>All-Time Series: Beckley leads, 22-14. The Spartans and Eagles met every year from 1971 to 1978, then the series resumed in 1982. Beckley won the first 10 games in the series, until the Spartans won at Van Meter Stadium in 1984. Greenbrier East won 13-of-15 meetings from 1984 to 1998. The Flying Eagles also won 10 straight between 1999-2008. Greenbrier East has a 6-11 record all-time against Beckley at Spartan Stadium.

>Last Meeting: September 4, 2009 at Beckley – Greenbrier East 39, Beckley 34. In one of the most exciting games in Spartan history, Greenbrier East battled back from a 14-0 first quarter deficit to beat Beckley for the first time in 11 years. The Spartan defense provided a goal line stand on Woodrow’s final possession as Greenbrier East stopped Beckley on the final four plays from inside the 10-yard line. Nathan Lilly rushed 21 times for 161 yards and three touchdowns. Clay Ayers completed 12-of-20 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 114 yards on seven carries. Travis Butts had four receptions for 73 yards and one touchdown, while Ethan Mounts caught four passes for 67 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, East improved to 2-0 on the 2009 season.

>Two Years Ago: October 24, 2008 at Fairlea – Beckley 33, Greenbrier East 14. Beckley flew out to a 26-0 halftime lead before the Spartans managed two fourth quarter touchdowns on Nathan Lilly’s eight-yard run and Clay Ayers’ 35-yard scoring pass to Brandon Dolan. The Beckley offense outgained East, 410-320, as the Eagles beat the Spartans for the 10^th straight game. Nathan Lilly rushed 22 times for 149 yards. With the loss, East fell to 1-8 on the 2008 season. 

>Three Years Ago: October 19, 2007 at Beckley – Beckley 35, Greenbrier East 14. Five turnovers spelled defeat for Greenbrier East as Beckley beat the Spartans for the ninth straight time. Woodrow’s Marquel Ali rushed 25 times for 278 yards and three touchdowns. John Gadomski led East with 106 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. With the loss, East fell to 2-6 on the 2007 season.

>Four Years Ago: September 15, 2006 at Beckley – Beckley 33, Greenbrier East 14. The Spartans fell behind, 14-0, but closed the gap to 20-14 in the fourth quarter. Clinging to a six-point lead, Beckley added two fourth-quarter touchdowns to get the home win. The Eagles rushed for 332 yards and held East to 198 total yards. Jonathan Cosby rushed eight times for 56 yards. Jacob Coleman and Dominique Daniels each had a rushing TD. The loss dropped East to 1-3 on the 2006 season. 

>Five Years Ago: September 16, 2005 at Fairlea – Beckley 34, Greenbrier East 6. After a scoreless first quarter, Beckley exploded for 20 points in the second period. Marcus Manns’ 63-yard punt return with 47 seconds remaining in the first half broke the game open. Tommy Mutter rushed nine times for 42 yards. Allen Level’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Tye Allen gave their Spartans their only points. Beckley outgained East, 374-112 in total offense. The loss dropped East to 1-3 on the 2005 season.

>Six Years Ago: October 22, 2004 at Beckley – Beckley 14, Greenbrier East 3. The Spartans held a 14-3 halftime lead on Nate Bryant’s 21-yard field goal. In the second half, Beckley blocked a punt that set up a three-yard touchdown run by John Harbison. With a 7-3 lead, Woodrow’s Marquil Ali broke an 83-yard run on 3^rd Down & Eight for the clinching score. Beckley outgained East, 167-80, as the Flying Eagles defeated the Spartans for the sixth straight game. The loss dropped East to 2-6 on the 2004 season.

>Seven Years Ago: October 24, 2003 at Fairlea – Beckley 34, Greenbrier East 14. With the game tied, 14-14, starting the 4^th Quarter, Beckley scored 20 unanswered points to get the Eagles’ fifth straight win against the Spartans. Woodrow’s Emeke Eneje rushed 19 times for a school-record 287 yards, with touchdown runs of 87 and 71 yards. The Beckley offense gained 467 total yards. Chris Brewer led East with four receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown. The Spartans dropped to 0-8, tying a school record for the worst start in school history.

