CHARMCO, W.Va. — A little rusty?
Not a chance.
Greenbrier West rolled into the second round of the Class A playoffs at Cavalier Field Saturday night. Seven different Cavaliers found the end zone and the defense shut down Madonna’s prolific aerial attack, bouncing the Blue Dons, 58-0.
West hadn’t played in 22 days after two games at the end of the season were postponed by COVID-19 concerns. But this one was never in doubt.
From the time Cole McClung rumbled 36 yards for a score on the game’s third snap, West was in complete control. They rolled up 428 yards of total offense and, perhaps more importantly, limited Madonna to just 57 yards, 47 of which came on the game’s last possession against the West reserves.
The Blue Dons came into Charmco averaging over 37 points a game.
“It was awesome,” said McClung. “We ain’t never faced a team that come out and threw the ball like they did. I think we did really well defending it.”
Head coach Toby Harris said that the Cavalier defense is often overshadowed by an offense that puts up 50 points a game.
“You know, all year long people talk about our offense,” Harris said. “We’ve got the big backs and we score a lot of points. But I tell you what, our defense has played pretty well all year long. Tonight they just stepped up and played.”
Madonna junior quarterback Santino Arila came into the playoffs having passed for 2,048 yards and completed over 62 percent of his throws.
The West defense held him to an 11-for-27 night with an interception and just 94 yards.
“We told them they had to get heat on the quarterback and play hard, and that’s what they did,” Harris said.
The Cavaliers forced four Madonna turnovers, turning all four into touchdowns.
The defense also put up points when Joey Terry and Ty Nickell sacked Arila in the end zone for a safety late in the second quarter, sending West to the locker room with a 44-0 lead.
Cavalier senior quarterback Kaiden Pack outplayed Arila, throwing for 121 yards and three touchdowns. He also took a punt to the house in the third quarter.
McClung, Kyle Holliday, Noah Brown, Lawson Vaughan, Levi Weikle and Jayden Robinson also had touchdowns for the winners.
McClung, a 245-pound bruiser, piled up 136 yards on 11 carries, while adding an interception on the defensive side of the football.
A running back with the number 60 on his uniform?
McClung wears it proudly.
“We were at practice one day and they put me back there,” said the senior, who is a linebacker on defense. “It’s stuck ever since.”
The only bad news Saturday was what looked to be a significant leg injury to Brown in the second quarter.
Brown rushed for over 2,000 yards a year ago and is approaching 1,000 this season.
“Noah is a big part of our football team offensively and defensively,” Harris said. “He’s a great kid. We don’t know how bad it is, but we sent him in to get an X-ray to see what’s going on with him.”
Next up for the unbeaten and No. 2 seeded Cavaliers (9-0) is a state quarterfinal match-up with Ritchie County. The game will kick off Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m., on Cavalier Field.
The Rebels (9-2), the No. 7 seed in the playoffs, beat Wirt County, 16-7, Saturday.
Less than a half-hour after the Greenbrier West win, Pack was already focused on next week.
“Our biggest challenge is losing our running back (Brown),” said the Cavalier signal caller. “We’re just focusing on getting him back and getting him 100 percent. We’re worried about the next game. This game is in the past. They’re going home and we’re still in it.”
Playoff Notes
COVID-19 and the West Virginia metrics map are reeking havoc on the playoffs in all three classes. Of the 24 first round games scheduled over the weekend, just a dozen were played with the 12 others being declared forfeits.
Greenbrier West, the No. 2 seed is the top seed remaining in the Class A bracket.
No. 1 seeded Tug Valley, who had played just three regular season games, forfeited to No. 16 Tygarts Valley.
Also gone from the bracket are No. 3 seeded Doddridge County, who was upset by No. 14 East Hardy, 25-19, and Class A’s most dominant program, Wheeling Central — the three-time defending state champions, who forfeited their game with St. Mary’s.
Next week’s Class A quarterfinal schedule:
• No. 16 Tygarts Valley (7-2) at No. 8 Pendleton County (6-2), Sunday (Randolph County must drop from orange on the map for Tygarts Valley to play);
• No. 7 Ritchie County (9-2) at No. 2 Greenbrier West (9-0), Saturday, 1:30 p.m.;
• No. 14 East Hardy (6-2) at No. 11 Tolsia (4-2), Sunday (Both Wayne County and Hardy County must drop from orange for game to be played);
• No. 5 Midland Trail (4-1) at No. 4 St. Mary’s (8-1), Sunday (Fayette County must drop from orange for Midland Trail to play).
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