LINDSIDE (WVDN) – Greenbrier West’s undefeated season came to an end Friday night in Lindside.
James Monroe shut the Cavaliers out 27-0 in front of a packed stadium at the H.E. Comer Sports Complex.
The Cavaliers won the toss and chose to receive the kickoff. Greenbrier West had gotten off to fast starts in five of their six wins and looked to grab early momentum again against the Mavericks. Ty Nickell would carry the Cavaliers to a first down on his first rush but the drive would stall after that. Cole Vandall and Nickell would both be stopped for no gain on back-to-back plays, then disaster struck Greenbrier West. Vandall took a shotgun snap and looked right hoping to deliver a screen pass. The Mavericks had it covered and Vandall had to scramble with defenders coming from both sides. As Vandall tried to evade the tacklers, he lost the football and it was recovered by the Mavericks at the West 24-yard line.
Greenbrier West’s defense buckled down and stuffed two running plays, but James Monroe quarterback Layton Dowdy zipped a tunnel pass out to Eli Allen on third down and Allen was able to take it to the West one-yard line. Braydie Carr got enough push to get in the endzone on first and goal for the Mavericks to capitalize on the West miscue. Owen Jackson drilled the PAT for 7-0 James Monroe lead with 8:40 to go in the first quarter.
In week six, the Cavaliers showed they could answer a score when Shady Spring put a touchdown drive together on their opening possession. Working with good field position after an Evan Vandall kick return, they’d get their chance to prove themselves once more. Starting at their own forty-yard line, the Cavaliers started chipping away at the Maverick defense. Nickell was the workhorse, toting the ball for 21 yards on five carries. From there, the Cavaliers mixed short runs with two hard counts designed to draw the Mavericks offsides to advance to the James Monroe 14-yard line. The drive fell apart from there. A holding call backed West up to the 24-yard line followed by a Kadin Parker carry that lost six yards. A pass intended for Parker was narrowly tipped away by Maverick safety Allen at the 20-yard line followed by a deep incompletion intended for Dalton Heath into the endzone. Vandall was hit as he threw on fourth down and the ball fell incomplete to kill the West drive.
As the game progressed into the second quarter, each team took a drive inside the other’s 30-yard line. The Cavaliers actually drove to the Maverick two on a Heath fourth-down reception, but a holding call negated the gain and forced West to punt from their own 36-yard line when the down and distance became unmanageable. Isaac Agee’s punt pinned James Monroe at their own 11-yard line.
After a penalty backed the Mavericks up to their own six-yard line, a Cavalier miscue on defense would flip the field for James Monroe. The Mavericks lined up with two receivers to each side. Dowdy took the shotgun snap, dropped to his own goal line, and rolled to his right as Ethan Hamons pressured from the backside. Chaz Boggs had slipped up the Cavalier sideline from his right slot position as the West secondary converged on Allen. That left Boggs wide open, and Dowdy connected. Boggs jetted up the Cavalier sideline in what looked like an apparent touchdown, but Marcus Adkins had sprinted from the far side of the field and took him down inside the West 10-yard line. Two plays later, Dowdy tossed a fade to Allen in the corner just out of Adkins’ reach. Jackson’s point after made it 14-0 Mavericks with 5:54 to go in the half.
The Mavericks wouldn’t wait long to put more points on the scoreboard. Two carries by Nickell were swarmed over by the Mavericks forcing the Cavaliers to look to the passing game. Vandall, in the shotgun with an empty backfield, got pressure from his right as he released the pass. The ball, intended for Lilly, sailed high and deflected off Lilly’s hands into the waiting arms of Maverick Niklas Pitzer. Pitzer headed for the James Monroe sideline and was taken out of bounds at the twenty-yard line. West was assessed a personal foul on the tackle, setting the Mavericks up inside the West ten-yard line.
Greenbrier West’s defense was bruised but kept fighting. Cooper Ridgeway was stuffed for a loss on first down. Dowdy scrambled for a gain of six, then rolled left on third and goal and found Carr waiting in the left corner. Ethan Holliday made a leaping dive to bat the ball away, though, and save West from giving up another touchdown. After a delay of game penalty, Jackson came in to hit a 26-yard field goal to take the score to 17-0 with 2:52 to go in the second quarter.
The Cavaliers would hold James Monroe on their first possession of the second half and force a punt. Mixing runs from Nickell, Cole Vandall, Agee, and Lilly, Greenbrier West kept the ball on the ground and embarked on a 17-play, 84-yard drive. The Mavericks had just enough defensively to turn West over on downs. Not only had West chewed up a massive number of yards, they had also burned a significant portion of the third quarter clock in the process. Coming away with no points was a bitter pill to swallow.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Dowdy and Boggs would connect again in what looked like it might be the final straw for Greenbrier West. Boggs was in the right slot again, but this time ran a post pattern and caught the ball at a full sprint beyond his coverage. Holliday gave chase and ran Boggs out of bounds at the Cavalier 15-yard line. Two plays later, the Cavaliers would get a glimmer of hope. Daron Vaughan burst through the Maverick line and dislodged the handoff from Carr. Jacob Nutter scooped up the loose ball and gave West another chance.
James Monroe would shut down that opportunity. One West’s very first play, Lilly fired across the middle to Heath who was streaking up field. Allen, patrolling the deep middle all night, ranged in front of Heath for the interception and returned the ball to the West eight-yard line. Four plays later, Ridgeway scored from three yards out. Ridgeway added the PAT for a 24-0 lead with 8:46 remaining.
West’s next drive would last all of two plays. After a short completion to Nickell, Cole Vandall looked deep down the middle for Lilly. Vandall was hit from behind as he threw and his pass came up short. Allen, patrolling the middle, dove toward the errant pass to secure his second interception of the game. Allen’s interception would lead to a Jackson 21-yard field goal with just over three minutes remaining.
This was the first time Greenbrier West was held scoreless since October 19, 2018, against Sherman. The Cavaliers are open this week and will return home on Oct. 21 to face the Tide. West falls to 6-1 on the season while James Monroe, who also won on Monday night, improves to 6-0.
Ty Nickell continued his climb on both the Cavalier single-season and career rushing lists. Nickell’s 143-yard night helped him surpass Brian Gray in 2008 for twelfth on the single-season rushing list with 1,357 yards. Nickell’s career total is good for sixth place all-time. Nickell was chosen as Rock 95’s McDonald’s Player of the Game.
Greenbrier West 0 0 0 0 – 0
James Monroe 7 10 0 10 – 27
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