>Eight Years Ago: October 25, 2002 at Beckley – Beckley 14, Greenbrier East 7. In a driving rainstorm, the Spartans dropped their fourth straight game against the Flying Eagles. Beckley outgained East in total offense, 246-77. Jason Hoke led the Spartans with 13 carries for 90 yards and a touchdown. The Beckley defense held East to two first
downs. The loss dropped the Spartans to 1-7 on the season.

>Nine Years Ago: October 19, 2001 at Fairlea – Beckley 61, Greenbrier East 27. The Flying Eagles accumulated 643 yards in total offense, including 494 rushing yards. Beckley jumped out to a 27-0 lead before
the Spartans trimmed it to 27-13 at halftime. The Flying Eagles scored 28 points in the 3^rd Quarter to put the game out of reach. The 61 points was the most ever given up by a Spartan team. Pat McClintic had four carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. Evan Glover completed 2-of-2 passes for 59 yards and a touchdown. The loss dropped the Spartans to 5-3.

>10 Years Ago: October 20, 2000 at Beckley – Beckley 35, Greenbrier East 14. The Flying Eagles beat Greenbrier East in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1982-1983. Woodrow Wilson also posted its first win over the Spartans in Beckley since 1986. Beckley had 455 yards in total offense and jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Greenbrier East
scored 14 straight. Then, Mike Ross’ 76-yard TD run broke the game open. Greg Wilson rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown, while Travis McClintic had 10 tackles.

>11 Years Ago: October 22, 1999 at Spartan Stadium - Beckley 7, Greenbrier East 6. Michael Harvey’s 98-TD run in the 2^nd Quarter gave Beckley the winning margin. But it was not without drama. On the game’s final play, Spartan sophomore QB Pat McClintic completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Whitney Keadle. The Spartans went for a two-point conversion and the win, but it failed. The McClintic-to-Keadle combination hooked up five times for 65 yards.

>12 Years Ago: October 23, 1998 at Beckley - Greenbrier East 42, Beckley 0.  The Spartans held a 28-0 halftime lead and coasted to a 42-0 win. It was the largest margin of victory by Greenbrier East in this series. The Spartans gained 370 rushing yards with a total offensive output of 395. Jesse Bennett had 18 carries for 161 yards and one touchdown. Matt Winkfield rushed eight times for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Beckley had 101 yards of total offense. It was Greenbrier East’s sixth consecutive win at Flying Eagle Stadium, dating back to 1988.

Tough lesson taught Parker well
By Dave Morrison
Register-Herald Sports Editor

FAIRLEA — Talk about your introduction to high school football.

Greenbrier East lineman Michael Parker has one for the ages.

As a freshman, Parker was inserted into the Spartans’ game against Parkersburg against Josh Jenkins, who was one of the most decorated high school linemen in state history.

The three-time Hunt Award winner as the state’s top lineman now plays at West Virginia.

Suffice to say, it was a welcome Parker — then a 6-foot, 220-pound lineman — won’t soon forget.

“I was expecting to get absolutely blown up, but I held my own,” he recalled. “I got a few tackles. Actually, I did get blown up a lot. But after it was over, he told me, ‘Good game,’ so I was happy about that.”

It was a learning curve, and by everyone’s estimation, he did the best he could under the circumstances.

“John Gadomski was our quarterback at the time and he said he was really impressed,” Parker said. “That really got me thinking that I could do something with this. After that, I realized I went against the best of the best and nobody was going to be as good as Jenkins was.”

These days, Parker has grown into a 6-foot-3, 285-pound beast with four years of experience under his belt.

“I feel like it’s my time to be the older guy and be the guy that people have a tough time going up against,” he said. “I’ve put in a lot of work to get to this point.”

“He’s the leader of our line,” Greenbrier East coach Aaron Baker said. “If someone has a question, they ask Michael. You can’t replicate game experience.

“And he has seen everything. He is our main cog on a line that is pretty experienced.”

He is joined on the line by returning standouts like Jacob Harper (6-0, 230), Tanner Hughes (5-11, 270), Drew Dowdy (6-1, 215) and Justin Palmer (5-9, 200).

And he knows his role inside and out.

