Physical defense and high-powered offense defined Friday night’s action at Burley Stadium as Greeneville turned in another dominant performance on the way to a 48-10 win over Gibbs that sends it to the Class 4A state quarterfinals.
“They (Gibbs) wanted physical football and they got it,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “The bigger the game the more you are going to get from Carson Quillen, and you better watch out next week. All we heard all week was how physical (Gibbs) wanted to be, how their offensive line wanted to win the line of scrimmage. We are always going to be physical, that’s what we do, and we showed that tonight.”
Mr. Football semifinalist Carson Quillen would not be denied on Friday night as he ran roughshod through Gibbs’ defense to the tune of 307 yards and five touchdowns. He finished the day with 345 all-purpose yards and moved the ball 13.8 yards per touch.
“Tonight felt really good. The guys up front made a lot of holes, and I was able to break through. When I get free release through the line we can make explosive things happen. It was a big game from our offensive line.”
Quillen’s big night was part of a record-breaking evening for the Greene Devils who set a school record for total offense with 621 yards on Friday night. Quarterback Caden Baugh was 10-for-14 for 178 yards, and Zaydyn Anderson caught three passes for 117 yards and a score.
That kind of offensive production has Greeneville feeling good heading into its biggest game of the year next week. The Devils are now looking at a road trip to Anderson County in a clash of two of the state’s top offenses. Both teams have spent all year near the top of the TSWA’s Class 4A state rankings and Spradlen is preparing his team for a state-championship level contest. On Friday Anderson County beat Elizabethton 54-14.
“It’s going to be a battle of two really good football teams next week,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “It’s going to be like a dang state championship game next week, and we have to treat it like that with how we prepare. We have to show up and work this week in practice.”
Greeneville’s record-breaking night did not get off to a prolific start as a fumble ended its first drive. Then on the second drive Greeneville got to the nine-yard line before penalties backed it up into a failed fourth-and-23 attempt.
Gibbs took the lead first with 56 second left in the first quarter when Tucker Ownby capped a 73-yard drive by plunging one yard across the goal line for a 7-0 advantage.
Greeneville answered with a six-play 80-yard drive to even the score. Baugh hit Anderson for 50 of those yards in one chunk, and then Quillen went up the middle untouched for the final 14-yards and his first of five touchdowns.
After a quick three-and-out by the Eagles Quillen struck again to give Greeneville control of the contest. The senior took a handoff up the middle and quickly broke outside. After utilizing some good downfield blocking he ran away from everyone up the left sideline for a 60-yard score. Sam Gourley’s extra-point put the Greene Devils in front 14-7 with 8:25 left in the first half.
“We knew we were better, we were smashing their mouths, but we got stopped near the endzone. We knew we just had to finish,” Quillen said. “The receivers blocked really well on that play. I just went through the line and broke outside. That was a huge play to get us going.”
Gibbs had one more scoring drive left in it, and helped by 30 yards of penalties moved into field goal range. Mikel Van Pelt connected on a 34-yard field goal and closed the gap to 14-10.
The rest of the night Gibbs only managed 60-yards of offense as Greeneville defense was flying all over the field, especially linebackers Drew Armbrister, Jackson Nichols, Jhervius Moore and Noah Murray.
“Gibbs does a lot of different stuff that makes it hard on our defense with scheme,” Spradlen said. “But we were able to get after them. Once we got adjusted it just came down to us being more physical. I don’t know how many guys you saw stay on the ground after a play, or going flying through the air, but we were hammering them.”
Greeneville went in front 21-10 before halftime after marching 80-yards in 11 plays using runs from Quillen and Baugh along with the short passing game. On the final play of the drive Quillen powered through the defense from two-yards out.
Gibbs’ opening possession of the second half lasted 1:29 and then the Devils’ offense quickly got back to work. This time they got it done through the air when Baugh dropped the ball to Anderson streaking down the right sideline. No Eagle could keep up with the speedster on his way to a 32-yard touchdown and a 28-10 lead.
Next, after receiving a short field on a failed fourth-down attempt, Quillen crossed the goal line for the fourth time. He started up the middle but eluded the defense to perimeter before getting to the pylon for a 32-yard score. The extra point was blocked but Greeneville led 34-10 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
A booming 49-yard punt by Van Pelt made Greeneville’s next scoring drive seem unlikely, but a 60-yard run by Quillen quickly moved the Greene Devils out of the shadow of their goal line. Jeriah Griffin picked up 23 yards on a crossing route before Quillen capped the 95-yard drive with a 10-yard run up the middle.
Reserve quarterback Kaine Ricker scored on a one-yard run on Greeneville’s final series of the night to set the final margin at 48-10.
Gibbs was held to 171 yards of total offense on Friday, and the Devils only allowed star running back Brady Hughes to gain 51 yards on 14 attempts. The Eagles were helped by 115 yards worth of Greeneville penalties.
