CHARMCO (WVDN) – Greenbrier West righted the ship Friday night with a 50-0 win over the Sherman Tide. Playing for the first time in two weeks, the Cavaliers dominated a young Sherman squad in front of a home crowd that celebrated the return of alumni band members, Little Miss and Mr. Cavalier, and cheerleaders and fans dressed in pink to raise awareness of breast cancer.
Isaac Agee sent the message early. This Cavalier team was ready to erase the memory of the loss at James Monroe two weeks earlier. Agee slipped and fell as the kickoff careened in and took a hop to his left, but he jumped to his feet and scooped the football up at the West 24-yard line. From the right hash mark, Agee started to his left and immediately slipped through a Tide tackler. As he got to the middle of the field, a slight dip of the shoulder cleared a second Sherman defender and Agee kept working toward the left of the field. Now at the left hash, Agee slipped through the arms of Sherman’s Hunter Cooper and squared his shoulders toward the goal line. The sprint was on! Agee raced up the field for a 76-yard touchdown. It was the Cavaliers’ first kick-return for a touchdown since 2019, and the first time they’d returned the opening kickoff for a score since Jabez Fleming started the 2010 Class AA playoffs with a 90-yard return against Herbert Hoover. Hayden Ridgeway capped the score with an extra point and West led it 7-0 16 seconds into the game.
The Cavalier defense forced Sherman into a three-and-out possession, but the West offense gifted the Tide with good field position when the normally sure-handed Ty Nickell fumbled near midfield. Starting at the West 41-yard line, Sherman went back to the surprising T-formation they opened the game with and began chipping at the Cavalier defense. The Tide strung together six plays that gained a total of 12 yards before disaster struck. On third down, Cooper rolled to his right and lofted a short pass in the flat to Andrew Simpson. The ball was thrown slightly behind Simpson, and he tipped the ball in the air as he turned back trying to adjust and make the catch. Dalton Heath was in coverage and extended his arms to pull in the interception at the Cavalier 27-yard line. Heath rumbled down the West sideline with a convoy of Cavaliers surrounding him before Cooper ran him out of bounds at the Sherman 10-yard line. Three plays later, Cole Vandall bulled into the endzone for a one-yard touchdown. Ridgeway made it 14-0 Cavaliers with his PAT kick at the 3:43 mark of the first quarter.
On the next possession, Sherman narrowly escaped another interception when, on third down, Agee challenged Coopers intended receiver Simpson on a slant pattern, but the ball couldn’t be handled. As it turns out, disaster was only one play away. Joe Runion, a left-footed kicker, took the snap and stepped toward the line to punt the football away. The Cavaliers applied pressure and Vandall got a hand on the ball, blocking it off the turf and into Nickell’s hands. Nickell scooted into the endzone for a 24-yard punt return touchdown. Ridgeway’s kick made it 21-0 West with 2:01 left in the opening quarter.
As the game transitioned to the second quarter, the Cavaliers got the ball back at their own 34-yard line after forcing a Tide punt. Nickell pushed West near midfield with a 15-yard option carry, then carried inside for 19 yards to position the Cavaliers at Sherman’s 32-yard line. After a penalty knocked West back five yards, Vandall connected with Heath for a 17-yard gain. Lilly stepped in at quarterback but fired a short incompletion in the direction of Vandall followed by a Nickell carry for no-gain. Lilly rolled right and connected with Heath for a five-yard gain. Facing a fourth and five at Sherman’s fifteen, West went for it. Jacob Whitt kicked out on the tackle as Vandall and Kadin Parker isolated the Tide linebacker. Nickell followed his lead blockers and cut left off the double team from Heath and Reney Cordail. Logan Berry, Jacob Nutter, and Trent Parker all sealed off the backside and Nickell found himself one on one with the Sherman safety. Nickell raced past Cooper and got a nice open-field block from Agee, scoring him on fourth down from 15 yards out. Ridgeway nailed the point after for a 28-0 Cavalier lead with 8:53 left in the first half.
The two teams traded possessions, but a 48-yard Agee punt pinned the Tide at their own five-yard line. The Cavaliers stuffed three straight running plays forcing Sherman into a fourth and three from the Sherman 12-yard line. Bryce Mills, set up two yards deep in the Tide endzone, mishandled the low snap and turned to retrieve the football. Nutter burst off the left side of the West return team and hit Mills just as he got to the ball. Mills scooped the ball back into play as Nutter took him to the ground, but the ball sailed over the hands of Cooper and incomplete, never reaching the line of scrimmage. Greenbrier West was awarded a safety when officials ruled Mills’ pass to be intentional grounding in the endzone. The Cavaliers had a 30-0 lead that would hold up until halftime.
Greenbrier West would have a 49-yard Nickell touchdown run wiped off the board in the third quarter when the Cavaliers were flagged for holding. Agee would flip the field again for West with a 34-yard punt, and the Cavaliers held Sherman to another three-and-out possession.
Vandall then got the Cavaliers ignited with an 18-yard run to the Tide 37-yard line. Nickell bounced outside and carried the ball down the West sideline for a gain of 13 yards. Vandall then rolled right and hit Heath at the West 12-yard line. Heath turned up the Sherman sideline and got a big block from Lilly that cleared two defenders, then launched himself into the air near the five-yard line and escaped one last Tide defender to score. It was Vandall’s first touchdown pass of the season. Ridgeway’s PAT was true for a 37-0 lead with 6:51 remaining in the third quarter.
Sherman’s night got worse after a short possession as their punt team would fail them once more. Joshua Jones took his turn as the punter. A high snap turned Jones around at his own 10-yard line as Vandall closed the distance and steamrolled him. Vandall recovered the loose ball at the ten and the Cavaliers, who have been opportunistic on turnovers this season, made quick work of the Tide. Nickell took the ball on a sweep for a 10-yard touchdown. Ridgeway’s kick hit the right upright and was no good, but West’s lead was 43-0 with 2:55 left in the third quarter.
Sherman held possession as the game moved into the fourth quarter. With a running clock in effect, Sherman’s night was rapidly coming to a close. A Tide punt coupled with a holding call pinned the Cavaliers back at their own 15-yard line. Parker, moving right to left behind the formation, took a pitch and started up the Sherman sideline. This time it was Vandall that supplied a crushing block, clearing Parker at the West 20-yard line. Parker cruised for an 85-yard touchdown run. Ridgeway’s kick made the score 50-0 with 7:23 remaining. The Cavalier JV squad would preserve the shutout from that point.
The shutout win was West’s sixth of the season, tying the 1982, ‘83, and ‘91 squads for the most such wins in a season. It was also the fourth home shutout which also tied those teams. The Cavaliers’ safety in the second quarter was the first since Joey Terry sacked Madonna quarterback Santino Arlia in the 2020 playoffs.
Agee was selected as Rock 95’s McDonald’s Player of the Game. Agee had the 76-yard kickoff return touchdown and averaged 40.5 yards on his two punts. Agee totaled six tackles on the night and defended two passes.
Ellawyn Bryant is the 2022 Little Miss Cavalier. Kayson Pack is the 2022 Little Mr. Cavalier winner.
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