Mavericks face playoff rematch with Greenbrier West tonight at home

Nov. 24—LINDSIDE — The last time James Monroe and Greenbrier West met on a football field it didn't go so well for the Mavericks.

But the playoffs are often called a "second season" and it sometimes proves to be a season of second chances.

The No. 1 Mavericks (10-1) have the opportunity for a regular season do-over when the No. 4 Cavaliers (12-0) reintroduce themselves at H.E. Comer Sports Complex in tonight's WVSSAC Class A state semifinals.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

In other Class A action today, No. 3 Williamstown (12-0) plays at No. 2 Tucker County (12-0) at 4 p.m.

What's on James Monroe head football coach John Mustain's plate is enough to think about for now.

"We're facing a tough battle. We're looking at a team that gave us our only loss and we've had tough battles with them every year since I came back," said Mustain, whose team comes in off a 17-0 quarterfinal win over Cameron.

"We were able to beat them three in a row until the loss this year against them."

In spite of some of the apparent advantages provided by having faced an opponent previously in the not-too-distant past, Mustain is ambivalent at best about post-season rematches — more 'nay' than 'yay.'

"Personally, I'd rather not. This is actually the second year in a row that we have faced West in the playoffs. We did round two last year. This year it happens to be a semifinal game," he said.

"I personally don't like the thought of having to play somebody we've already played once whether we beat them or lost to them. There's just something about it I don't like," said Mustain, whose team fell 25-8 to West in the regular season meeting at Charmco.

On the other hand, he noted that preparing for No. 8 Cameron last week wasn't all that much fun, either. With a completely unknown team and lacking a proper frame of reference, coaches sometimes aren't sure what they're dealing with until they're dealing with it, he said.

The Mavs defense went on pitch a shutout in a 17-0 win versus the Dragons, also getting a defensive score from Wil Boggess on a Pick Six. But the unknowns still hung heavy in the air at opening kickoff time.

"I found out what I wasn't really sure about ... Cameron was really good," said Mustain

"It's kind of hard to tell [from scouting film] sometimes. They were from way up north. We didn't have any common opponents and of the West Virginia schools on their schedule, they didn't play anybody who made the playoffs.

"It makes it hard to tell just how good a team is [until you play them]. I thought they were a really, really good football team," the Mavericks' head coach said.

Thanks to the Mavericks' suffocating defense, James Monroe had enough offense to win in spite of Cameron's own defensive virtues.

Greenbrier West defeated hitherto-unbeaten Wahama 22-20 in last week's quarterfinals.

Quarterback Cole Vandall led the Cavaliers with 44-yard touchdown pass to Jake Pate and put the Cavaliers ahead for good on a 27-yard TD completion to Tucker Lilly capped by a successful 2-point conversion toss to Ethan Holliday.

Wahama managed close the gap to 22-20 but a Pate interception and subsequent defensive stop ended the White Falcons' final two possessions to clinch the victory.

In the last meeting the Mavericks got 'Vandall-ized" somewhat themselves, giving up a 34-yard scoring strike to Holliday just before the half. He found Colton Dunbar with a 22-yard TD pass in the third quarter and added a 6-yard touchdown toss to Lilly.

The Cavaliers defense confined James Monroe's offense to Layton Dowdy's 11 yard touchdown pass to Chaz Boggs and 146 yards total offense. The two-point differential was due to a safety collected by the Mavs defense early in the second quarter.

"They're a very senior dominated team. I think they've got something like 16 or 18 seniors on their roster. That doesn't always mean you're going to be good, but it increases the chances," Mustain said.

"In all liklihood, you've got several kids out there with experience. And they are a good team. They have a lot of talent."

For that same reason, it was fortunate for James Monroe that Cameron turned out to be as good as they were, Mustain said, because the Dragons had a lot of similarities to the Cavaliers in terms of talent, deployment and execution on both sides of the football. But he doesn't think the Mavs and the Cavs are going to surprise each other.

"I think both of us know each other so well that they may throw a wrinkle in and we may throw a wrinkle in, but in all honesty, its going to be a battle of wills to me as much as anything. You want to win, but you mainly want your kids to go out and do their best. A lot of times if they do that, you're going to win. Hopefully we can go out there and get the job done," Mustain said.

"It's going to be a tough one," he said.