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By Dave Morrison

FOR THE REGISTER-HERALD

New coach , new turfed field . Things are changing at Greenbrier West . The Cavaliers will even boast a new style of running back .

One thing that has not changed — the expectations .

Kelly Vaughan , a longtime assistant and a former all-stater for the Cavaliers who went on to a successful career at Wake Forest , will take over for Toby Harris , who resigned his post after last season ’ s 10-2 record .

Cavaliers Field will no longer have the grassturned-late-season mud bath , instead being outfitted with artificial turf over the summer .

And Greenbrier West , long known as a team that had an offense predicated on a run-game fueled by bigger backs like Noah Brown and Ty Nickell , both of whom tipped the scales at 220 pounds-plus , will go to a group of smaller backs this season .

The more things change the more they stay the same . The expectations remain for a team that has made four straight playoff appearances and has advanced to the second round three times . Greenbrier West is 35-10 in the last four seasons . Last year the team ’ s two losses were both to James Monroe , once in the playoffs .

James Monroe was really the only team on the schedule to put up good numbers against the Cavaliers and the Mavericks raced all the way to the Class A state championship game .

There was no banner , but it was another banner year in Charmco last year and the expectations are for an

Jenny Harnish / The Register-Herald

Greenbrier West ’ s Ethan Holliday intercepts a pass intended for Meadow Bridge ’ s Conner Mullins last season in Charmco .

even bigger 2023 . “ Through the roof ,” Vaughan said of expectations the weekend before the 2023 season kicked off . “ But we like it that way . We know are kids are going to play hard , they are tough , hard-nosed kids and it ’ s our job to make sure we have them in the right positions to be successful .”

2023 SCHEDULE

Last year the defense rose to the fore in record-setting fashion , pitching five straight shutouts to start the season and finishing with eight in the team ’ s 12 games , a new school mark . The numbers are crazy . Aside from the two losses to James Monroe , the Cavaliers gave up just 19 points in 10 other games , and eight of those were shutouts , including a 35-0 rout of South Harrison in the opening round of the Class A playoffs .

The Cavaliers allowed just 1,232 rush yards , an average 102.7 per game and 2.8 yards per carry . Opponents scored just 14 touchdowns , and 11 of those came against James Monroe . The unit recovered 23 fumbles and had six interceptions .

“ It was a perfect storm ,” Vaughan said . “ Usually , you don ’ t see ( five straight shutouts or eight ). You don ’ t know when a team is going to get a pick-six , return a kick for a score , get a scoop-and-score . Everything just broke right for us to do that .”

Nine starters return to the defense , led by versatile defensive back-linebacker Ethan Holliday , who was a first-team allstate defensive utility pick in 2022 . Holliday had 122 tackles , three interceptions , three forced fumbled , three fumble recoveries , 11 tackles for a loss and a blocked kick .

“ He ’ s a hybrid ,” Vaughan said . “ We can put him anywhere and he would get the job done .”

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SOUTHERN W . VA . GAME NIGHT - AUGUST 2023 • 9