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Sat, Nov 11 2006
Currently
47 F
Beckley, WV
High 65 F Low 54 F



Published: November 11, 2006 01:09 am

West erases doubts, besting Buffalo

By Steve Keenan
For The Register-Herald

CHARMCO — In a game of marked contrasts, Greenbrier West’s smashmouth trumped Buffalo’s aerial assault.

The end result, albeit not without drama, was a 22-16 triumph for the No. 4 Cavaliers over the No. 13 Bison in an opening-round Class A football playoff contest at Cavalier Field.

Standout back Trent Walker bulled his way for 200 yards, including two first-half scores, as the Cavaliers dominated play in the opening segment and eventually went ahead 22-0 on Kenneth Holland’s one-yard plunge with 4:55 left in the third.

However, Buffalo went to its hurry-up offense as the game wound down and trimmed the deficit to 22-16 on a 12-yard scoring pass from Nick Harris to Ryan Vannoy with 3:38 remaining in the final stanza. To add even more concern for the GW faithful, Harris’ arm helped Buffalo advance to the West 30 in the game’s closing seconds before a final incompletion at the 10-yard stripe allowed the Cavaliers to finally celebrate.

The victory was a sweet one for Greenbrier West coach Lewis McClung, who admitted relief afterward.

“This was a big win for our program,” McClung said. “This is what we wanted to take the program to.

“It was a nail-biter there at the end. We’re just glad to still be in it.”

The win meant the 2006 Cavaliers are just the fourth team in school history to capture a football playoff contest, McClung said.

Like his coach, senior lineman Lee Hamons took a little time to soak in the victory.

Buffalo coach Mike Sawyer, whose team won four of its final five regular season outings to advance to the postseason, lamented that his charges didn’t play better in the first half, when West rolled to a 16-0 lead on the strength of Walker’s 2- and 1-yard scoring runs — the former which was preceded by an Alex Palmer fumble recovery.

“Offensively, we didn’t execute very well in the first half,” he said. “We dug ourselves into a hole, and it’s hard to climb back against West because they control the ball so well.

“We went to the 2-minute offense (late). We probably should have gone to the 2-minute the whole game.”

McClung was glad they didn’t.

“They throw the ball awful daggone well,” he said. “It’s hard on us, because we like to play a lot more smashmouth, and the passing game gives us problems if they throw it well.”

The Cavaliers rushed for 289 yards and threw just nine passes for another 40 yards, while Buffalo was limited to 32 rushing yards but wound up with 268 through the air, as Harris was 20-of-48.

Walker’s first-half scores capped nearly identical 12-play drives covering 65 and 63 yards. On the first core, West eschewed a field goal attempt on 4th-and-5 from the 9, and Jaron Childers went off-tackle for seven yards to set up Walker’s subsequent score. The second tally was aided by a crucial Buffalo facemask penalty and a nice 15-yard hookup from Childers to Chris Fitzwater.

Walker’s output pushed him to over 2,100 yards on the campaign.

Holland’s TD capped a 9-play, 49-yard march and seemingly put the Cavs in a comfortable position.

But, Buffalo, which finished 6-5, took the pigskin at its own 8-yard stripe with 1:22 to play and advanced quickly via several completions from Harris to, among others, leading receiver Jared Moore. In the end, though, West’s Brian Gray defended on the final pass, and his team escaped to play another day.

With the playoff monkey now off their backs, the Cavaliers now turn their focus to round two, in which they’ll play either No. 5 Wahama or No. 12 Notre Dame. Those two squads square off at 1:30 p.m. today at Wahama.

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#4 G. West plays host to #12 Notre Dame ( high school , not the college ) at Greenbrier West HS on Sat., 11/16/2006 @ 1:30 pm. The winner of this game will advance to Wheeling and play the winner of Wheeling Central Catholic / Pendleton Co.in semi-final high school football playoffs. Go West !

