The Greeneville Greene Devils improved to 11-0 Friday night with a 56-28 victory over Knoxville Fulton at Burley Stadium, advancing to the second round of the TSSAA football playoffs for the 20th consecutive season and the 29th time in school history. The Greene Devils will remain at Burley Stadium next Friday to face the Upperman Bees, who advanced with a 33-27 overtime victory on the road at Loudon.
Greeneville’s win featured another record-setting performance from receiver Taren Claridy, an outstanding night from quarterback Kaine Ricker, and an explosive offense that scored quickly and often. Claridy caught six passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns, while Ricker completed 12 of 14 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns. Ricker also rushed for 76 yards and two scores and caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Claridy. The Greene Devils finished with 490 yards of total offense on just 39 plays, including 329 yards passing and 161 rushing. They had surpassed 500 yards of total offense before taking a knee on the final two plays of the game.
Although Greeneville eventually built a 35-point advantage, Fulton showed early that it would not go quietly. After the Greene Devils opened the scoring on their first possession, the Falcons answered with a touchdown to tie the game 7-7 with 4:58 left in the first quarter. But Greeneville responded with three touchdowns in a span of less than seven minutes, turning a tie game into a commanding 28-7 advantage early in the second quarter. The three scoring drives took just 53 seconds, 15 seconds and 44 seconds, respectively.
Fulton won the toss and elected to receive but went three-and-out. A sack by Kaleb Smith on Fulton quarterback Jamil Smith for a seven-yard loss on the Falcons’ first offensive play put Fulton in a hole early. Greeneville took possession at its own 27-yard line and drove 73 yards in seven plays, with the biggest gain coming on a 56-yard completion from Ricker to Claridy. For the second time this season, the Devils reached into their bag of tricks for their first score of the game. Ricker tossed to Dyer, who pitched to Claridy, who found Ricker all alone for an 11-yard touchdown pass. It was the second time this season Greeneville had used the play, which the Devils also executed perfectly against Sevier County. Gannon Cogdell added the extra point to give Greeneville a 7-0 lead with 6:59 remaining in the first quarter.
Fulton answered quickly, with Jamil Smith connecting with Keirus Cox for a 49-yard gain to set up a two-yard touchdown run by Waco Upshaw. Emanuel Mosquera’s extra point tied the game at seven with 4:58 remaining, but the tie lasted just 53 seconds. Following a 26-yard kickoff return by Jude Dyer, Greeneville took possession at its own 41-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Ricker found Claridy for a 58-yard touchdown pass, putting the Greene Devils back in front, 14-7, with 4:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
Greeneville’s defense and special teams helped create the next two scoring opportunities. Gustavo Alvarez intercepted a Smith pass and returned it seven yards to the Fulton five-yard line, but the Greene Devils gave the ball right back when Ricker was intercepted by Upshaw. The interception ended Ricker’s streak of 139 consecutive passes without an interception, the second-longest such streak in school history. Only Cade Ballard has a longer streak, with 205 consecutive attempts without an interception spanning the end of the 2017 season and the beginning of the 2018 campaign.
The Falcons were unable to capitalize, however, and were forced to punt. Claridy returned the kick 22 yards to the Fulton 20 to give the Devils good field position, although a penalty moved the ball back to the 35. Dyer erased the setback with a 35-yard touchdown run. The entire scoring possession lasted just 15 seconds, giving Greeneville a 21-7 lead with 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Jack Lister blocked a punt on Fulton’s next possession, giving the Greene Devils possession at the Falcons’ 15-yard line. Two plays later, Ricker connected with Zy Neal for a 16-yard touchdown pass. The drive consumed just 44 seconds, and Greeneville led 28-7 with 10:23 remaining in the first half. But Fulton responded with a 65-yard scoring drive, capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Ethan Gideon on fourth-and-four, cutting Greeneville’s lead to 28-14 with eight minutes remaining before halftime.
