Greenbrier West has proven itself as one of the top Class A teams this season around the Mountain State.
Now the time has come to carry that momentum into the 2023 West Virginia State High School Football Playoffs.
The journey for the No. 4-seeded Cavaliers begins at home Friday night when they welcome No. 13 seed Wirt County to Charmco.
The postseason playoffs is exactly where the Greenbrier West faithful expected their team to be when the season started back in August.
“When you are practicing in November, it means you are doing well,” Greenbrier West head coach Kelly Vaughan said. “The expectations were high on this team coming into the season. The staff knew it and the kids knew the expectations were high. They just took it all in stride and played together.”
While the Cavaliers were stacked with talent, Vaughan points to other key factors that has helped carry this team to an undefeated regular season.
“Our kids get along really well and the chemistry is awesome,” Vaughan said. “They are an extremely fun group to be around and our coaches are a fun group to be around. We have a lot of coaching experience out there. The kids have bought in and they have worked hard. They have also done what we have asked of them. It is a very special group and a group I will never forget. Some groups you just don’t forget.”
Blowouts, running clocks and shortened second half periods have been the norm this year for the Cavaliers.
While the offense has been averaging over 48 points per game, the defense has recorded five shutouts and is allowing an average of five points per game.
“We have been blessed this year. We have been able to play 17 or 18 kids on defense, rotating them in and out,” Vaughan said. “I am a firm believer in attitude and energy. The more kids that you can play, the better attitudes they have. They have excepted that really well.”
For a program that over the years has lived by the run and sprinkled in the pass game. The 2023 Cavaliers have shown they can burn opponents both through the air and on the ground.
Greenbrier West ran for 2,311 yards this season and threw for 1,461 more.
Quarterback Cole Vandall has brought a passing attack to Charmco that has never been seen over the years. The senior signal-caller has passed for 1,444 yards and 24 touchdowns.
While those numbers are clearly outstanding, Vandall is also completing over 63 percent of his throws and has only two interceptions on the season.
“Cole has really stepped up. His mechanics have gotten better. His ability to read defenses has gotten much better. His confidence level is also much better,” Vaughan said. “He has five kids that can catch the ball. They can all not only catch it, but they go get the ball and don’t just wait on it. That helps all the way around.”
Tucker Lilly leads the receiving core with 428 yards and eight touchdowns, while Ethan Holliday has proven to be a scary deep threat hauling in four touchdowns on 13 catches this year.
Jake Pate and Isaac Agee have three receiving scores each and Moses Dunbar has hauled in six touchdown passes.
Pate leads the ground attack with 1,035 yards and 19 touchdowns. Agee has added 406 yards on the ground and has made six more trips into the end zone.
The Tigers (6-4) have traversed the season primarily on the feet of running back Chase Lowe who has rushed for a single season school record 1,607 yards and scored 18 touchdowns.
Lowe, who stands 5-foor-10 and weighs 190 pounds, has over 3,200 yards for his high school career.
“The key to their offense is the two twins (Chase and Channing Lowe) who are good looking kids. They are both wrestlers that are good hard-nosed kids that will run the ball as hard as they can,” Vaughan said. “We have to make sure that we are aligned correctly and playing the right techniques.”
Sophomore Tyler Moore takes the snaps and has been a nice compliment to Lowe, throwing for over 1,000 yards. His two main weapons are a pair of juniors, Brody Ewing and Isaiah Sampson.
“The quarterback can throw the ball. He is a tall, lanky kid that has a good arm,” Vaughan said. “It will be a challenge for us. It goes back to we are playing in November. All these teams are in the playoffs for a reason.”
Wirt County enters the contest on a four-game winning streak. After opening the year with a pair of wins, the Tigers dropped the next four in a row. However, all four setbacks were to teams that will be playing in the postseason.
The winner of the game Friday will advance to the quarterfinals where it will meet the winner of No. 5-seed Wahama and No. 12-seed Summers County.