DUNMORE (WVDN) – After enjoying the comforts of home for the first two weeks of the season, it was time for the Cavaliers to venture out on the country roads of West Virginia for the first away game of the 2022 season.
Road games provide challenges that home games do not. How will the team handle the travel on a long bus ride? Can they stay composed when the home crowd inevitably dwarfs the size and volume of the fans that travel? Most importantly, can they maintain the focus of the task at hand and get the job done? The Cavaliers not only answered these questions and more, but they also posed some questions of their own.
The Greenbrier West offense got off to a rocky start in their week-two win over Summers County.
It took nearly a quarter for West to get on the scoreboard in that win. With that memory fresh in their minds, the Cavaliers wanted to atone for their week two performance with a quick start. A muffed kickoff started the Cavalier drive at their own 34-yard line. The drive wouldn’t last long. Greenbrier West sent two receivers to each side with Ethan Holliday lined up in the right slot. Holliday ran a five-yard curl and took in a quick pass from Tucker Lilly. Holliday turned for the sideline and got a great block on the edge from Dalton Heath. Holliday outraced the Warrior defenders down the Cavalier sideline for a 66-yard touchdown reception. Hayden Ridgeway nailed the extra point for a 7-0 lead with only thirteen seconds off the clock.
Pocahontas County came into their home-opener with a 0-2 record. After suffering a lackluster loss to Tucker County to open the season, the Warrior offense showed marked improvement in a 36-29 loss at Moorefield in week two. Boasting a roster of fifteen seniors, head coach Doug Burns had high hopes his team could turn things around. A lot of Burns’ optimism could be found at the quarterback position. Braedan Hayhurst, the dual-threat quarterback that directed the Warrior offense, was prepared to lead his team to its first win.
On the Warriors first drive, it looked as if Pocahontas County might have carried over some momentum from their effort at Moorefield. Three runs, with a long of 34-yards from Hayhurst, positioned the Warriors inside the West 20-yard line. The Cavalier defense buckled down, though, and dropped the Warriors for two losses. Facing a 4th and 12, Pocahontas County opted to try a 37-yard field goal. Maxwell Oganion’s kick had the length but knuckled through the air wide left.
Greenbrier West went right back to work. The Cavaliers drove down to the Warrior 15-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. The 15-play drive didn’t produce a score, but it pinned Pocahontas County deep in their own territory. The Warriors could only muster a three-and-out before punting the ball back to the Cavaliers. Detrimental to the Warriors’ chances was the fact that Hayhurst had to leave the game following the failed third down conversion due to a pre-existing shoulder injury.
The Cavaliers took four plays to generate a first down with Vandall getting just enough yardage up the gut for the narrow conversion. Nickell would only need two carriers from that point to get in the endzone. One first-and-ten from the Cavalier 37-yard line, Nickell took a quick pitch off the left side for a gain of twenty-four yards. Nickell then carried a counter from right to left and hit his stride on the Cavalier sideline. With two Warriors in close pursuit, Nickell dove for the pylon for a 41-yard touchdown run. The extra-point failed but West led it 13-0 with 10:53 left in the first half.
Senior Conner Taylor entered the game as the Warrior quarterback but found the Cavalier defense lathered up at this point. A personal foul set Pocahontas County back to a 1st & 25, complicating the situation even further for Taylor’s offense. Jacob Nutter and Daron Vaughan converged to sack Taylor on first down. Taylor completed a short pass on second down followed by a ten-yard completion on third down. Forced to punt from their own 40, the Warriors would make a costly mistake. A low snap to the punter couldn’t be handled in time to get a kick away and the Warriors turned the ball over on downs.
The Cavaliers attacked! Lilly went deep to Kadin Parker who had split two defenders. Parker waited on the ball and made a leaping catch at the six-yard line before going down at the two. Nickell made short work of the scoring drive with a two-yard plunge over the left side. Ridgeway’s kick made it 20-0 with 7:56 remaining in the second quarter.
A short Cavalier kick gave Pocahontas County the ball at their own 41-yard line. The Warriors wouldn’t keep the ball long. Taylor took the shotgun snap and fired a pass in the direction of Ryan Halterman. Isaac Agee played the ball beautifully and dove in front of Halterman to intercept the pass in front of a cheering Cavalier sideline. West took over at the Pocahontas County 48-yard line, but the turnovers kept coming.
An eight-play drive for the Cavaliers yielded nothing more than an interception. The drive was marred by penalties and never really shifted the field position. Hayhurst returned at quarterback but fumbled the ball back to the Cavaliers on the Warriors’ first play. The Cavaliers returned the favor three plays later with a bobbled snap that was lost. Hayhurst fumbled the ball back to the Cavaliers two plays later.
Finally, one team would make the other pay for their mistake. Nickell burst up the middle on first down for a gain of five yards. Ethan Holliday took a pitch to the left side and scored from 30 yards out. It was West’s second two-play drive following a turnover. Ridgeway booted the extra point through for a 27-0 lead with 2:04 left before the half.