Once again, the Greene Devils needed less than a minute to answer. Ricker found Claridy down the middle for a 66-yard touchdown pass, completing a two-play, 62-yard possession that took just 55 seconds and pushed the Greeneville advantage to 35-14. It was the fourth Greeneville touchdown drive of the night that took less than a minute.
Fulton continued moving the football, but the Greene Devil defense came up with another stop when Ricker intercepted a Smith pass near the Greeneville goal line. Starting at their own eight-yard line, the Greene Devils put together one of their longer scoring drives of the night. Dyer opened the possession with a 37-yard run, and after an 11-yard completion to Neal and a 13-yard run by Dyer, Ricker eventually found Braylen Kidwell for a 32-yard touchdown pass. The five-play, 92-yard drive increased Greeneville’s lead to 42-14.
Fulton added another touchdown before halftime when Smith connected with Will Dixson on a 47-yard pass play, cutting the deficit to 42-21. Greeneville threatened to score again after Neal returned the ensuing kickoff 67 yards to the Fulton 22, but Yordan Mills fumbled after catching a 20-yard pass, and the Falcons recovered. In an unusual ruling, a penalty against Greeneville for an illegal block ended the half. The penalty occurred before the ball was fumbled, making it an offensive penalty. Since the clock expired during the play, Fulton did not get another play. Had the penalty occurred after the turnover, the Falcons could have had one untimed down before halftime. The Greene Devils nevertheless carried a three-touchdown lead into the locker room, having scored six touchdowns while producing explosive plays almost at will.
Greeneville received the second-half kickoff and quickly added to its lead, moving 62 yards in six plays. Ricker completed a 19-yard pass to Claridy and added a 12-yard run before scoring on a 27-yard keeper to extend the advantage to 49-21. After the defense forced Fulton to punt, Greeneville put together another scoring drive, this one covering 67 yards in six plays. Ricker connected with Kidwell for 26 yards and Claridy for eight before breaking loose on a 32-yard run to the Fulton six-yard line. He scored on the next play, his second rushing touchdown of the night, giving Greeneville a 56-21 lead.
Greeneville turned to its reserves in the fourth quarter. Dyer, who had rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown on just eight carries, was rested during the second half because of a sore hamstring. Fulton scored the final touchdown of the night on a 59-yard run by Jamil Smith, completing a 99-yard drive after the Falcons had been pinned at their own one-yard line by a 56-yard punt from Greeneville’s Grayson Crosby. It was Crosby’s only punt of the game, and the Falcons’ touchdown accounted for the final 56-28 margin.
Claridy Adds to Record-Breaking Season
For Claridy, Friday’s performance added another chapter to what has become one of the most remarkable receiving seasons in Tennessee high school football history, and it came one day after he was named a semifinalist for the Mr. Football Award. His six receptions for 211 yards represented the fourth-highest single-game receiving total in Greeneville history, and Claridy now owns both the third- and fourth-highest receiving performances in school history. The only players to have better games were Zaydyn Anderson, who recorded 245 yards against Volunteer in 2005, and Marty Story, who had 221 yards against Unicoi County in 1985.
Claridy’s two touchdown receptions increased his season total to 31, extending the Tennessee state record he set in the regular-season finale against Elizabethton. The former record of 28 touchdown receptions was established over a 15-game season, while Claridy surpassed that mark in just 10 games. His 211 yards against Fulton also increased his season receiving total to 1,867 yards, extending his own Greeneville single-season record and leaving him just 133 yards shy of reaching 2,000 receiving yards for the season.
Another major milestone is also within reach, as Claridy needs just 114 additional receiving yards to surpass Dorian Goddard’s school career record of 2,726 yards. Friday also marked Claridy’s eighth game this season with more than 150 receiving yards. Before this season, the Greeneville record was just three games.
