The last time Greenbrier West made it to the Super Six at Wheeling Island Stadium was 2013.
Among the many fans in attendance was a young man by the name of Jacob Nutter.
A decade later, that same young man, along with his teammates, now get their shot Saturday night at bringing home the first-ever football state championship title to Charmco.
“It’s a big deal. I haven’t been to Wheeling on a football team. This is what we have been worked four years for. It is what we dreamed of as little kids and I am excited,” Nutter said. “I was up there and I watched that (championship) game (in 2013). I remember we had a good shot at beating (Madonna) that night. The goal all along was to be like those guys. I have always looked up to them. Those guys were like heroes.”
Having played football since he was five years old, Nutter also played a little basketball and baseball. Since his sophomore year, however, it has been all football for the senior standout.
“I just fell in love with the sport when I got to high school. It is an entirely different game up here,” Nutter said. “You have to focus on one sport was how I looked at it. I needed to stay in the weight room and do things right.”
Although he only stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 190 pounds, Nutter has been a key player in the trenches for the Cavaliers the last two seasons. His dedication to the weight room was key.
“I was just a little kid trying to play some football. I played linebacker a lot because I was a lot smaller. I started to show my toughness a little bit and got some reps as a defensive lineman in practice,” Nutter said about his freshman season. “I started a couple of games as linebacker and on the defensive line as well as a sophomore. I also played a little bit of offense.”
By the time his junior year rolled around. Nutter was full-time on both sides of the ball.
“The group I am with, we have so many fast players that are athletic. More athletic than I am really,” Nutter said. “I have to use my toughness and hard work. I have always worked hard, done chores and stuff. The line is where I belong.”
Nutter also credited a former standout running back for the Cavaliers who did his time in the trenches before moving to tailback.
“Ty Nickell. My freshman year he stepped up and played on the line. He got me in on defense my sophomore year,” Nutter said. “He is my guy. We would come out here in the summer and we worked all the time. Stuff nobody saw, but he did it. He was amazing on the line.”
Firmly anchored in the trenches for his senior season, Nutter and company rolled through the first four games by wide margins.
During the fifth game of the season against Shady Spring, Nutter’s season hit an unexpected bump in the road.
After flying to the pile on a tackle, Nutter went down and was motionless on the turf.
“I think I was playing defensive end on that play and they were running a sweep to the back side. Nothing was coming back to me, so I was chasing down the runner,” Nutter explained. “He was stood up, so I went in and was pushing down on the ball. I flipped over the pile and landed on top of my head. From there it was no movement really.”
Knowing the toughness that Nutter brought to the field, head coach Kelly Vaughan admitted he was nervous.
“He is one of those tough, hard-nosed kids that will play every down and give you everything that he has – 100 percent. He is just a good old strong country boy,” Vaughan said. “When he went down it scared me. I really thought he was hurt because he has that toughness in him.”
As expected under the circumstances, Nutter too went through some anxious moments.
“I have never had a spine stinger. I have had a shoulder stinger, but that was scary,” Nutter said. “I did start to get some feeling back while I was laying on the field and the doctor told me to play as the pain goes.”
Nutter of course missed the remainder of the Shady Spring game as well as the two games that followed. One game he missed was against No. 1-rated James Monroe the week after the injury. That was a hard pill to swallow after losing twice to the Mavericks last year.
“Heartbreaking,” Nutter said when asked about his emotions watching from the sideline. “I was in tears before the game and after the game. I had worked with these guys for four years for games like that.”
Sherman was the unfortunate opponent the night Nutter returned which was highlighted by a fumble recovery.
“I had a lot of built up energy in me. I was ready to hit somebody,” Nutter said, laughing. “I didn’t have contact even in practice that week because they were trying to make sure I was fine. I was out of shape though. That is for sure.”
The wild ride during his senior season took another twist when the playoffs rolled around and starting center Logan Berry had to miss the game with a concussion.
“We had a backup center in Trent Parker. (Assistant coach Isac) Osborne came in here and talked to the offensive line. He told us somebody had to step up in case something happened to Trent,” Nutter said. “I had been hiding it because I wasn’t a huge fan (of the position), but I told him I could snap. My snaps started dialing in pretty well and he said now he wouldn’t have to move anybody around. I stepped up and got the job done but I was nervous that is for sure. I think I had a lot of people scared.”
It was a blessing in disguise for the Cavaliers making them even more versatile along the offensive front.
“He stepped right in there and he is still in there. Berry did a good job and still rotates in, but I asked (assistant) coach (Steve) Price about him and he said he is doing the job, let’s keep him in there.”
Following a thrashing of Wirt County in round one, Greenbrier West edged Wahama in a classic battle in round two.
The final step before earning a trip to Wheeling was another battle with top-ranked James Monroe, this time in Lindside. After having their season end in Monroe County last year, the Cavs were not about to let it happen again.
However, things took another crazy turn for West when a pair of senior starters, top rusher Jake Pate and leading receiver Tucker Lilly, were hampered by mid-week injuries.
“We had Tucker and Jake that were injured and Tucker didn’t get to play a lot,” Nutter said. “He texted me that morning and it put me in tears. He just ask for another game. I had been there, so that was what we played for.”
The Cavaliers secured the championship berth with a 27-7 win over the Mavericks.
Along with his duties on the offensive line, Nutter has 32 tackles (15 solo, 17 assists), four fumble recoveries, two sacks and four tackles for loss.
Now the young man that sat in the cold that night a decade ago watching his football heroes play for a championship will get his chance to do the same in what will likely be the last football game of his career.
Standing in their way will be defending Class A champion Williamstown and Nutter knows it will be a huge hill to climb.
“They are a super-disciplined football team. They do every little detail right. Williamstown will match our size and speed. It will be a challenge we haven’t seen yet,” Nutter explained. “We somehow have to make them make mistakes and blow them up. If we can win up front, we can have a big game, but we have to win up front.”
Kickoff Saturday night is at 7 p.m.
