For many fans of South Greene and West Greene football the biggest week of the year is here. On Friday night the Rebels and Buffaloes with line up for the annual Battle for the Milk Can.
Pride, bragging rights and playoff standings will be on the line when the cross-county meet on Rebel Hill in the Region 1-2A clash.
“I expect this to be a tough ball game, it always is with West Greene,” South Greene coach Shawn Jones said. “It seems like they always bring their ‘A’ game against us. We know they want to beat us. And now it’s more than just the West Greene game, it’s a conference game. We need to come in focused, do our thing, and hopefully everything falls into place.”
South Greene and West Greene come into Friday’s contest riding very different waves of momentum. The Rebels have won their last three contests in blowout fashion, including last week’s 42-6 win at Union County that improved their record to 3-1.
West Greene is 2-3 and is coming off a 47-18 loss to Unicoi County a week ago. The Buffaloes two wins are over cross-county rivals. They beat North Greene 32-16 to start the season and then beat Chuckey-Doak 27-13 in week three. South Greene beat Chuckey-Doak 58-14 the next week.
Despite the difference in recent performances the Rebels are preparing for a knock-down-drag out battle with the Baffaloes. The player they will be most focused on stopping is West Greene’s Austin Franklin. Franklin is the Buffs’ best athletes, and can change the game anytime he gets the ball in his hands, whether that is on offense, defense or special teams.
Franklin has moved the around the offense this season, starting at quarterback and returning to the position after Austin Brown was injured. He has also lined up at receiver and running back, and South Greene is preparing to see him in all of those roles on Friday.
“We expect them to move Franklin around and we have to know where he is at all times,” Jones said. “They have had kids in the past that can beat you by themselves, and he is another one. Whether he is at quarterback or slot or running back we have to know where number two is at. He’s a special kid and he makes them go.”
South Greene has spread the ball around on offense and last week had two different scorers rushing touchdowns while three different players had receiving touchdowns. Senior quarterback Jacob Susong threw for 183 yards and three scores while running back Nash Rader galloped for 165 yards and two scores.
West Greene coach Evan Monroe believes that his team will be prepared for the Rebels offense, and if they execute they can slow down the multi-faceted attack.
“South Greene has a dynamic offense,” Monroe said. “They have beaten the brakes off the last three teams they have played. They seem to be firing on all cylinders, and wearing people out. We have to be very sound on defense. They have good athletes and are pretty good up front. We have to come prepared and ready to play.”
For much of the past decade the Battle for the Milk Can has only been for bragging rights as West Greene was playing in Class 3A and South Greene in Class 2A. But now playoff positioning is on the line after the Buffaloes moved into Region 1-2A last season.
The Buffaloes are currently 0-1 in the region after a loss to Eagleton. A loss on Friday would make hosting a playoff game very unlikely and making the playoffs would be an uphill climb.
South Greene is 1-0 in the region after beating Cumberland Gap. A win for the Rebels would keep them on top of the district standings with Happy Valley (3-0, 2-0). But a loss would create a four-team jumble with Eagleton, Hampton West Greene and South Greene all at 1-1. West Greene at South Greene is the only Region 1-2A game being played this week.
The Rebels and the Buffaloes have met every year since 1974 and South Greene leads the series 35-15. The Rebels won last years’ meeting 29-14 while the Buffaloes won 16-14 in 2023. South Greene has won six of the last eight in the series, but before that West Greene won seven straight.
“These are the types of games as a player that you remember for the rest of your life,” Monroe said. “I think this one means a little bit more, and I think everybody understands that. It’s a game that will be a hard-fought, hard-nosed, four-quarter game. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will win. We just have to play our butts off for four quarters.”
