The Greenbrier Wolfpack defeated their cross-county rival Grovetown Warriors for the first time in four years Friday, Aug. 23 with the Wolfpack coming out on top 28-14 on their home turf.
The contest was a tale of two halves, as the score was tied 14-14 at halftime.
Both teams came out of the gates firing, as Greenbrier’s Vaden Guyton returned the opening kickoff 90 yards to get the Wolfpack on the board. Lavaughn Simon added the PAT kick for a 7-0 Greenbrier lead.
Grovetown (0-2) responded with a 13-play, 67-yard drive that culminated when quarterback Jowell Jackson-Hernandez connected with Damon Edwards from 28 yards out on a fourth-and-five play. Gunner Scriviner added the PAT kick for a 7-7 tie.
The Wolfpack (1-1) punched back with a 7-play, 62-yard touchdown drive of their own. Quarterback Brayden Stephens found paydirt on a designed run on third-and-goal from the six.
On the ensuing kickoff, Grovetown’s Jacquez Ivey found a gap in the coverage and shot through it for a 94-yard return touchdown. Scriviner added the PAT kick for a 14-14 tie.
After four touchdowns in less than 10 minutes into the game, both teams hit lulls offensively, and were both held scoreless for the remainder of the half.
In the second half, it was all the home-standing Wolfpack, who suffered through a one-win season last year—and Friday’s win was the first under Coach Sean Tiernan.
After a Grovetown three-and-out to start the half, Greenbrier drove 81 yards in 13 plays to add seven points when Stephens found wide receiver Craige Johnson from nine yards out. Simon made it 21-14 with the PAT kick.
After a 21-yard Ivey rush on the opening play of the ensuing Grovetown drive, a sack and false start penalty stalled the Warriors’ drive, and they were forced to punt.
Greenbrier kept its foot on the pedal, adding an eight-play, 79-yard dagger capped by another Johnson touchdown on a 38-yard deep ball from Stephens.
That was the knockout punch, as the contest ended with the 28-14 Greenbrier victory.
The Wolfpack outgained the Warriors 321-194, with 214 of those yards coming in the second half.
Greenbrier’s Tiernan was not happy with his team’s first-half performance but was pleased with how they responded with their second half play.
“It’s a big rivalry game,” said Tiernan, who rolled the dice with a two-point conversion in overtime in a one-point loss to Harlem last week. “There was a lot of emotions going on and adrenaline.”
Greenbrier held the Grovetown offense to just 7:26 of possession and 60 yards in the second half.
Grovetown head coach Cory Evans attributed his team’s second half woes to an inability to stay healthy. They also saw Lakeside pull away last week.
“We lost three starters just this week in practice, so we’re having to play so many kids both ways; you can only hold up for so long,” said Evans.
The Greenbrier offense was led by Brayden Stephens, who finished 7-of-14 for 117 yards passing and two touchdowns along with 63 rush yards on 11 attempts and an additional rushing touchdown.
Other Wolfpack standout performances include Brennan Bjorkman’s 115 all-purpose yards, Craige Johnson’s two touchdown receptions for 47 yards, and Cole Trupp’s 70 rushing yards on 14 carries.
The bright spot for Grovetown came in the form of Jacquez Ivey, who finished with 53 rush yards on eight carries to go along with his 94-yard kickoff return touchdown.
Jackson-Hernandez finished 7-of-11 for 91 passing yards and a touchdown, while Edwards finished with 58 yards on three receptions and a touchdown.
“People don’t like tempo,” said Tiernan, who had his offense constantly ready to run quick plays in the second half. “If you line up and you execute like we did in the second half, you can play at that pace we did.”
Greenbrier has a week off before it starts region play with a game against Statesboro, while Grovetown goes to Evans Aug. 30.
J. Ben Haynes is a senior communication major and outfielder on the baseball team at Augusta University.