Ricker Continues Historic Season
Ricker’s performance against Fulton was equally impressive, adding several more entries to the Greeneville record book. His 318 passing yards marked the fourth 300-yard passing performance of his career, a total surpassed only by Cody Baugh, who accomplished the feat five times during the 2002 season. It was also Ricker’s eighth career game with at least 250 passing yards, extending his school record in that category. Ricker moved past Aaron Christian into eighth place on Greeneville’s all-time career passing yardage list, increasing his total to 3,205 yards.
But perhaps Ricker’s most unusual accomplishment came from the variety of ways he reached the end zone. By throwing, rushing and catching a touchdown pass against Fulton, Ricker became the 11th player in Greeneville history to record a touchdown “hat trick,” scoring in three different ways in the same game. Remarkably, it was the third time a Greeneville player had accomplished the feat this season. Kase Spradlen threw, ran and caught touchdown passes against Sullivan East, while Ricker himself accomplished the same feat against Sevier County. That makes Ricker the only player in school history to record the hat trick twice.
Ricker finished the night with 394 combined passing and rushing yards, and his touchdown reception from Claridy meant he was directly involved in seven of Greeneville’s eight scores. His combination of passing, rushing and receiving production made Friday’s performance one of the most versatile of his career.
Defense and Special Teams
Kaleb Smith led the Greene Devils with eight tackles, including a sack, while Owen Shaver added five tackles and a sack. Shaver’s sack came on a fourth-down play in the fourth quarter, stopping a Fulton possession near midfield. Cole Smith also recorded five tackles, while Jack Lister and Ricker finished with four apiece.
Gustavo Alvarez came up with a first-quarter takeaway, intercepting a Jamil Smith pass and returning it seven yards. Ricker also intercepted a pass in the second quarter, ending a Fulton threat deep in Greeneville territory. Lister’s blocked punt early in the second quarter set up a Greeneville touchdown, while Crosby’s 56-yard punt in the fourth quarter was downed at the Fulton one-yard line. Cogdell was perfect on eight extra-point attempts, and the Greene Devil defense held Fulton to just one conversion in eight third-down opportunities.
Although Fulton managed 358 total yards, most of that production came from quarterback Jamil Smith, who completed nine of 16 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns while rushing 15 times for 129 yards and another score. His 297 combined passing and rushing yards accounted for most of the Falcons’ offense. Upshaw added 50 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Cox led the Fulton receivers with 64 yards on three receptions.
The Greene Devils averaged 25.3 yards per pass completion and converted three of their four third-down opportunities, while their 490 yards came in just 19 minutes and three seconds of possession time. The offensive efficiency, combined with timely defensive stops and strong special teams play, allowed Greeneville to build a lead Fulton could not overcome.
Upperman Advances
Greeneville will face Upperman in the second round, marking the second meeting between the teams this season. The Greene Devils traveled to Baxter, Tennessee, just past Cookeville, on August 28 and defeated Upperman 48-14.
Upperman, the No. 3 seed from Region 4, traveled to Loudon for its first-round game. After grabbing an early lead, the Bees had to come from behind to take a 27-21 advantage into the final quarter. Upperman drove inside the Loudon 10-yard line but turned the ball over on downs. The Bees’ defense then forced Loudon to punt, and Upperman blocked the kick and recovered at the Loudon 24 with three minutes remaining. With another chance to seal the victory, the Bees drove to the one-yard line but were stopped on fourth-and-goal.
With time and hope running out, Loudon couldn’t move the ball and, with its season on the line, faced fourth-and-eight from its own two-yard line. But a Loudon receiver got past Upperman’s defense for a 98-yard touchdown to tie the game at 27 with less than a minute remaining. A bad snap on the extra point try resulted in a failed kick, sending the game to overtime.
Loudon went on offense first in overtime but was unable to score, with its fourth-and-goal pass from the 19-yard line falling short. Upperman responded with three consecutive runs, the last a game-winning touchdown by Jude Fitzpatrick, to advance to the second round and earn a rematch with Greeneville at Burley Stadium.
