CHARMCO, WV (WOAY) – “You’re on edge every week. Saturday rolls around, you’re looking to see what the color is.”
When the announcement came in on August 14th, there was relief beyond compare. The news that there would tentatively be a high school football season shed light on a gloomy summer. For Eugene Wickline and Luke Brown, the reaction mirrored that of their kids.
“It was very concerning,” said senior Quarterback Kaiden Pack’s Uncle Eugene Wickline. “These boys have been playing together ever since Pee-Wee football. They have pretty much won all of the conferences they were in. In Little League, it was the Super Ball. Then Middle School, it was the conference and now we’re seniors in high school.”
The color coding map that is updated every Saturday determines which schools will and won’t play the following Friday. Players and coaches are on pins and needles every week, but Greenbrier has remained in the safe zone so far this season.
“I was relieved,” said senior Running Back Noah Brown’s Father Luke Brown. “I’ve been pretty optimistic because we’re kind of in a far out county and we don’t have a big population. I kind of figured we were going to get to play. We’ve had some close calls, but for the most part we’ve been really happy with how things are going.”
Happy might be an understatement in describing the mood towards Greenbrier West’s season so far. The Cavaliers are 7-0 heading into Friday’s matchup against Sherman. After returning to the state playoffs last year for the first time since 2014, Brown and Wickline are hoping for post-season glory for Kaiden and Noah’s final hurrah.
“For a long time they’ve been dreaming of this senior year,” Wickline said. “Of going to the state playoffs and hopefully making it to Wheeling.”
With Brown second in the area in rushing, and Pack completing close to 60% of his passes while contributing in all three phases, the sky seems to be the limit for the Cavaliers in a last ride unlike any other.
“I know what Noah and this whole team is capable of,” Brown said. “They’re an exceptional bunch of kids. They’ve been together a long time.”
Greenbrier West continued its undefeated start to the season this weekend with a 41-14 win over Sherman to move to 8-0.