Mary

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Some of the " star players " on the contending Greenbrier West Football Team with Rainelle High School Roots


Brian Gray-grandson of late William R. ( Bill ) Gray, Parents-Mark and Linda Gray, Rainelle
Trent Walker-grandson of Johnny Walker, Rainelle ( Kennedy Award contender )
Alex Palmer-grandson of John W. Rider, nephew of Tom Rider-parents, Jabo and Robin Palmer, Rupert
Jon Myles-Parents--, David and Pam Myles, Sewell Mountain
Ethan Osborne-Grandparents, late Paul Osborne and Ruth Osborne, parents-Hal and Laura Osborne
Coach Kelly Vaughn-Parents, Marvin and Pat Vaughn
Coach Chris Vaughn-Parents, Marvin and Pat Vaughn

Not a star, but a very valuable 9th. grade bench warmer.....and practice-dummy and equipment carrier. ( Remember those days !) Tyler Surbaugh-Parents, Charlie and Mary Beth Decker Surbaugh, Rainelle . Nephew of JD and Jimmy Surbaugh. If I think of more , I will forward information



Mary

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Published: November 18, 2006 11:53 pm

Cavaliers run wild in mud
"CAVALIERS MOVING RIGHT ON UP"
By Dan Stillwell
Register-Herald Sports Writer

CHARMCO — Cavalier Field was muddy.

It wasn’t really fit for a forward pass or any other type of finesse play.

But to Greenbrier West standout Trent Walker, it was ideal.

The hard-charging tailback ran wild in the sloppy conditions, bulling his way for 238 yards and four touchdowns as the Cavaliers bulldozed Notre Dame 30-0 in a state Class A quarterfinal playoff game Saturday.

West (10-2) relied on its usual no-frills game, keeping the ball on the ground for all but two plays and relying on its workhorse back.

“Someone asked me earlier if that was our game plan. Well, that’s always our game plan,” Cavaliers coach Lewis McClung chuckled. “That’s just the way we play.”

And that always means Walker, Walker and Walker again.

The 6-foot, 200-pound senior carried the ball 37 times, mainly up the middle, and scored on runs of 5, 52, 8 and 1 yards.

He also ran two conversions and passed to Chris Fitzwater for a third two-pointer.

“Trent is not flashy, but he runs hard,” McClung said. “He’s had some big games before, but I don’t know if he’s had four touchdowns before.”

Walker’s first score put West up 6-0 at the 10:59 mark of the second quarter.

Notre Dame (8-4) seemed cursed by the mud, finishing the half with just 81 yards total offense.

The Fighting Irish’s big-play offense fizzled as quarterback Preston Musgrave struggled to get an accurate pass to his receivers.

When the pass was there, it often went through the hands of his receivers.

“We moved the ball some, but we were an inch off all game — an inch too high, a missed block by an inch,” coach Sam Alvero said. “It was right there, but we couldn’t grab hold of it.”

The Cavaliers decided the game early in the third quarter when Walker galloped 52 yards off right tackle for his second touchdown.

West wide receiver Adam Griffith sprung Walker with a devastating block on an Irish linebacker.

From that point on, the Cavaliers couldn’t be stopped except by their own fumbles — one lost, one recovered.

“With it being muddy like that, Walker slipped out of a lot of tackles we don’t usually miss,” Alvero said.

McClung concurred, “Field conditions like this really play into our hands more than for other teams.”

Notre Dame, on the other hand, managed just two first downs the rest of the way.

Musgrave provided most of the Irish’s offense, running for 40 yards and passing for 41. His younger brother Preston took over at quarterback and threw for an additional 20 yards.

Tailback Shawn Swiger gained just 19 yards on eight carries. He had scored two touchdowns last week in Notre Dame’s 13-7 double-overtime win over Wahama.

“Shawn was sick all week and we couldn’t give it to him like we did last week (27 times),” Alvero said. “He never would have made it.”

A week earlier in a first-round game, Buffalo had used its wide-open passing game to narrow a 22-point West lead down to six.

“Some of the things Buffalo did to us, Notre Dame tried to do as well,” McClung said. “Coach (Kelly) Vaughn tweaked our pass defense a little bit and it helped out today.”

West advanced to the state semifinals for the first time since 1991.

The Cavaliers will play at unbeaten and top-ranked Wheeling Central next weekend, the day and time to be determined later today. No. 1 Central (12-0) beat St. Marys 42-14 Saturday night.

“Believe it or not, we’re excited about an opportunity to play Wheeling Central,” McClung said. “Last year we had opportunities to beat them and we let it get away from us.”

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