CAVALIERS Continued from 9
The defensive line isn ’ t stout , but it is strong , featuring Jacob Whitt ( 39 tackles , fumble recovery ), Daron Vaughan ( 43 tackles , three FR ), Jacob Nutter ( 81 tackles , two FR ) and Trent Parker ( 39 tackles , FR ), as well as second-team all-stater Cole Vandall , a defensive end type who had 65 tackles and three fumble recoveries .
Other returnees to that defense include Evan Vandall , Marcus Adkins and Isaac Agee .
Nickell and Brown fueled the running game since 2018 , amassing over 1,000 carries and over 7,500 yards and 106 touchdowns in that span . Both were large backs . Brown , who had a 2,000-yard season , ran 588 times during his career for 4,054 yards and 56
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touchdowns , and Nickell ran 414 times and piled up 3,448 yards and 50 touchdowns over the last two seasons .
You can ’ t replace that kind of output .
Greenbrier West will go with a complement of backs this season to do it , with Holliday ( 29-192-5 ) and Agee ( 14-156-1 ) chief among them , along with Brandon Poticher and Jake Pate .
Last season the Cavaliers employed a two-headed monster at quarterback in Cole Vandall and Tucker Lilly .
Lilly was more productive in the pass game , completing 32 of 68 passes for eight touchdowns and three interceptions . Vandall completed 29 of 51 for 402 yards and a touchdown , but he was also the team ’ s second-leading rusher with 430 yards and six rushing touchdowns .
“ Cole is a big kid ( 6-4 ) and he ’ s hard to tackle ,” Vaughan said . “ He has really worked hard to improve in the passing
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game . Tucker is a quick kid , and he throws a nice ball . Look , everybody thinks we ’ re not going to throw the ball . We ’ ve been trying for 35 years to throw the ball . We ’ d like to throw 10-12 times just to keep ( the opponent ) honest .”
Vaughan , a quarterback in his playing days 40 years ago , was also high on Lilly as a pass catcher . He caught five passes for 57 yards . Holliday , also a hybrid on offense , is the main target back from a year ago , after catching 17 balls for 387 yards and four touchdowns .
Another potential pass catcher is newcomer Coleton Dunbar , a 6-foot-4 sophomore .
It ’ s the usual suspects who will be manning the trenches on both sides of the ball so Whitt , Vaughan and Nutter will see time along with sophomore Nicholas Hamons , junior Logan Berry and junior Trey Franklin .
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Kicker Hayden Ridgeway returns after making 43 of 58 extra point attempts last season . Agee has done the punting and Franklin does some place-kicking as well .
The Cavaliers averaged 325.2 yards per game total offense and 242.8 yards rushing in 2022 .
Vaughan was excited to keep his coaching staff intact , which includes Isac Osborne , Jared Robertson , Mike Goddard , Steve Price , Owen Schmitt and Mark Agee .
“ We ’ ve had a good program here and those guys are a big part of it ,” Vaughan said . “ It ’ s nice to have that continuity for the kids . We aren ’ t going to change anything . What we have done works . We have kids that play hard , we have good coaches and the expectations are what they are .”
The team will open the new turf field when the Cavaliers take on Pendleton County on Friday at 7 p . m .
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RAIDERS Continued from 15
Most of the same players will also line up defensively . Jarrell and Acord were starting defensive tackles last season . Goff and Travis Williams will handle the ends .
Isaac Williams was a starting outside linebacker . Bowman and Marty will start in the middle .
The schedule won ’ t look much different than last season . The most significant change is picking up Mingo
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Central to replace Logan , and PikeView was moved from Week 3 to Week 2 .
The first four games — Independence , PikeView , Mingo Central and Sherman — will all be at home . Sherman was one of the two teams the Raiders defeated last year .
Workman didn ’ t set out to open with four straight home games , but he hopes it can be beneficial to a young team .
“ Hopefully that can have a positive effect on us , getting us four in a row there at home and hopefully pick up a couple ( of wins ),” Workman said . “ You ’ d like to win four
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of them , but being realistic , you ’ ve still got to win the games . Independence is going to be tough again . PikeView is going to be tough . They ’ ve got three running backs that are pretty good . Mingo Central , they ’ ve been pretty decent but I ’ m hearing they ’ re looking pretty good this year .
“ You ’ ve still got to play the games .”
Liberty was able to send about 25 players to a camp at WVU , building on Workman ’ s quest to build togetherness .
“ We used quite a bit of our days in the summer ,” Workman said . “ We took advantage
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of our three weeks in June and probably got about 10 or 11 practices in there . We got about seven or eight ( flex days ) in , so we ’ re close to 18 , 19 , 20 days of practice of extra practice in the summertime .
“ They had a good experience ( at WVU ). We took a bus up there and fed them on the way home . We used it for them to learn some football from some different people at the Division I level . Like I talked about before , some camaraderie . Getting them all together and having that team camaraderie .”
