Greeneville Middle School utilized strong play from its defense and special teams Monday evening, shutting out Boone 44-0 at Todd Newberry Field and picking up their second win of the year.
The Greene Devil defense held the Trailblazers to just 57 yards of total offense and recovered two fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Special teams also got in on the action with a blocked punt that was scooped up and taken to the end zone.
“Any game changers that you can make to boost your guys is a good thing,” said head coach Cody Baugh. “We came out a little flat and sloppy tonight, but that can be expected after playing last Thursday, only having one day of practice to prepare, and having to change to a different playing venue. But we figured it out.”
Greeneville got things started midway through the opening period after forcing Boone to punt and then recovering a fumble. Facing second down and 15 from their own 25-yard line, Boone running back Easton Slover took the handoff and forced his way out to the 31-yard line before having the ball stripped by Alijah Goode, who scooped up the loose ball and returned it to the end zone. The two-point conversion was successful, giving the Devils an 8-0 lead with 4:54 remaining.
The Greene Devils forced Boone into a three-and-out and quickly went back to work, scoring in just two plays. Goode picked up seven yards on the first play before Dreke Richard raced 18 yards for a touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, but Greeneville held a 14-0 advantage with 2:08 left in the quarter.
Greeneville’s third score came in the second quarter when Landon Timbs broke through the line and made a spectacular special teams play, blocking the Boone punt. Goode recovered the loose ball and raced 15 yards for the touchdown. The two-point conversion was successful, pushing the Greeneville lead to 22-0 with 6:45 remaining in the half.
The Greene Devil defense once again forced a three-and-out before the offense put together a three-play scoring drive. An 18-yard run by Camden Kinley and a 20-yard pass from Easton Ricker to Colton Neal set up a 15-yard sprint to the end zone by Goode with 2:28 left in the half, making the score 30-0.
Boone appeared poised to get on the scoreboard just before halftime after taking a short kickoff and benefiting from a facemask penalty. The Trailblazers moved the ball all the way to the Greeneville 16-yard line, but a two-yard gain followed by three consecutive incompletions turned the ball over on downs.
Greeneville ran five offensive plays before time expired, sending the teams to the locker rooms with the Devils holding a 30-0 advantage.
Greeneville took the second-half kickoff and marched 53 yards in five plays, capped by a two-yard plunge from Ricker. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Devils with a 36-0 lead with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter.
The Greene Devils came up with their second fumble recovery of the evening on the ensuing kickoff when Greyson Welch fell on the loose ball at the Boone 44. Welch took over at quarterback for Ricker and connected with Richard for an eight-yard gain on first down. Richard then picked up a first down with an 11-yard run.
Greeneville dodged a potential disaster when the Devils fumbled for the second time, but Peyton DeAngilis was there to recover the loose ball at the Boone 14. Richard, who finished the night with 43 yards on four carries, capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was successful, giving Greeneville a 44-0 lead.
The Greene Devils finished the night with 271 yards of total offense, including 129 yards rushing and 142 through the air. Ricker completed five of eight passes for 127 yards.
Greeneville will have another short turnaround before returning to action Thursday. The Devils will travel to Johnson City to take on Liberty Bell, with kickoff scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