With limited time remaining, the Warriors again benefitted from a short kickoff. Four straight running plays earned Pocahontas County a couple of first downs and the ball at the West 35-yard line. Taylor had returned to quarterback and dumped a swing pass to the left for no gain. With little time left, Taylor took a shotgun snap and lofted a pass across the middle intended for Halterman. Taylor’s pass sailed seven yards over Halterman’s hands and into the waiting arms of Cavalier safety Kaden Parker. Parker angled toward the West sideline with a three-teammate convoy. He outran his trio of blockers by the time he got to the 30-yard line but picked up a new set of three at the 45-yard line. Parker slipped through a would-be tackler at midfield and coasted down the Cavalier sideline. Holliday provided a pancake block near the 30-yardline that ended up taking out two Warrior pursuers. As Parker neared the goal line, he shared a high-five with his cousin, Ty Nickell, as time expired on the half. Ridgeway chipped in the extra point for a 34-0 halftime lead.
The Warriors punted the ball to the Cavaliers on their first drive of the second half. Nickell was dropped for a 5-yard loss on first down, but an incidental facemask call placed the ball at the West 35-yard line. Nickell burst through the left side on first down for a gain of 29 yards. Nickell made two nifty moves in the hole on the next play and carried the ball 36 yards to paydirt. It was the third, two-play touchdown drive of the next for the Cavaliers. The extra point failed for a 40-0 lead with 9:53 in the third quarter.
The Warriors went three-and-out on the next possession, and the punt snap failed them again. The low snap bounced off Clayton Burns hands and he scooped the ball up as he headed for the Pocahontas County sideline. The Cavaliers dropped Burns at the Warrior 35-yard line, setting up yet another West scoring drive. Three consecutive Parker runs weren’t enough to move the chains, so Vandall went to the passing game to convert on fourth down. Holliday pulled the football in and turned up the field, carrying two defenders to the 21-yard line. Vandall then swung the ball to Roy Loudermilk in the right flat resulting in a first and goal from the two-yard line. Parker wrapped both arms tightly around the ball as he bumped it in for the touchdown. Ridgeway added another extra point for a 47-0 romp with 4:57 left on the third quarter clock.
Randy Keener added a fourth-quarter touchdown with 5:58 left on a running clock. Ridgeway knocked in a career-high sixth extra point for the final margin, a 54-0 victory. It was the third straight shutout for the Cavaliers to open the 2022 season as well as the third straight season Greenbrier West has shutout Pocahontas County. The Cavaliers can tie the school record for season-opening shutouts this week if they can hold Webster County off the scoreboard.
Kadin Parker was named the Rock 95 McDonald’s Player of the Game for his performance. Parker’s 86-yard interception return for a touchdown was the third longest pick six in Greenbrier West history and is tied for the twelfth longest score overall. Parker also added his first rushing touchdown of the season.
The Cavalier coaches, players, and cheerleaders joined the Warriors during a pregame memorial ceremony for the victims of 9/11. Members of the WV Army National Guard were also in attendance for the remembrance.
Greenbrier West 7 27 13 7 – 54
Pocahontas County 0 0 0 0 – 0
1st
11:47 Ethan Holliday 66yd pass from Tucker Lilly (Hayden Ridgeway PAT)
2nd
10:53 Ty Nickell 41yd rush (Kick failed)
7:56 Ty Nickell 2yd rush (Ridgeway PAT)
2:04 Ethan Holliday 30yd rush (Ridgeway PAT)
0:00 Kadin Parker 86yd INT (Ridgeway PAT)
3rd
9:53 Ty Nickell 36yd rush (Kick failed)
4:57 Kadin Parker 2yd rush (Ridgeway PAT)
4th
5:58 Randy Keener 16yd rush (Ridgeway PAT)
Passing – GW (7-12, 174yd 1TD 1 INT) C. Vandall 5-7, 75 INT; Lilly 2-5, 99 TD (66): PC (5-9, 49, 2 INT) Hayhurst 1-3, 12 INT; Taylor 3-4, 11 INT; Brady Carpenter 1-2, 26
Rushing – GW (46-339, 6 TD) Nickell 18-232, 3TD (41, 2, 36); Holliday 3-33, TD (30); Isaac Agee 4-26; Lilly 3-(-3); C. Vandall 5-12, Kadin Parker 5-11 TD (2), Randy Keener 7-37 TD (16), Bradley Hodge 1-(-9); PC (30-52) Evan Hamrick 12-41, Hayhurst 5-46, Clayton Burns 2-(-13), Taylor 3-11, Ryan Friel 1-(-2), Haydon Moore 4-(-14), Nacota Smith 2-(-3), Brady Carpenter 1-(-14)
Receiving – GW (7-174 TD) Holliday 2-79 TD (66); Heath 3-43; K. Parker 1-33; Roy Loudermilk 1-19: PC (5-49) Ryan Halterman 2-11; Haydon Moore 1-26; Evan Hamrick 1-0; Brycen Carroll 1-12
Turnovers – GW (1) C. Vandall INT: PC (4) Hamrick FUM; Hayhurst FUM, INT, Taylor INT
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