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2022 CLASS A ALL-STATE FIRST TEAM Offense QB — Layton Dowdy , James Monroe , Soph . RB — Ty Nickell , Greenbrier West , Sr . RB — Lorenzo Ferrera , Wheeling Central , Sr . RB — Rickie Allen , Williamstown , Sr . ( Captain ) WR — Maddox Anderson , Tucker County , Jr . WR — Cody Harrell , Midland Trail , Sr . OL — Aiden Corbett , Williamstown , Jr . OL — Luke Given , South Harrison , Soph . OL — Deante Suggs , Wheeling Central , Sr . OL — Jeffrey Jones , James Monroe , Sr . OL — Austin Morgan , Pocahontas County , Sr . U — Maxwell Molessa , Williamstown , Jr . U — Cooper Ridgeway , James Monroe , Jr . U — Sawyer Vanmatre , Wahama , Jr . K — Eli Tucker , Wheeling Central , Jr . Defense DL — Adam Burnside , Doddridge County , Sr . DL — Justin Parker , East Hardy , Jr . DL — Brady Baker , James Monroe , Soph . DL – Harbor Haught , Williamstown , Sr . LB — Adam Angel , Cameron , Sr . LB — Noah Burnside , South Harrison , Sr . LB — Mason Miller , East Hardy , Sr . LB — Bryce McKinney , Doddridge County , Sr . |
DB — Eli Allen , James Monroe , Sr . ( Captain ) DB — Colt Hesson , Williamstown , Jr . U — Buddy Marcum , Tug Valley , Jr . U — Seth Richards , Doddridge , Sr . U — Sean Winfrey , Tyler Consolidated , Jr . U — Ethan Holliday , Greenbrier West , Jr . P — Peyton Amos , Webster County , Sr . SECOND TEAM Offense QB — Ethan Rosenau , Tucker County , Jr . ( CAP- TAIN ) RB — Jordan Adams , Man , Sr . RB — Joey Ramsey , St Marys , Sr . RB — Peyton Day , Petersburg , Sr . WR — Gabe Stewart , Doddridge , Jr WR — Cole Burkett , Cameron , Sr . OL — Trey Ohlinger , Wahama , Sr . OL — Charles Ibbeson , Doddridge County , Sr . OL — Braden Whitelatch , Wheeling Central , Sr . OL — Reney Cordial , Greenbrier West , Sr . OL — Jacob Proffitt , James Monroe , Sr . U — Ethan Haught , Ritchie County , Sr . U — Drake Cole , Summers County , Jr . U — Brady Green , Van , Sr . K — Owen Jackson , James Monroe , Sr . Defense DL — Peyton Girard , St . Marys , Sr . |
DL – Chayse Myers , Moorefield , Soph . DL — Cole Vandall , Greenbrier West , Jr . DL — Ty Walton , Tyler Consolidated , Sr . LB — Riley Watkins , Wheeling Central ( CAP- TAIN ), Sr . LB — Chase Parsons , Wirt County , Jr . LB — Andrew Roush , Wahama , Sr . LB — Tyson Adkins , Summers County , Soph . DB — DeShawn Middleton , Wirt County , Sr . DB — Bryson Elia , Tug Valley . Fr . DB — Duke Dodson , Summers County , Sr . U — Levi Teets , Trinity , Sr ., U — Zac Hall , Clay-Battelle , Jr . U — Payton Neely , Cameron , Sr . P — Johnathan Huff , Mount View , Sr . Honorable Mention Blaike Adams , Tucker County ; . Joey Baker , Paden City ; Matt Barr , Wahama ; Austin Bartlett , Ritchie County ; Luke Bartram , Tug Valley ; Chazz Boggs , James Monroe ; Luke Bright , Tygarts Valley ; Jayden Brumfield , Man ; Gunnar Bryan , Cameron ; Braydie Carr , James Monroe ; Logan Carver , Montcalm ; Mason Chisler , Clay-Battelle ; Cole Cogar , Gilmer County ; Keaton Crowder , Richwood ; Ashton Davis , Tug Valley ; Caden Davis , South Harrison ; Peyton Day , Petersburg ; Gavin Derby , Valley ; Virgil Dorion , Valley ; Matthew |
Gaad , Clay-Battelle ; Chris Goins , Mount View ; Timothy Hager , Sherman ; Colton Hall , Gilmer County ; Evan Hamrick , Pocahontas County ; Brad Harris , Buffalo ; Ashton Haslacker , East Hardy ; Dalton Heath , Greenbrier West ; Cody Houser , St . Marys ; Patrick Higginbotham , Valley ; Trenton Huffman , Doddridge County ; Chris Isaacs , Man ; Jacob Kassay , Clay-Battelle ; Miles Kidwell , East Hardy ; Adam Landis , Moorefield ; Landen Lafferty , South Harrison ; Lucas McCallister , Madonna ; Josh Moody , Buffalo ; Aiden Moreno , South Harrison ; Dominick Mullenax , Tucker County ; Seaton Mullins , Meadow Bridge ; Ryan Oliveros , Summers County ; Ian Persinger , Calhoun County ; Dawson Price , East Hardy ; Michael Radcliff , South Harrison ; Jared Reall , Tucker County ; Andrew Roush , Wahama ; Jaden Sayre , Ravenswood ; Carson Shriver , Clay-Battelle ; Maddox Shriver , Clay-Battelle ; Adam Slone , Tug Valley ; Joseph Stewart , Van ; Bryce Taylor , Summers County ; Jaxon Tipton , Man ; Blake Turner , Petersburg ; Michael VanMatre , Wahama ; Bumby Van Meter , Petersburg ; Owan Velazquez , St . Marys ; Logan White , Williamstown ; Trenton Wilfong , Tucker County ; Zack Wise , Hundred ; Jaylen Younger , Montcalm |