CHARMCO, W.Va. — With nearly their entire starting eleven back on both sides of the ball, Greenbrier West is a team to watch in Class A. The Cavaliers won just two games in 2018 but last fall, West made it all the way to the quarterfinals, finishing at 10-2.
“It was a whole new system for them,” said Greenbrier West head coach Toby Harris. “We had a lot of kids that got to play the year before. Even though they lost ball games, they got out there and got experience. Once we got a win or two under our belt, they liked it. And we just kept playing hard.”
The Cavaliers boast a strong roster size for a Class A school with nearly 45 players. A core group of a dozen seniors has stuck together through some tough times and is now poised for big things.
“These kids have been together since they were young. There is about twelve or thirteen of them that have played youth league and middle school. They have played high school ball together. Now they are seniors and they want to go out on a winning note.”
Leading the way for the Cavalier offense is senior running back Noah Brown. He rushed for 2,154 yards and 28 touchdowns last fall.
“I really just worked on getting bigger,” Brown said. “Speed was huge and I have been working on footwork a lot the past two months. It is getting better. I have a lot of work to do and I have a lot farther to go.”
While West features a run-dominated offense, they hope to expand their passing game behind senior and multi-year starting quarterback Kaiden Pack.
“Kaiden can do a lot of things,” Harris said. “Kaiden runs the ball really well. He has experience. We keep working on throwing and we may throw it a bit more this year than people have seen us throw.”
Defensively, the Cavaliers return their top three tacklers from a year ago, led by Zach and Cody McClung. Head coach Toby Harris launched the football program at Greenbrier West in 1968. The 76-year-old returned to the sidelines last fall and is enjoying every minute of his second stint with the Cavaliers.
“A guy my age usually doesn’t get a second chance to do this,” Harris said. “They’re a great bunch of kids and a great bunch of coaches. I have excellent coaches to work with. It has been really good to get an opportunity to do this again.”
“I am so grateful for him stepping up,” Brown said. “As old as he is, he could have just watched but he stepped up and he really wanted to help us at times when we were down. I think this coaching staff has stepped in at the right time.”
“They would like to go to Wheeling. That is what they want to do,” Harris said.