Prep Football Preview: Greenbrier East is short on experience, but long on determination

The weeks leading up to the 2023 high school football season have not exactly gone smoothly for Greenbrier East.

Just like their county neighbors to the west, the Spartans are working around a turf refurbishment project.

“It has been challenging not having a true place to practice and a place that you have been used to,” head coach Ray Lee said. “It just takes a little adjusting and everybody has done well with it.
The good part is I haven’t heard a bunch of complaining and they have adjusted to the circumstances.”

While it could be seen as a distraction, Lee has instead used the circumstances as a teaching tool for his young team in regards to adversity.

“These are some of the things that we try to teach our players constantly. Everything is not going to be laid out on a silver platter for you,” Lee said. “Games will be this way. How will you adjust when things are not going your way? This is a big indicator of how a game could be or how a season might be.”

Graduation hit Greenbrier East fairly hard, as did the news over the summer that first team all-state running back Ian Cline would be transferring to Providence Day School in Charlotte, N.C.

“When you lose 1,700 yards and 24-plus touchdowns one year, 1,200-1,300 yards and 20-plus touchdowns the next year, that is a big gap you have to fill,” Lee said. “However, we are all cheering him on, including myself.”

Again, Lee chose to use the unforeseen circumstance as a teaching tool. Similar to when players graduate, now it is time for the next man to step up.

“That was a conversation that we had with our players. There comes a time where you have been standing on the sideline waiting your turn. Now it is their turn and don’t be afraid to be great. It is their turn to be great,” Lee said. “You can see that in their spirit and how they practice, so we are pretty pleased with that as a coaching staff.”

Along the line, Greenbrier East has a pair of guys with consistent starting experience in senior Aiden Cole and sophomore Grant Burdette.

“We have some game experience on the line, but not true game experience. We have guys with good experience, but we can’t say they have multiple seasons of experience under their belt,” Lee said. “They were spot starters and guys that rested people in certain positions and alternated in and out. We have some with some varsity experience and some it will be there first time.”

The Spartans will look to guys like sophomore Gage Blevins, juniors Ashton Mentz and Bo Bowyer, along with seniors Garon Wiseman and Sam Wright.

Sophomore Brody Hamric will take over under center this year, while sophomore Nate Suttle and senior Carter Hamilton will see time in the backfield. Suttle will also see some time as the back-up quarterback.

“Brody got some playing time in the last couple of games last year and did fairly well. He went to the Virginia Tech 7-on-7 and did well throwing the ball over there,” Lee said. Nate Suttle has good speed and will play running back and wide receiver for us. Carter Hamilton had some spot time in the backfield for us last year and we are looking for him to carry the ball a lot for us.”

Rob Bennett is a senior wide-out that will see action. He will be joined fellow senior Abram Wickline and junior Caleb Tolley as primary pass catchers.

“They weren’t 10-game starters for us last year, but got playing time,” Lee said. “Now they are in there and we are asking a lot from them. We are proud of what they doing so far.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the story is the same for the Spartans. Lee admits when you are replacing mainstays like Lucas McCallister, Luke Carola, Carter Hamilton and Weston Pence, those are some big shoes to fill.

“I think we have a pretty good rotation. Some of the ones we listed on offense will also play defense,” Lee said. “We have some young guys as back-ups that have shown some promise. We are not overly populated with backups, but we have some guys that can trade off at different positions.”

Burdette is showing promise at linebacker according to Lee, while Sam Wright, Rhett Baker and Mentz will likely have their hand on the ground on the defensive front.

The graduation of Noah Dotson left a gap in the kicking game, but Lee thinks he may have found a diamond rough in Owen Romero, while watching him in physical education class.

“I saw him kicking out here in PE and I called him over. He moved here two or three years ago and never went out for sports,” Lee said. “I can’t say I convinced him, but we had a lot of long talks. He ended up training with the guy that trained Noah. Romero is pretty consistent and really excited about it.”

Greenbrier East opens the season on the road at Point Pleasant before traveling to longtime rival Beckley in week two. The home opener is in week three against another old rival, Bluefield.

“The attitudes are one of the things that I am most impressed with so far. The attitudes have been outstanding and some of the best we have seen in two or three years,” Lee said. “I think if our attitudes are great everything can fall into place. They are blue-collar kids that just come in and get the job done.”