South Charleston senior tailback Tommy Spurlock hardly can hold back a slight chuckle when he thinks about his high school football career prior to 2004.
"This is mind-boggling to me knowing that I could win more games this season than I have in my career," the four-year starter said Friday following the Black Eagles' 41-7 rout of Riverside. "It's a great feeling. I love it."
South Charleston improved to 5-2, giving it more wins than any Black Eagle team since 2000 when Todd Chevalier -- now the coach at Sissonville -- guided SC to a 5-5 record.
The last time the Eagles won more than five games was 1994 when they finished 12-2 and owned the Class AAA state title.
"That's (South Charleston) a playoff team this year, there's no question about that," Riverside Coach Dick Whitman said.
South Charleston, which, according to Whitman, boasts more talent than any team Riverside has played other than Beckley, has done it with defense ... for a change.
"Our defense has been playing well all year," said South Charleston Coach Vernon Redman, whose team stopped Riverside on three occasions inside the Black Eagles' 30-yard line.
"That's been the difference this year. Last year, we could score points but had trouble stopping people."
Last season, South Charleston averaged more than 28 points per game but gave up more than 27.
This season, the Eagles are averaging only 23.6 points per game but are allowing only 16.7. That is the least they have surrendered on average since, well, 1994 when they gave up, well, 16.7 points per game during the regular season.
"We get together and tell our players to look in your hearts," defensive back Will Collins said.
The Black Eagles held the Warriors to 46 rushing yards and 66 passing yards.
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OFFENSIVELY, THE Eagles boast arguably the most talent in the state. But their line has been an anomaly.
While most offensive lines seem to be better at run-blocking, the Eagles perform much better when forced to protect their quarterback.
Shaad Coleman completed 10-of-17 passes with three touchdowns against the Warriors and hardly was touched. Spurlock, on the other hand, had only 39 rushing yards on 13 carries.
"Our line is smaller," Spurlock said. "So, we have a harder time running the ball. But, when we can sit back and let them protect our quarterback, they do well."
Spurlock was a 1,000-yard rusher last year but is on pace to finish with only 777 this year. Coleman, on the other hand, already has thrown for 1,094 yards with 10 touchdown passes.
"We don't have a lot of size, but we have a lot of heart," said junior tackle Chris Stover, who stands only 6 feet and weighs just 190 pounds. "We have a lot of athletes and speed on the line. Last year, we had a lot of size and not a lot of mobility."
From tackle to tackle -- Stover, left guard Brandon Rinehart (5-10, 195), center Josh Pauley (5-5, 165), right guard Justin Schoolcraft (5-4, 225) and right tackle Jake Young (5-11, 265) -- South Charleston averages 208 pounds on the offensive line.
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SPEAKING OF Coleman, he completed passes to six different receivers and is 63-of-109 (57.7 percent) this season.
All three of Coleman's touchdown passes went to talented sophomore Dominique Green, who has caught 12 passes for 238 yards and six touchdowns this season.
Green is one of four SC receivers with at least 10 receptions this season. The others are Jeremy Booker (14-278), Shane Hall (13-185) and Collins (10-269).
"We're so talented, we feel like we can do anything with the ball," said Spurlock, whose cousin Deion Spurlock had a 60-yard touchdown run.
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WHITMAN MIGHT begin to experiment more with his team after it fell to 3-4.
He did somewhat in the second half against SC, putting sophomore Chucky Erby in the game at quarterback.
"Nick (Veazey) had a little bit of a rough first half and he plays defense," Whitman said. "We think Erby has some talent. He throws the ball a little better and has a little better delivery."
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RUNNING BACK Chad McClure, in his second game after a two-game suspension, led the Warriors with 44 rushing yards on 14 carries.
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