LEWISBURG (WVDN) – A must-win game will be played at Spartan Stadium this Friday, Oct. 14, when Greenbrier East hosts the Ripley Vikings on what should a perfect homecoming night for football.
The Vikings will be playing their fourth consecutive road game and are just 2-5 on the season, but one of those wins was a 43-22 shellacking of St. Albans last week.
Obviously, Ripley has struggled this year, but are typically a well-coached, fundamental playoff caliber team. This season, they are young and still trying to find their solid ground. They are scoring 13.6 points per game and are allowing 29.4 to their opponents.
However, against St. Albans, Ripley made some changes to their lineup due to some nagging injuries to some regular starters. Quarterback Ty Stephens, a three-year starter moved to running back last week. They inserted Virgil Myers in at the quarterback position, and all Myers did was run for 156 yards, throw for 78 and score five total touchdowns. So, it is safe to say that Myers will most likely be behind center on Friday, although that is not confirmed.
If Myers is the choice, Ripley will run him a lot around the edge and on quarterback draws through the middle. He is capable of throwing well also, and if his running does prove to be a problem, the passing lanes will be wide open, and the Vikings could strike for some big plays.
Ripley players to watch: Myers, Stephens, Chris Jenkins, Collen Moore.
One of the Vikings’ losses was to Oak Hill a couple weeks ago by a score of 54-14. Spartan killer Ethan Vargo-Thomas had three TDs in that game for Oak Hill. East lost to Oak Hill 26-13, so if you are a score comparison guru, East’s chances to beat Ripley look pretty good. However, Myers did not play against Oak Hill and Ripley is a different team with him under center.
Moore is the team leader on defense and leads the team in tackles. When there is a defensive stop, Moore is most likely going to be in on it.
East enters this homecoming contest at 2-4, and the fact is that the Spartans have to win this game to keep their slim hopes of a playoff berth alive. East averages 21.6 points per game and their opponents are putting up an average of 23.1 per contest.
East’s loss to Oak Hill last week put them behind the 8-ball, so to speak, but a win over the Vikings will go a long way toward what has kind of been a strange season in Fairlea. Gavin Bennett played his most extensive action of the year at QB against the Red Devils, and he responded with a McDonald’s player of the game award. He threw two touchdown passes, one to starting QB, Monquelle Davis.
Like Ripley, the Spartans may also think about some different QB combinations depending on the situation.
Ian Cline ran for 99 yards and now has 591 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
Keys to the game:
If the Spartans stop Myers (if Myers does stick at QB), the rest of the Vikings team is simply not good enough to hang with the Spartans. Now, that is not to say they are not capable to come in to Fairlea and leave winners, because they are. I just think East has more playmakers that can change the outcome. Yes, Ripley beat St. Albans, but the Red Dragons may be the worst team in Class AAA at 0-6 on the season.
With the homecoming festivities taking place and all the positive energy that will be in the stadium, the Spartans will have enough juice to pull out a good win and keep their chances alive for another week.
