting from their own 15-yard line, the Cavaliers had a daunting task ahead of them. Vandall rolled left and zipped a pass to Parker who was able to dodge one defender and then drag another out of bounds to stop the clock with :18 remaining. On second down, Vandall rolled right and was forced to loft a pass away when he was pressured by Thomas. The pass, intended for Lilly, was intercepted by Ridgeway and the Cavalier hopes were ended.
Greenbrier West fell to 4-2 on the season and will face Richwood this Friday. James Monroe improved to 4-1 and was scheduled to host Midland Trail, but the game has been postponed due to COVID protocols. The Cavaliers respectfully honored the late Ben Thornton before the game, observing a moment of silence after the West captains presented the Maverick captains with a remembrance banner. Braelee Brown was crowned as the 54th Homecoming Queen before the game, and Chase McClung was voted the 1st Homecoming King in school history.
James Monroe 7 0 7 6 – 20
Greenbrier West 6 8 0 0 – 14
3:11 1st – Ty Nickell 10 yard TD (Pass failed)
2:58 1st – Braydie Carr 85 yard KR TD (Eli Allen PAT)
0:18 2nd – Cole Vandall 1 yard TD (Nickell run)
3rd – Grant Lively 28 yard TD pass from Eli Allen (Allen PAT)
11:53 4th – Cooper Ridgeway 5 yard TD. (Kick failed)
Passing – (GW) Cole Vandall 4-7-2-60-0, (JM) Eli Allen 5-7-0-49-1, Cooper Ridgeway 2-4-0-12-0
Rushing – (GW) Ty Nickell 21-178, TD; Cole Vandall 19-43 TD; Kadin Parker 4-28; Jayden Robinson 2-9
(JM) Cooper Ridgeway 30-149 TD; Grant Lively 4-15; Lawton Dowdy 3-14; Braydie Carr 3-12; Eli Allen 7-(-12)
Receiving – (GW) Kadin Parker 2-40; Ty Nickell 1-18; Tucker Lilly 1-2 (JM) Grant Lively 2-39, TD; Cameron Thomas 2-12; Braydie Carr 2-11; Cooper Ridgeway 2-10.
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