The landscape will look a little different this year in Charmco.
The natural surface has been replaced with state of the art turf and their will be a new head coach running the show for Greenbrier West.
Kelly Vaughan may be new to the position, but he is far from new to the folks on the western side of Greenbrier County.
“I am blessed. Forty years ago I was playing on this field. I love the school, I love the kids and I love the community,” Vaughan said. “There is nothing better than Cavalier football on Friday night right here in Charmco. Small town U.S.A.”
For the better part of the last 30 years, the former Wake Forest standout was an assistant coach at his alma mater. Now he is the just the fifth head coach in the 55-year history of the school.
“I have worked for coach (Howard) Hylton, coach (Toby) Harris and big Lou (Lewis McClung). Each one of those guys won 100 games or more,” Vaughan said. “We have a culture that is football and small town America. It is one of the best. Our kids play hard and our coaches work hard. I think the reason Greenbrier West has been successful is stability.”
Vaughan takes over a Greenbrier West program that has made the state football playoffs each of the last four years. The team he inherits is very experienced and projected to extend that streak to five in a row.
“We have a bunch of seniors that have played a lot of football. I’m excited for the season,” Vaughan said. “This team works hard and we have fun, but we have to get better every week.”
While expectations can be a burden for some teams, Vaughan does not see it that way for the Cavaliers.
“They are handling that as business as usual. The kids know the expectations are high which is not a bad thing,” Vaughan said. “They have put in the work over the summer and in fall camp. We just have to stay healthy.”
Over the last two seasons, the ground heavy Cavaliers have piled up over 5,600 yards on the ground and scored over 80 rushing touchdowns.
With an experienced group back up front, Greenbrier West will line it up and run right at teams once again led by quarterback Cole Vandall.
“We will miss Ty Nickell (1,918 yards in 2022). He ran the ball like you are supposed to. He was nice,” Vaughan said. “Cole is another big kid that is hard to tackle in space. He runs the option nice and he has done a nice job throwing the ball. Hopefully we can improve on that. I know (assistant) coach (Isac) Osborne is working very hard on our passing game.”
Senior Jacob Whitt leads the experienced bunch up front that has six seniors and two underclassmen in the projected rotation.
Fellow seniors along the line will Jacob Nutter, Ethan Hamons, Daron Vaughan, Trent Parker and Cameron White. They will be joined by junior Peyton Ford and sophomore Logan Berry who started as a freshman last year.
Joining Vandall in the backfield will be senior Ethan Holliday, junior Isaac Agee and C.W. Sturgill. Jake Pate will be a do-it-all type guy and will play a variety of positions.
“Holliday and Agee are doing a nice job. C.W. Sturgill is looking good at fullback. They all can line-up in several different positions,” Vaughan said.
Holliday and Agee will also be part of the passing game along with explosive senior Tucker Lilly and sophomore Colten Dunbar who stands 6-foot-4.
“They have a little bit of juke-step to them as I like to call it and can make a defender miss,” Vaughan said. “Of course, if you are being tackled in the open field one-on-one, you are not a very good receiver or running back.”
Last year was a historic season on the defensive side of the ball and West will likely cause teams fits again this year.
“Eight shutouts last year is special. It was the perfect storm, just from the fact that things went our way, like not having pick-six’s, scoop and scores and scores on specialties,” Vaughan said. Truthfully, that record may never be broken. In the true world of sports, our main goal is to hold a team to 13 points or less. In reality it is very difficult to have those shutouts. Everything has to work in your favor. Our number one goal is to win.”
Holliday was a beast on defense last year and he will be the anchor the Cavaliers once again.
“Holliday leads by example, but he is also a verbal leader. Sometimes I have to tone him down. The good part about him is his daddy played for me, so I don’t have to worry about him getting mad at him,” Vaughan said. “Vandall is a heck of a defensive player and he has done a nice job. He plays hard and he got a little overlooked last year.”
On a team that has plenty of familiar names, Vaughan says senior Moses Gray could be in for a big season.
“Moses Gray is really going to help us. He didn’t play for us last year, but did a nice job wrestling. His attitude is super,” Vaughan said. “I told him the other day that it was up to us, but we needed to find him a place to play. I can’t tell you where exactly, but he is going to be on that field. He has been a pleasant surprise with just his effort, how much he has grown and how much more aggressive he is as opposed to when he played as a sophomore. He will help us a lot more than people know.”
Greenbrier West opens the season at home against Pendleton County on Aug. 25 at 7 p.m.
GREENBRIER WEST Senior Football Schedule  Events |
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1 | 08/25/23 | 7:00PM | H – | PENDLETON COUNTYÂ | – | Â | ||
2 | 09/01/23 | 7:30PM | A – | SUMMERS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
3 | 09/08/23 | 7:00PM | H – | POCAHONTAS COUNTYÂ | – | Â | ||
4 | 09/15/23 | 7:00PM | A – | BUFFALO Â | – | Â | ||
5 | 09/29/23 | 7:00PM | H – | SHADY SPRINGÂ | – | Â | ||
6 | 10/06/23 | 7:00PM | H – | JAMES MONROEÂ | – | Â | ||
7 | 10/13/23 | 7:00PM | H – | PETERSBURGÂ | – | Â | ||
8 | 10/20/23 | 7:30PM | A – | SHERMANÂ | – | Â | ||
9 | 10/27/23 | 7:00PM | H – | MIDLAND TRAIL HIGH SCHOOLÂ | – | Â | ||
10 | 11/03/23 | 7:00PM | A – | MOOREFIELDÂ |