“I think he probably knows the offense as well as I do,” quarterback Clay Ayers said. “He is a great leader for us.”

Not only does he have the experience, he has the strength and speed to back it up.

He is bench pressing 350 and he runs a 4.9 40, which is key as the Spartans plan to open up the offense this fall.

“People are going to be surprised by our passing game,” Parker said. “In the last two years we tried to run it down people’s throats. This year our pass game has improved and we’re going to be a fun team to watch.”

Parker has been contacted by several conference schools and he is interested in attending Mars Hill, where former teammate Austin Ramsey plays.

It’s among his goals for 2010, as is improving on a 2-8 overall record for a team that started 2-0.

“My No. 1 goal is to help this team do well,” Parker said. “The way we finished last year was disappointing. I don’t feel like we’re a team that people should sleep on. We want to show how much we have improved. I’d like to get recruited more and eventually get on the all-state team, but first comes the season and us winning some games.”

The Spartans scrimmage today at the Mountain State Athletic Conference grid-o-rama at Laidley Field. They go against St. Albans at 3 p.m. and Huntington at 4 p.m.

Greenbrier East opens the regular season at Lincoln County next Friday before opening the home season with rival Woodrow Wilson Sept. 3 at Spartan Stadium.

— E-mail: demorrison@register-herald.com

Enthusiasm marks East practices

By Gary Fauber
Register-Herald Assistant Sports Editor

It only took one day for Aaron Baker’s first goal to be realized. He hopes it’s just the first step toward a much bigger goal.

The new head football coach at Greenbrier East wanted to see in the neighborhood of 60 players on the first day of practice. Fifty-seven players reported early Monday before two more showed up later in the day.

On Tuesday, the number had increased to 62.

“Fifty-seven, I was fine with that,” Baker said. “As long as we were over the 55 mark.”

A turnout of 62 may seem small for a Class AAA team. Not so when you consider the 40 or so players who had been turning out in recent years.

It is evident that a new enthusiasm has found its way to the Spartan camp. And it all starts with Baker, the team’s youngest-ever coach and the first Greenbrier East alumnus to hold the position.

He was awarded the job June 9, less than one week before the summer practice window began. That time was used to install the playbook and acclimate the players to what Baker plans to do.

Not that much introduction is needed. Before taking the job at East, Baker coached most of the current Spartans during his four years at Eastern Greenbrier Middle. The team went a combined 15-1 the last two seasons.

Ultimately, of course, Baker wants to help get East back to the playoffs. It will take a special group of players to get things turned around, and Baker feels he has that already.

“We have 14 seniors and that senior leadership is starting to pay off,” he said. “Especially (Tuesday), at the end of practice when some of the kids started to get a little sluggish, the seniors picked them up.

“This senior class is going to be remembered as the class that helped get it turned around.”

Baker’s enthusiasm is being met by his players.

“The intensity is there and the enthusiasm is there,” Baker said. “That has shown the first two days of practice. Practices have been crisp and smooth.

“The numbers part helps. If we can get this year past us and win a few games, then (the turnout) might be 80 next year.”

The Spartans open the season Aug. 28 at home against Lincoln County.

— E-mail: gfauber@register-herald.com

Baker trying to turn things around at Greenbrier East

By Rick Ryan
Charleston Gazette Assistant Sports Editor

Aaron Baker walks into a difficult challenge this year as a new football coach in the uber-tough Mountain State Athletic Conference.

Baker, 32, takes over at Greenbrier East, becoming the youngest football head coach in school history and the first alum to serve as head coach.

East hasn't experienced much success lately, going 12-58 over the past seven seasons, with its last winning record (6-4) coming in 2001. But the Spartans are banking on the enthusiasm of Baker, who moves over following a successful stint at Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.

"We need to win to turn the program around,'' Baker said. "That's been a little tough. I think the kids are buying into what we're doing, and are excited about what we're doing. That's the big thing of it - getting the kids on board.''

Baker hasn't had a tough sell installing his new spread offense and attacking defense - big changes for the Spartans, who ran a low-risk ball-control attack the past few seasons under Mike Michael.

