Wirt County falls to Greenbrier West in season opener
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ELKVIEW – Wirt County struck first here Saturday night inside Husky Stadium in a Class A neutral field affair with Greenbrier West, but the Cavaliers scored the next six touchdowns and with the help of five orange and black turnovers rolled to a 45-19 win.
Dylan Hutchinson returned the opening kickoff 37 yards and the Tigers were aided by a personal foul that helped lead to an 11-play, 52-yard scoring march which was capped by Adryon Hartford’s 1-yard touchdown run.
Although GWHS trailed 7-0 with 7:03 left in the first following Asher Kerns’ extra point, the Cavaliers immediately responded with a five-play, 55-yard drive that started with Ben Butler bolting 30 yards on the first snap, and fullback Isaiah Coleman scoring from 6 yards out to cut the deficit to 7-6.
Luke Hickman, who completed 14 of 16 for 130 yards, had an aerial picked off by Shane Plogger that he returned 56 yards for a pick-6 to put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 8:28 of the second.
The Tigers, who watched Hartford go for 97 yards rushing on 24 attempts, fell behind 20-7 at intermission after Coleman scored from the 2 and Butler added the conversion at the 3:28 mark.
Greenbrier West, which has its home opener on Friday night when Summers County comes to town, needed nine plays to cover 65 yards after receiving the ball to start the third.
Butler, who finished with 12 carries for a game-high 190 yards, raced 19 stripes untouched into the end zone on a toss play. Hartford blocked the extra point, but the Tigers still trailed 26-7.
Following a three-and-out, the Wirt County defense forced a punt thanks to a Dylan Workman sack, but the Tigers had to punt it back after making just one first down.
The line drive punt was hauled in by Butler and he darted 42 yards to the end zone as the Tigers fell behind 33-7 at 10:25 of the fourth following Vaxton Vaughan’s PAT.
Wirt County fumbled on its next possession and that led to a Scott McClung touchdown from a yard out, but the extra point was blocked by Josiah Campbell.
The Tigers responded when Hickman hooked up with Andrew Lemley on a 51-yard completion as Hartford scored again from the 1, but the two-point pass failed with 7:59 remaining and the Cavaliers leading 39-13.
Lemley had game-highs of seven receptions for 103 yards and scored the Tigers’ final six-pointer on a 43-yard grab from Hickman.
Butler capped the scoring with a 58-yard run as the Cavaliers finished with 273 ground yards on 45 attempts while not completing any of their three passes.
Wirt County, which saw Plogger end the game with his second pick, will look to even its record next Friday when the Tigers travel to Magnolia.
at Herbert Hoover High School
Greenbrier West 45, Wirt County 19
GW 6 14 6 19 – 45
WC 7 0 0 12 – 19
WC: Adryon Hartford 1 run (Asher Kerns kick) 7:03, 1st
GW: Isaiah Coleman 6 run (run failed) 5:06, 1st
GW: Shane Plogger 56 interception return (run failed) 8:28, 2nd
GW: Coleman 2 run (Ben Butler run) 3:58, 2nd
GW: Butler 19 run (kick blocked) 7:24, 3rd
GW: Butler 42 punt return (Vaxton Vaughan kick) 10:25 4th
GW: Scott McClung 1 run (kick blocked) 8:29, 4th
WC: Hartford 1 run (pass failed) 7:59, 4th
WC: Andrew Lemley 43 pass from Luke Hickman (pass failed) 6:55, 4th
GW: Butler 58 run (run failed) 6:42, 4th
Team stats
GW: First downs: 14; Rushes-yards: 45-273; Passing yards: 0; Total yards: 273; Passing: 0-3-0; Punts-average: 3-33.7; Fumbles-lost: 2-1; Penalties-yards: 7-55
WC: First downs: 10; Rushes-yards: 38-88; Passing yards: 130; Total yards: 218; Passing: 14-16-2; Punts-average: 4-27.5; Fumbles-lost: 3-3; Penalties-yards: 5-30
Individual stats
GW: Rushing: Team 1-(-16), Scott McClung 2-10, Vaxton Vaughan 11-21, Ben Butler 12-190, Isaiah Coleman 4-24, Vinson Vaughan 10-51, Luke Hoke 3-(-4), Aydon Baker 2-(-3)
WC: Rushing: Team 2-(-15), Peyton Dye 2-(-4), Luke Hickman 4-7, Dylan Hutchinson 1-(-2), Andrew Lemley 5-5, Adryon Hartford 24-97; Passing: Hickman 14-16-2, 130 yards; Receiving: Dye 4-15, Hutchinson 3-12, Lemley 7-103
Next games: Summers County at Greenbrier West, 7 p.m. Friday; Wirt County at Magnolia, 7 p.m. Friday.