Football Game Preview Week 8: Nicholas County at Greenbrier East

WHO: Nicholas County (4-2) at Greenbrier East (2-4)

WHERE: Spartan Stadium in Fairlea

WHEN: Friday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 PM

LAST WEEK: Nicholas Co. (defeated Braxton Co. 42-0), Gbr East (lost to Oak Hill 21-14)

COVERAGE: TV: Greenbrier Valley Channel on Facebook, Roku, YouTube, and Optimum Ch. 5—Radio—103.1, WRON.

It will be an unusual Friday this week for the Greenbrier East Spartans.

And that’s because they are staying home to play a football game. And not only that, but it’s homecoming too.

For the first time since Sept. 6, the Spartans will stay put at the friendly confines of Spartan Stadium and host the Nicholas County Grizzlies in a matchup that promises to be a good one.

East is coming off a close loss to Class AAA’s 6 ^th ranked Oak Hill Red Devils and honestly, the Spartans feel they let that contest slip away. East had the ball inside the Oak Hill 5-yard line twice and in the red zone another and got zero points in those three possessions. But the Spartans are ready to get back in the win column this Friday night against a solid Grizzlies team.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES:

Coached by Gene Morris and members of Class AAA, Nicholas County is off to a good start just a little over halfway through the season. They sit at 4-2 on the year and have won three in a row coming into the matchup with the Spartans. They average just under 25 points per game and allow only 16 to their opponents. Located in the heart of Summersville, the Grizzlies will head to Greenbrier County this weekend with a lot of momentum as they are in the mix for a state playoff berth.

–Players to Watch—

Nicholas County: Brennon Smith, Carter Meadows, Braden Johnson, Coleton Hellems

Greenbrier East: Brody Hamric, Nate Suttle, Kaden Stone, Offensive Line, Brady May

For Nicholas County, it’s all about Brennon Smith. The 6’0”, 177-pound sophomore does a little bit of everything for his team. He leads the team in receiving yards (140), rush yards (689), touchdowns (6), and on defense, he is everywhere and leads the team in tackles with 97. Carter Meadows has racked up three sacks so far this year and Braden Johnson runs the secondary and has two interceptions. Hellems is the quarterback and does a good job of managing games while also displaying the ability to make plays himself.

Spartan Stats (6 games):

Offense Team: Rushing— 101, Passing—178, Total—279 yards per game

Defense Team: Rushing—210.5, Passing—141.2, Total—351.7 yards allowed per game

Top 3 Keys to the Game:

Stop Brennon Smith

Breakout Game for Grant Burdette

Spartan Offensive Line must win in the trenches

Summary:

On paper, this is a winnable game for the Spartans, and they should have an extra bounce in their step now that they are back home for a couple weeks. Not to discredit any other player on the Grizzlies, but they start, stop, and finish with Smith. He is a versatile player that touches the ball in many ways. On defense, he is always around the ball and hard to get away from for offensive players.

Nicholas County played Oak Hill a few weeks ago and lost 28-15. East lost to Oak Hill 21-14. Common opponent scores typically mean nothing, but it is a nice barometer of comparison just for the fun of it. If the Spartans can get another good performance from Brady May and Brody Hamric has another solid showing from his quarterback position, the Spartans will walk away winners on Friday night. If they succeed in limiting Smith’s opportunities and keep him one-dimensional, my confidence in a Spartans victory goes through the roof.

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