The Greeneville Greene Devils loaded up and took a trip down I-81 to visit Northview Academy and they came home happy with a 49-7 win to open up Region 1-4A play on Thursday night.
“We played pretty good at times, but we’ve gotta play a little better at times as well. I thought our kids played hard. We were able to move the football tonight and score some points with how they were playing. We were able to throw the short passing game and get it to those playmakers,” Greeneville Head Coach Eddie Spradlen said.
The five-time defending Region 1-4A champs started their defense with an empathetic win in enemy territory in a short week of preparation. The short week didn’t impact the Devils and there was no hangover from last week’s big win at Upperman. Greeneville’s stifling defense turned in season lows in points and yards allowed in a dominant victory.
Greeneville only allowed 147 total yards on 41 defensive snaps. The Cougars had the ball for 30 minutes and 13 seconds out of the full 48-minute contest and still only had six first downs.
The offense produced their season-high in points while they simultaneously produced their season-low in yards showing how efficient Thursday night’s win was. Greeneville had 368 total yards on 36 offensive snaps for 10.2 yards per play. Greeneville had 19 first downs and averaged a first down once every two plays.
Kaine Ricker was dominant again throwing for an efficient 14-for-19 (73.7%) for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Ricker added a rushing touchdown to equal five total touchdowns on Thursday.
“He continues to play really good. Efficient with the football and get it to those playmakers and let them make big-time plays,” Coach Spradlen said.
Taren Claridy had another strong showing with five catches for 93 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s playing good. A chance to get him the ball and just let him do his thing. The quicker you get him the ball the more explosive he is with it. I’m really proud of him and how hard he’s playing,” Spradlen expressed.
Greeneville improved to 3-0 and starts 1-0 in Region 1-4A play.
Taren Claridy got everything rolling on Greeneville’s first possession. The defense forced a three-and-out on Northview’s first drive and set up with good field position at the 44-yard line after a short punt. The Devils marched downfield before Claridy finished the opening drive with a 15-yard touchdown reception. Greeneville led 7-0 with 7:29 left in the first.
The Devils forced a fumble on Northview’s next play and Baylor Smith came away with the fumble recovery.
The drive started at the 25-yard line and finished in the end zone. Taren Claridy gained a first down and converted a long 3rd-&-14 play. Jude Dyer worked his way to the 1-yard line before the o-line paved the way for Kaine Ricker to cross the plane and score from one yard out. Ricker’s touchdown helped Greeneville lead 14-0 with 5:35 left in the quarter.
Greeneville led 14-0 after one and extended their lead early into the second. Jude Dyer carried the ball downfield on multiple attempts before he scored from five yards out. The senior helped extend Greeneville’s lead to 21-0 with 7:51 to go in the half.
The Devils had Northview bottled up all game and had scouted Northview’s veer offense to perfection. Except for one big play. The Cougars only had 147 total yards and 50 of them came on one play. The Devils had them at 4th-&-3 on their own 49-yard line before Keaton Phipps broke free for a 50-yard run to the 1-yard line. Phipps finished the drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown and cut Greeneville’s lead to 21-7 with 2:41 until halftime.
“It’s what we talked about during the week if you take one play off or miss an assignment, they’ve got a chance to go to the house and that’s what happened on that big play,” Spradlen explained.
Although it was less than three minutes until the half, Greeneville still managed to score twice.
It only took 59 seconds for Greeneville to respond. Taren Claridy weaved in and out of traffic and found the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown. The Greene Devils led 28-7 with 1:42 to go.
Coach Spradlen wisely used his timeouts to his advantage and Greeneville got a stop on defense to give the offense one last possession with 20 seconds to work with. The offense gained a first down with five seconds left to stop the clock, but were out of timeouts. Everybody raced to the line of scrimmage to get set for one more snap. They got the snap off in the nick of time, but some players thought time had expired before the snap was made. Some players stopped and stood in place assuming it was halftime. Taren Claridy didn’t.
Claridy ran to the back of the end zone and Ricker connected with the senior for a 21-yard touchdown as time expired going into the half. Greeneville led 35-7 at the break.
Greeneville stayed aggressive coming out of halftime. Sophomore Zy Neal hauled in a short pass and followed his blockers and used his speed to race past any defender in his way for a 53-yard receiving touchdown on the first play of the second half. The Greene Devils led 42-7.
Freshman Jalyn Kerwin scored Greeneville’s final touchdown with a 10-yard rushing touchdown halfway through the fourth quarter.
Greeneville left Kodak with a 49-7 victory over Northview.
Greeneville hosts Seymour in another important Region 1-4A battle next week at Burley Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30.
