Kelly Vaughan made it look easy in his first year as the head football coach at Greenbrier West.
The Cavaliers rolled through the regular season undefeated before beating Wirt County, Wahama and James Monroe to advance to the state championship game for the first time in a decade.
Greenbrier West came up a little short against a powerhouse Williamstown team, but nonetheless, the season was one of the best in school history.
“I have to give the kids credit on that. I have to give my assistant coaches credit on that,” Vaughan said. “We just have a great bunch of kids that love to play the game of football. What they did is something they will always remember.”
Now the Cavaliers are on a quest to make the postseason playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, but it will not be easy.
While some familiar faces return, Greenbrier West took a pretty solid jolt from graduation, losing 17 seniors.
“Our expectations are high,” Vaughan said. “We believe that our kids are going to step up. I have tried to explain to this group that it is their turn now. We have 53 kids out and we are proud of that fact. We also have seven kids that started from last year.”
“Some were strictly on defense, but most of them played both ways,” Vaughan went on to say. “They have some experience and we are counting on them to be our leaders this year. We also have 17 freshman that are young, but they are also a very good looking group of players. We are excited about them.”
The Cavaliers have been proficient on offense during the playoff streak, but over the last couple of years, the defense has been down right stingy.
Over the 26 games played the last two years, Greenbrier West has recorded 14 shutouts and held three other opponents to seven points.
“I really think we can be pretty good again just in the fact that the kids coming back played mostly defense,” Vaughan said. “We are a little bigger up front where we lacked some size last year. The kids we have run nice and get to the ball. (Assistant) coach Jared Robertson does a fantastic job coaching them.”
C.W. Sturgell, Brandon Poticher, Isaac Agee and Evan Vandall were all two-way players last year and will be impact players on defense this year.
Poticher was second on the team in total tackles during the regular season behind only Class A first team all-state captain Ethan Holliday. The senior linebacker had 37 solo stops and 73 combined tackles, along with two forced fumbles, four sacks and six tackles for loss. Sturgell had 60 total tackles with four tackles for loss.
“All of those kids played pretty much every snap last year,” Vaughan said. “They know what it takes to get to the level we want to get at.”
Over the last two season, the West offensive attack tallied over 30 points 18 times. This season might not approach those numbers, but the Cavaliers still have some punch on that side of the ball.
“Agee has good size and great speed. He runs the ball hard and we expect big things out of him. Evan Vandall is the type of kid that can play quarterback, running back, slot back or split end. He is an athletic kid that can catch the ball and throw it,” Vaughan said..” He is the type of kid that is going to play wherever we ask him to play. We appreciate kids having that type of mindset. They understand what is going on.”
Two starters return on the line this year in Logan Berry and Peyton Ford, but Vaughan is confident the trench warriors can get the job done.
“We have a kid that was injured last year, Trey Franklin, and we expect big things out of him. He is a big kid that moves well,” Vaughan said. “We have a kid that didn’t come out last year in Randy Keener who is probably the strongest kid on the team. He works hard and does everything we ask. He is another kid that we expect to step up and help us up front.”
Greenbrier West will also have a first-time player in Asher Barclay and another returning veteran in Bradley Hodge.
“Asher is a legit 6-foot-5 kid that has the athletic ability to help us,” Vaughan said. “Bradley has played a lot of varsity football, we just need to figure out where to put him right now.”
The Cavaliers open on the road at Pendleton County on Aug. 30 before hosting Summers County in week two for the home opener.
“We are going to have to work and Sturgell will have to lead us. Agee leads by example and he works really hard. Ford is another kid that leads by example,” Vaughan said. “I like rah-rah guys, but the guys that lead by example really help your football team. I tell them, this is their team and how do you want to remember your senior year. We have been blessed to have good football teams, but it goes back to the kids and their hard work and dedication.”
