Success on the gridiron begins up front in the trenches.
That will be the case this year for Greenbrier East who took a solid jolt from graduation leaving some holes in the interior on both sides of the ball.
“We lost 11 seniors and ten of them were starters. Four of them played both ways, so that is a lot,” Greenbrier East head coach Ray Lee said. “The ones that are stepping in, it’s not like they haven’t had any Friday night time because we had to give those other guys some breaks. It is just not enough game experience. They are working hard though and they are finding their groove.”
What the Spartans do not lack is experience at the skill positions with quarterback Monquelle Davis and running back Ian Cline back.
Cline exploded onto the high school scene as a sophomore last year piling up nearly 1,700 yards in the regular season.
Averaging a tick under seven yards per tote, Cline scored 18 touchdowns on the ground and was a workhouse to help East control the football. The rising senior was rewarded with a first-team all-state selection for his efforts.
“We have to balance out the game with the inexperience of our interior, so they can get that confidence going,” Lee said. “We just need to do a lot of things to compliment Ian, so everybody is not totally focusing on him. That puts pressure on him and the offensive line.”
A good portion of that balance will come from Davis who is not only used as dual threat under center but can also play multiple positions, giving defenses nightmares in the open field.
“Monquelle has been in our program since his freshman year and been a contributor. He started a lot at wide receiver and did some spot play at quarterback that first year,” Lee said. “Then he just took over the show as a sophomore. He is such an athlete.”
Davis threw for 989 yards and 11 touchdowns in the regular season and added over 500 more on the ground, scoring nine more times.
Gavin Bennett gives East another experienced quarterback that allows Lee to move Davis to wide receiver in certain sets. Bennett threw two touchdown passes last year, both going to the versatile Davis.
“With some of the things we are looking to do, Gavin is going to play a lot this year,” Lee said.
On the outside the Spartans have Jake Pate and Lucas McCallister as solid weapons along with some other young players that has caught the eye of the veteran coach.
“Lucas has played since his sophomore year and been in our program since his freshman year. We have a freshman that looks promising in Grant Burdette,” Lee said. “Then we have a sophomore running back that played a lot last year in C.W. Sturgill. We are also looking at moving Pate around to some different spots.”
Aiden Cole is the only returning starter on the line, playing all 11 games last year as a sophomore. He will be joined by a pair of seniors, Luke Carola and Luke Fogus.
“Luke Carola did a lot on defense for us last year. We are working him in on offense, so he will be a two-way player for us. He spot played a lot last year on offense,” Lee said. “Luke Fogus is a little inexperienced game-wise, but he played some last year.”
Although his line is young and somewhat inexperienced, Lee says they are the second biggest group he has and they all work extremely hard.
East also has one of top kickers in the state in Noah Dotson.
Defensively the concern is also on the interior where the Spartans lost heavily from graduation.
“We lost guys like J.T. Spencer and Landon Hayes. At linebacker we lost Kayman Anderson and Garrett Bennett. Outside we lost Jared Michael. Those are key positions that they held down,” Lee said. “So there will be some young guys in there and they will make mistakes. We tell them, if you are going to make a mistake, make it at 100 mph.”
Even with the work to be done, Greenbrier East has its eyes set on another postseason run. The Spartans have made the playoffs three out of the last four seasons.
In his fourth season on the job, Lee guided East back to the playoff in 2015 for the first time in 17 seasons.
“The first few years were tough years making sure everyone was in tune and buying in. That is a challenge that I put in front of them. We had a group that left a legacy for them to follow,” Lee said. “It is up to this group to decide, are we going to keep it going, or are we going to slack off? It’s always a challenge. We make it so if they don’t make it, they are not failures. That is not what it is about. It’s about that pride that we want to do this.”
Greenbrier East opens at home Aug. 26 against Point Pleasant before hosting longtime rival Beckley a week later in the I-64 showdown.
2022 Schedule
08/26/22 7:30PM H – POINT PLEASANT HIGH SCHOOL
09/02/22 7:30PM H – WOODROW WILSON HIGH SCHOOL
09/09/22 7:00PM A – ROBERT C BYRD HIGH SCHOOL
09/16/22 7:00PM A – STUARTS DRAFT HS
09/30/22 7:30PM H – HAMPSHIRE HIGH SCHOOL
10/07/22 7:30PM A – OAK HILL HIGH SCHOOL
10/14/22 7:30PM H – RIPLEY HIGH SCHOOL
10/21/22 7:30PM H – PARKERSBURG SOUTH HIGH SCHOOL
10/28/22 7:00PM A – PRINCETON HIGH SCHOOL
11/04/22 7:30PM A LINCOLN COUNTY
