In my preview of Greenbrier East and Beckley last week, I predicted the Spartans would get back on track and get a big win over their arch rival. I said the score would be 24-21 with East being able to pass the ball against the Eagles secondary, and all the Spartans had to do was contain the Woodrow running attack.
I missed the East score by three points, but underestimated Beckley’s rushing offense badly. The Eagles won 49-21 and here is what went right and what went wrong for the Spartans.
1. East did not contain the run
In their first game of the season, Beckley ran for over 200 yards in the first half in a win over Riverside. However, in the second half they gained only 56, so I thought the big first half total could have been an anomaly and they came back to earth in the second half of the game.
Wrong.
The Eagles ran through, over and around the Spartan defense. They finished with 567 yards on the ground and seven touchdowns. Darmonte Mitchell had 276 yards on 19 carries and five TD’s. Bruiser Matt Moore added 91 yards. The Eagles attempted just one pass on the evening and thinking back, that may have been one too many.
The Spartans will have to figure out how to at least contain their opponents running ability. Through two games, East has allowed 979 rushing yards and two different 200-yard rushers. Expect to see more defenders in the box in the coming weeks which will force teams to have to throw the football.
2. East did throw the ball with some success
East’s offense is slowly figuring some things out and after getting down by 28 early in the second half, Monquelle Davis and the Spartans finally started hitting some shots in the passing game.
Lucas McCallister and Jake Pate stepped up in this one with the former winning last week’s player of the game honors and the latter winning it this week.
Pate had a 50-yard catch and McCallister had a few nice receptions as well. Pate finished with three catches for 73 yards and McCallister hauled in three for 51. Going forward, the Spartans need to continue to air the ball downfield and hope they can hit a few to keep their offense ascending in the right direction.
3. East’s turnover on downs changed the game
The Spartans trailed just 14-7 midway through the second quarter and started a drive at their own 35-yard line. They moved it down the field on seven plays and got inside the Beckley 15-yard line, and appeared as if they were going in for the tie, and a whole new ballgame. However, Ian Cline got stopped on a fourth-and-short and the turnover gave the ball back to Woodrow.
The Eagles scored on their next two possessions following that turnover which were a 67-yard Mitchell touchdown and a 52-yard Mitchell touchdown.
The momentum and confidence the Spartans lost on the fourth down stop really seemed to take the wind out of their sails.
The Spartans are resilient and deserve to be supported
Sure, East is in unfamiliar territory though the first two games sitting at 0-2. Three of the last four years have ended in the state playoffs, and as of right now, that seems like a pipe dream for the Spartans.
However, the offensive improvement from game one to game two was very noticeable. When East got down by 28 points in the second half to Woodrow, the offense played harder and executed better. That is a sign of a team that has no quit on them. The Spartans still believe good things are coming, and with their never-say-die attitude, those good things may arrive sooner rather than later.
East will go on the road for a couple weeks and when they return home, hopefully a packed house will still be waiting on them.
