LEWISBURG (WVDN) – It has not been the best season for the Greenbrier East Spartans, but that does not mean they have not competed and played hard every week of this season.
That was the case again last Friday night when they suffered a 48-18 loss to the Princeton Tigers. Even though the score did not go in the Spartans’ favor, they played hard and determined football.
Here is what happened that night in Mercer County.
The first play of the game doomed the Spartans.
East fumbled on the very first play of the game which the Tigers recovered at the 1-yard line. Princeton would then score on the next play and with just 15 seconds gone; East already trailed 7-0.
Plays like that, especially on the road, can be deflating to a team which needs momentum on their side to stay in games in tough environments, but East dug themselves an early hole with the turnover. Princeton is a top-10 level football team this year and playoffs bound, so that play really put East at a big disadvantage early.
Ian Cline goes over 1,000 yards.
On a second quarter 9-yard run, junior running back Ian Cline went over the 1,000-yard mark for the second straight season. After a slow start through the first two games, Cline has turned it on over the last seven. Against the Tigers, he ran for 161 yards and two scores proving again why he is one of the better running backs in the area. He now sits at 1,081 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season with one game remaining to add to those totals.
Monquelle Davis was injured again.
Quarterback Monquelle Davis went down in the second half with an injury, the second consecutive week he has had that issue.
With one game remaining in his Spartan football career, all you can hope for is that Davis feels well enough to hit the field one last time and try to end his time as a Spartan on a positive note.
Credit goes to the Spartan coaching staff.
As mentioned above, the Spartans have had a difficult season this year after making the state playoffs in three of the last four years.
However, it has not slowed down head coach Ray Lee and his staff from working tirelessly to have their team ready and prepared to go out every Friday night against a tough schedule, always playing hard until the final whistle. Normally at this time, players and coaches just want the season to end, and even if that may be the case here, Lee and the rest of the coaches and players do not show it.
With one final game remaining, East will try to go into the off-season program on a winning note.
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