"They're really enjoying putting the ball in the air now,'' Baker said. "We want to be aggressive on offense, take the ball downfield and score. Then we want to put pressure on opposing teams and get the ball back. We're changing things up a little bit, and coming after people on defense.''

Baker said sophomore-to-be Clay Ayers has a chance to be "a heck of a quarterback'' in his new system. Ayers completed 23-of-68 passes last year for 624 yards and four touchdowns.

More than 40 players have shown up for each of East's summer workout sessions so far, and Baker hopes to keep building momentum on the team and with the fans.

"We want to make as many people interested in the program as possible,'' he said. "Down through the years, we've lost a little bit of support and lost a few fans. With our road schedule being close and everything, I think we'll do that. We've generated interest so far. It's been fun, been interesting getting things turned around. Now we need to win a few games.''

East, which generally logs more miles on country roads than any other school in the MSAC because of its remote location in Greenbrier County, actually has about as favorable a road schedule as possible.

Its trips include relatively short jaunts to Woodrow Wilson, Bluefield, Alleghany (Va.) and Princeton. The one trip of any distance is Hurricane.

Aaron Baker hired as football coach
at Greenbrier East

By Dave Morrison
Register-Herald Sports Editor

Aaron Baker grew up in Greenbrier County with a dream.

“I always wanted to be the coach at Greenbrier East,” Baker said Tuesday evening.

Only an hour before, that dream was realized when he was named the new Spartans head football coach, replacing Mike Michael, who resigned after last year’s 2-8 season.

Baker, 32, is the youngest to be named head coach at East and is also the first alumnus of the school to hold the position.

Baker had been the head coach at Eastern Greenbrier Middle the last four years and his team went undefeated last year and has won 15 straight. His last two teams went 15-1.

He was an assistant at Greenbrier East before that, spending one year under Bob McClintic and one under Andy Grogg.

“When coach Grogg got the job here, I had applied for the job and they told me I needed some head coaching experience,” Baker said.

“Then the Eastern Greenbrier job came open and I took that and ran with it. I figured it was a good chance to get that experience.

“We had some success the last couple of years. I have always followed the motto that players win games and coaches lose games. So winning 15 straight games should really be attributed to the kids.”

Baker will be introduced to the fans tonight at a Meet the Coach evening at Spartan Stadium at 7 p.m. A player-parent meeting will be held following the event.

That he is from Greenbrier County and played for the Spartans matters only in that most of the community knows him, Baker said.

“I don’t know how much of a difference it makes,” Baker said. “Obviously (the two previous coaches, Michael and Andy Grogg) are friends of mine. I really miss seeing coach Grogg around here (he passed away last year while an assistant under his brother Kevin at Wyoming East).

“The people here in the community know me and they’ve known me for years. My goals are going to be the same. The main thing is that it isn’t about me, it’s about the program. I want to represent the school and the county well and put Greenbrier East back on the map in the state.”

Baker said his team will run from a spread offense.

“I like to throw the football, I think it’s fun,” Baker said. “We have an experienced quarterback in Clay Ayers and we have talent on both sides of the football.”

Baker will also emphasize special teams.

“We will kick field goals,” he said. “We’ll return kicks, return punts. Special teams is an important part of the game and we will work hard on that aspect of the game.”

Baker said he has been working with the team in the weight room since November and he had “a couple of kids who are benching over 300, two or three others in the 270-280 pound range. The weight room will be an important component of the program.”

Baker played for Greenbrier East from 1991-1993 and twice the Spartans made the playoffs.

And he is very aware of the rivalry with Woodrow Wilson, which East plays in Beckley the second week of the season.

“When I was a senior we went up there and beat them and basically knocked those guys out of the playoffs,” Baker said. “I have a lot of respect for coach (John H.) Lilly. They have turned out a lot of great players and kids. In my opinion, it’s our turn now. Our kids are willing to work hard. That game is the second week of the season. I’ve had that one penciled on the calendar since I applied for the job.”

The Spartans, like other teams around the state, start the three-week practice period Monday.

“It’s not in pads but we’re going to install our offense, defense and special teams,” Baker said. “We can get a gauge of the players and their abilities.”

Baker, who has a degree in bio-technology, is married to the former Allison Holiday and they have two sons, Nathan (5) and Rhett (2).