East Burke shows it has no quit, earns first CVAC win over West Caldwell
ICARD — On a losing streak well outside of Catawba Valley 2A Conference contention and dealing with a rash of injuries, it would have been easy for the East Burke football team to pack it in and wait for next season.
But the Cavaliers weren't ready to quit until the final horn sounds later this fall.
After nearly pulling off a CVAC upset of West Lincoln last week on the road, 13-6, EBHS had another strong defensive performance queued up for Friday night's league contest at home versus West Caldwell.
This time, EB found a bit more offense to go with it and that was enough to top the visiting Warriors 28-7, snapping a four-game losing streak and grabbing the Cavs' first CVAC victory of the season with just one week left to go. The fact that it was homecoming in Icard was just icing on the cake.
"I'm just really happy for our coaches and players," said East Burke interim coach Allen Wittenberg, who moved to 2-4 since taking over the helm for the Wild Bunch midseason. "They have put in a ton of work, and we were close. We were really close last week. We had multiple opportunities to win and just couldn't finish the job, which I felt good about tonight. There were some drives that we were able to finish and we put good drives together. But I'm really happy for our kids. They've showed up to work and it's fun working with them. The coaches have showed up to work. I'm happy for everybody to get that 'W.'
The stretch run of this season has been eerily similar to last year, when injury began to pile up for the Cavaliers. Another rash of ailments the past few weeks has forced East Burke to slide around some personnel, particularly in the offensive backfield.
"It's been crazy to see," Wittenberg said. "We've shifted some guys around and they just kind of took to it. They've really been able to step up and been able to deal with that. Obviously, it was some unexpected stuff. We kind of got to the point where we had so many injuries, it was, 'What do we put on the field? Athletically, how we can get more of our best athletes out there and do some different stuff?'
"So, they've really stepped up. It's been especially nice to see a lot of our seniors who are able to do that. We've had to shift some people around and that's been fun to see."
In Friday's win, EB struck first with Carter Bennett's 10-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter. The Cavs' second TD came through the air when Cannon Morrison hit Trevor Fraley from 25 yard away, and Darren Hammons' two-point conversion run made it 14-0 at halftime. EBHS' lead grew to 20-0 with Hammons' 11-yard scoring run late in the third quarter.
In addition to being a defensive standout, Morrison has played the role of receiver and rusher at various times, and became the team's third starting QB of the season in the Week 10 loss to West Lincoln. Morrison is one of the versatile seniors the Cavaliers needed to pave the way to Friday's victory.
"One, he's just so tough," Wittenberg said. "He's just a warrior. He runs himself into the ground. You're afraid he's going to outplay his body because he's just fearless. He's going to be everywhere on defense. If we gave it to him 100 times, he'd carry it 100 times in a game on offense. You never have to doubt what you're going to get out of him.
"He may not make the right play 100% of the time, but he's going to give 100% effort 100% of the time. But he makes a lot of good plays. You just never have to doubt what he'll bring to the table. He's always going to be there and he's always going to be one of the hardest workers. He gives maximum effort."
A week after holding West Lincoln to two touchdowns, the EB defense had another gem ready for Friday night as it held the Warriors off the board into the fourth quarter before they set the final margin with a 32-yard touchdown pass.
"Our defense has played well in some spots," Wittenberg said. "I thought we played really well in the second half against Bunker Hill (in a 34-12 loss) and we played really well against West Lincoln last week. If you take away a couple plays, (the Rebels) only had 150 yards of total offense.
"Guys tonight really studied the game plan and bought into it. We were really well-prepared. I thought we had a great week of practice, and I told them that on Thursday. We were just really prepared and bought in. We put in some new stuff just to tweak and try to get a little more pressure, and they ran that stuff well tonight."
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