The biggest game in East Tennessee will take place in Burley Stadium on Friday as Sevier County comes to town to battle it out with the Greeneville Greene Devils.
Sevier County comes into the contest with a 4-0 record and ranked No.1 in Class 5A while the Greene Devils are 5-0 and the No.2 team in Class 4A.
“This is a big-time matchup. We went down there last year and had every opportunity to win that game, but it didn’t go our way,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “I expect another battle on Friday night. They are the number one team in 5A for a reason. This is the game you want to see on Friday night.”
Last year Greeneville went to Sevierville and got into a battle for the ages with the Smokey Bears, but fell 30-27 in double overtime.
Friday will be the 23rd all-time meeting between the programs dating back to 1925. Greeneville leads the series 13-8-1, but the Devils last win came in 1980.
The player to watch for Sevier County is quarterback Cooper Newman who is committed to Connecticut. He is throwing for 220 yards per game this season with 16 touchdowns, one interception and a 73.8 completion percentage.
Joining Newman in the backfield are two talented running backs. Nathan Patterson returns as last year’s starter and Brayden Maples comes over from Gatlinburg Pittman after an All-State season. The duo are splitting carried evenly and through four games they have run for 244 yards and 234 yards respectively.
The passing game has spread the ball around with nine different receivers catching a touchdown through four games. Cooper Newman’s favorite target so far has been his brother Parker Newman, a Duke commit, who has 19 catches for 343 yards and six touchdowns this season.
“They have four division one commits on their offense. The transfer portal has been good to them,” Spradlen said. “They are going to spread you out, but they have a tight end in there almost all the time. They can put two tight ends in there and pound it at you. They do a good job of getting those tight ends the ball in the flats. We have to make sure those guys are covered, because you don’t want them running down hill.”
While the Smokey Bears come into the game averaging 41.8 points per game the Greene Devils have been even more productive and will look to outduel their opponents in purple on Friday. Greeneville is averaging 50.2 points per game after and 76-8 win over Sullivan East last week.
Greeneville quarterback Kaine Ricker has been even more productive than the Smokey Bear’s Mr. Football winner. Through five games he has thrown for 1,422 yards, with 16 touchdowns, no interceptions and 81.9 completion percentage.
So far this season no one has been able to cover receiver Taren Claridy as he has pulled in 28 catches for 690 yards and 11 touchdowns. Zy Neal is coming off a night where he caught four passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns.
Getting Ricker and Jude Dyer going in the run game on Friday will be important for Greeneville as it tries to keep the defense honest and to give those speedsters one-on-one matchups on the outside.
With that Spradlen feels that focus and attention to detail on every play will make a difference on Friday. One play can change this game, just like a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown before halftime did last year. This time the Devils will hope the momentum-shifting moment is in their favor.
“We’re going to have to be at our best every play,” Spradlen said. “We saw that last year. We don’t block down on a field and instead of it being 17-7 at halftime its 14-14. Sevier County is going to do the little things, they do the things big-time programs do. Somebody has to start the party for us, somebody has to set the tempo. If we let them set the tempo we could be in trouble.”
Kickoff from what is expected to be a packed Burley Stadium is set for 7 PM. The game will be broadcast live on your airwaves on WGRV 99.5 FM.
