Gallery by Brad Davis
Beckley – The landscape was not the O.K. Corral Friday night. Wyatt Earp and Ike Clanton were nowhere to be found.
However, two of West Virginia’s best gunslingers led their posses out on the turf at Van Meter Stadium for their own version of a wild west showdown – the I-64 shootout.
Greenbrier East running back Ian Cline and the Spartans’ defense had other ideas in their battle with longtime rival Woodrow Wilson.
Cline carried the ball 39 times for 134 yards, while the East defense harassed and hurried the Flying Eagles offense in a 28-14 win.
“It has always been a big rivalry since I stepped into this school,” Cline said. “There has been a little bit of trash taking going on here and there. So, this win is so special for us. We have worked really hard all week.”
“I am so proud of our football team. This group is not a big rah-rah kind of group. They just go out, bring their lunch buckets to practice and get after it every day,” Greenbrier East head coach Ray Lee said. “All we talk about is pride. When you get down here at crunch time, you see all of that come out. They don’t whine or complain, they just come to work.”
Greenbrier East came to work on the first series and set the tone for the game on defense.
An incompletion, a negative run and a sack by senior Garrett Bennett forced a punt giving the Spartans excellent field position at the Woodrow Wilson 42-yard line.
Riding the defensive momentum, East stung the Flying Eagles on its first offensive play.
“It was just a little bubble screen. We knew we had to come hard and fast and that is what we did,” junior quarterback Monquelle Davis said.
Bryson Ormsbee took Davis’ pass and split the Woodrow Wilson defenders for the 42-yard score.
“Anytime you can score first, it boosts your confidence level,” Lee said. “We were so proud that the defense came out and executed like we wanted them too. We want to be a team that can execute.”
With the Greenbrier East defense was keeping the home team in check, the offense tacked on seven more points early in the second quarter.
After a crucial fourth down conversion by Cline kept the drive alive, the Spartans faced fourth-and five at the Woodrow Wilson nine-yard line.
Davis faked the hand off drawing the defense and found Braden Bragg wide-open in the middle of the endzone for a 14-0 halftime lead.
“(Assistant) coach (Aaron) Baker is our defensive coordinator, and he really does a great job,” Lee said. “We talked about some things in the off-season, and we switched some things up. He took my input on some of it, but he runs it. He has the guys in the right places to be successful.”
Things went from bad to worse for Woodrow Wilson when Lucas McCallister took the kickoff back for a touchdown to start the second half.
“Again, we work on our special teams every day. Each guy has an assignment, and we coach them up on what to do,” Lee said. “I give (assistant) coach (Jake) Harper credit on that. He works the special teams, but every coach coaches’ special teams. He is not left out there by himself.”
Woodrow Wilson would finally find its rhythm in the second half with two scores.
Maddex McMillen hit Elijah Redfern for an 18-yard score where Redfern tight-roped the sideline to stay inbounds.
A big 60-yard pass to Keynan Cook sparked the next score which culminated in a McMillen two-yard plunge to cut the lead to seven points going to the final quarter.
Just as the Flying Eagles appeared to be making a big comeback, Lee handed the ball to his workhorse who did all the rest.
“We did it last week and we did it this week. We just punched it down their throats and it feels great,” Cline said.
Marching 56 yards in 13 plays, East pushed the lead back to 14 points on a five-yard run from Cline. The sophomore standout carried the ball 11 times in the drive.
“That is who we are, and it was working tonight. I tell the guys from the start that we have to have something to hang our hat on,” Lee said. “I like the I-set because you can do so many things out of it. If you have a good fullback, a tailback and a quarterback that can also find the open areas, that is a lot to contend with.”
An interception by senior Levi Wagner ended any hopes of a Woodrow Wilson come back on the next drive.
“Frustrating game. We miss a tackle on the first play. Second-half kickoff, that is just hidden yardage and points you can’t get back,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Street Sarrett said. “Just disappointed in how we played overall. We have to get back to work, get better and get ready for Parkersburg South.”
The win over Woodrow Wilson gives the Spartans two big road wins to start the season.
“You are always happy when you win on the road. Then when you come back home you are really playing for some pride,” Lee said. “We are happy with the two wins. Both of those teams are traditionally good football teams. You can’t relax, you have to come out and play.”
Woodrow Wilson is on the road next week for the first time this year at Parkersburg South. Greenbrier East is back at Spartan Stadium Friday to host Robert C. Byrd.
***
Prior to the showdown Friday night, six players were inducted into the Woodrow Wilson Football Hall of Fame.
The new members included Johnny Ray Williams (2009), Brent Osborne (2015), Noah Hancock (2015), Troy Lilly (2016), Kyle Ayers (2016), Justin Ward (2016) and Tyler Sheets (2016).
GE: 7 7 7 7
WW: 0 0 14 0
First Quarter
GE: Bryson Ormsbee 42 pass from Monquelle Davis (Noah Dotson kick)
Second Quarter
GE: Braden Bragg 9 pass from Davis (Dotson kick)
Third Quarter
GE: Lucas McCallister 90 kick return (Dotson kick)
WW: Elijah Redfern 18 pass from Maddex McMillen (Connor Mollohan kick)
WW: McMillen 2 run (Mollohan kick)
Fourth Quarter
GE: Cline 5 run (Dotson kick)
Team Stats
Rushing: (GE) Cline 39-134-1, Davis 9-4, Garret Bennet 1-3; (WW) McMillen 5-(-4), Damonte Mitchell 6-10, Redfern 1-(-1), Matthew Moore 5-39, Tylai Kimble 3 (19).
Passing: (GE) Davis 4-7-76-1-0; (WW) McMillen 14-29-184-1-2
Receiving: (GE) Ormsbee 3-55, Bragg 1-9, McCallister 1-11; (WW) Cook 5-102, Kimble 1-11, Redfern 6-57, Waller 1-19, Snyder 1 (-5)
