Published: October 31, 2009 02:39 am      

Fayetteville edges past Greenbrier West 24-22

CHARMCO — For very different reasons, Fayetteville and Greenbrier West now play the waiting game.

Class A No. 9 Fayetteville held on for dear life, defeating Greenbrier West 24-22 Friday night in both teams’ regular season finales. The Pirates won despite being shut out and shut down in the second half.

Fayetteville (8-2) is on the cusp of hosting a first-round playoff game. West (6-4), meanwhile, was 16th in Class AA and suffered a blow to its postseason hopes.

“It looks gloomy now, but we’re not giving up hope,” Cavaliers coach Lewis McClung said. “There are four or five things we need to happen.”

The Pirates dominated the first half behind a strong running game and a passing attack that came up with two big plays. Chris Hill scored on a 3-yard run, one play after a 42-yard gain by Drew Weis.

Weis, who finished with 132 yards, added a 1-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, senior quarterback MichaelAngelo Hernandez hooked up with his brother Hunter Hernandez for touchdowns of 19 and 80 yards. The 80-yard TD came on third-and-13.

Hunter took a screen pass and got away from three tackles to score.

The second half was a different story.

The Pirates couldn’t get anything going on offense after halftime. They managed just 70 total yards, and MichaelAngelo Hernandez threw six straight incompletions.

“Offensively we just could not move the ball in the second half,” Fayetteville coach Frank Spangler said. “We couldn’t get our passing game going. We had some drops and we were a little off in our timing.”

A fumble recovery by the Cavs’ Brandon Smith set up Dylan Trout’s 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Janeek Wiggan’s two-point conversion made it 24-22 with 9:35 to play in the quarter.

The Cavaliers changed things up in the second half after finding success with the option attack in the first. Jabez Fleming and Trout got the bulk of the carries.

“We went to more of a power attack,” McClung said.

“Greenbrier West is a very good football team,” Spangler said. “They whipped our tails on the line of scrimmage.”

Fayetteville made two big plays in the second half. An interception by Brent Conley at the Fayetteville 18 killed a Greenbrier West drive. The Pirates also stopped the Cavaliers on fourth-and-11 with 1:15 to play to preserve the win.

Both teams now have a week off before the playoffs begin Nov. 13-14.

“We’re not going to worry about (hosting a game),” Spangler said. “If it happens it happens, and if it doesn’t it doesn’t.”

— E-mail: gfauber@

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Fayetteville 24, Greenbrier West 22

F (8-2) 12 12 0 0 — 24

GW (6-4) 6 8 8 0 — 22

First Quarter

F: Hunter Hernandez 19 pass from MichaelAngelo Hernandez (kick blocked), 5:27.

GW: Janeek Wiggan 11 run (kick failed), 2:37.

F: Chris Hill 3 run (pass failed), :47.

Second Quarter

F: H. Hernandez 80 pass from M. Hernandez (run failed), 9:13.

GW: Wiggan 23 pass from Chase Fitzwater (Cameron McQuain pass from Fitzwater), 2:55.

F: Drew Weis 1 run (pass failed), 1:03.

Third Quarter

GW: Dylan Trout 53 run (Wiggan run), 9:35.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — F: Weis 18-132, Caleb O’Neal 7-46, Hill 5-19, M. Hernandez 1-5. GW: Trout 14-116, Jabez Fleming 11-83, Fitzwater 12-36, Wiggan 5-18, Nolan O’Neil 3-14.

PASSING — F: M. Hernandez 7-15-0-144-2. GW: Fitzwater 3-9-1-50-1.

RECEIVING — F: H. Hernandez 3-98, Hill 2-33, O’Neal 1-9, Weis 1-9. GW: Wiggan 2-30, McQuain 1-20.

TURNOVERS — F: Weis (FR), Brent Conley (INT). GW: Brandon Smith (FR).