The old saying, “Good things come to those who wait,” proved to be music to ears of coach Cody Baugh and his Greeneville Middle School football team Thursday evening, as the Greene Devils finally opened the 2026 season with a convincing 40-0 victory over Robinson Middle School at Burley Stadium.
Mother Nature had other plans last week and again Monday, forcing the postponement of Greeneville’s season opener. Once the teams finally took the field, however, nothing could slow down the Greene Devil offense, which scored five touchdowns and rolled up 368 yards of total offense.
“The kids were excited to get started,” stressed Baugh. “There’s going to be things that we will have to work on after watching the film, but it was a great first game.”
Robinson took the opening kickoff and gained four yards on the first play from scrimmage, but an illegal procedure penalty, a five-yard loss, and an incomplete pass quickly forced the Redskins to punt.
The Greene Devils wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Quarterback Easton Ricker, making his first career start, made a great read and kept the ball around the end, racing 26 yards for the score. Alijah Goode converted the two-point attempt to make it 8-0 with 4:55 remaining in the opening quarter.
Robinson appeared to find some success on its next possession, moving from its own 33-yard line down to the Greeneville 21. However, another illegal procedure penalty and a seven-yard loss forced the Redskins into a passing situation. Jett Williams turned the tide when he intercepted a pass at the Greeneville 16.
A pass to Williams moved the ball out to the 24, and Goode then broke loose for a 26-yard gain to midfield just before the first quarter came to a close.
Greeneville utilized both the passing and running games to move the ball to the Robinson 22 before taking a timeout with 5:59 remaining in the half.
Goode extended the Greene Devil lead when he took the handoff following the timeout and raced 22 yards for the touchdown. Kielor Roark added the two-point conversion to make it 16-0 with 5:53 remaining in the half.
Following another Robinson punt, Greeneville struck again, this time through the air. Facing a third-down situation, Ricker found Williams streaking down the sideline for a 39-yard touchdown strike. The two-point conversion pushed the lead to 24-0 with 3:14 remaining in the half.
Robinson took advantage of a short kickoff and threatened to cut into the deficit before halftime. The Redskins moved from their own 48 all the way down to the Greeneville 1-yard line, but a third illegal procedure penalty and a six-yard sack pushed them back.
An incomplete pass set up fourth-and-goal from the 12. Robinson quarterback Darrian Brickey delivered a pass toward the corner of the end zone, but a Greene Devil defender broke up the attempt to keep the Redskins off the scoreboard.
Greeneville picked up right where it left off in the second half. Zavi Dickson broke loose for a 23-yard touchdown run and added the two-point conversion to extend the lead to 32-0 with 5:48 remaining in the third quarter.
Peyton DeAngelis came up with an interception just before the third quarter expired, jump-starting the Greene Devil’s final scoring drive. Roark rushed for nine yards on the final play of the third quarter before Dreke Richard opened the fourth with a 34-yard burst. Richard capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining in the game. The two-point conversion made it 40-0.
Ricker completed 8 of 10 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown while adding 45 yards rushing and another score. Goode led the Greeneville rushing attack with 63 yards and a touchdown, followed by Richard with 50 yards.
Greeneville will have little time to celebrate the season-opening victory, as the Greene Devils are scheduled to host Boone on Monday in a makeup game that has already been postponed twice. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. at Greeneville Middle School.
