Mitchell B. Koerber
Student Sports Journalist
We were all prepared and ready for an exhilarating match-up between Pocahontas County and Greenbrier West – Warriors and Cavaliers – no doubt, but it’s safe to say that no one would have expected the outcome of which this game came to be. During the first quarter, on the second play of the game, Warrior star running back, junior, #5 Hayden Moore went down with an injury to his right ankle after being brutally tackled on a run, and, unfortunately, had to step out for the rest of the game and just watch.
The night would get worse for the Warriors as the injuries kept coming. On a humid Friday night, both teams would see a total of seven injuries ranging from hurt thumbs to severe cramps. Losing 37 – 0 was only a paled affliction to the grueling hours that shed, quite literally, blood, sweat and tears. It truly was a painstaking sight to see as both teams experienced such injuries. The result, however, will go down as a loss for the Warriors. A very, very hard-fought loss, but a loss, nonetheless. The game was a great reminder that football is, as they say, a game of pain and hard work.
The Cavaliers’ fullback, on the seventh play of the game, broke for a 61-yard touchdown run from the 39-yard line, followed by the 2 extra points for a scoreboard showing 8 – 0, not even two minutes into the game. That was the kind of night the Warriors would have. Big plays, that the Warriors need to work on, was their Achille’s heel.
“The team’s coming together,” Coach Brandon Hamons said, after the game. “I mean, we’re young. We have a lot of sophomores that are having to step up and fill a junior or senior position. We played Greenbrier West [tonight] which is a very, very solid football team. A few injuries hurt us tonight, but our boys did good, our defense looked good. We just had some big plays that killed us early and late in the game. Hopefully, we can bounce back and get started working on Richwood.”
One of the standout players for the Warriors was Sophomore, #1 Logan Keatley. Throughout the night, Keatley made key tackles from his linebacker position that would stall the Cavaliers’ drives. Additionally, in the second quarter, he had one of the most exciting plays of the night as a receiver. Starting on the 50-yard line, QB Gavin Delair, would drop back and connect with Keatley at the 46-yard line. Keatley, however, wouldn’t settle for 4-yards. Scrambling and fighting hard, Keatley would break five tackles and pick up an additional 12 yards. The crowd went wild.
Other exciting highlights came in the final seconds of the third quarter. Starting from their own 15-yard line, Senior, #4 Devon Burgess, would scramble for 61 yards, down to the Cavaliers 14-yard line, and a key tackle by Senior, #71 DJ Wilfong on a screen pass by the Cavaliers stalled their drive. Greenbrier West uses the screen pass to beat defenses, but Wilfong let them know early that their scheme was doomed to fail.
The Warriors are looking to improve their season this week against Richwood as the most difficult part of their schedule has passed (Tucker 4-0, Meadow Bridge 3-1, Sherman 3-1, Greenbrier West 3-1).
Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. at Dean Memorial Stadium, Lumberjack Avenue in Richwood.