A young Chuckey-Doak football team took plenty of bumps and bruises a year ago and finished the season losing eight straight games.
But those young Black Knights grew up a lot over the offseason, and on Friday night they proved their mettle by taking down rival North Greene 39-30, perhaps beginning a new streak to start the 2025 campaign.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” Chuckey-Doak coach Billy Kaylor said. “Success is huge when you are dealing with an inexperienced bunch. They got a taste of success tonight, and I hope they liked it, I sure did. I think we are ready to go back to work on Monday to get number two, but it feels good to start 1-0.”
The victory was Chuckey-Doak’s 18th consecutive win over North Greene, but first since 2022 as the series resumed after taking a two-year hiatus.
Brayden Greene, and his offensive line, were the stars of the show on Friday. The junior toted the rock 21 times and accumulated 270 yards while scoring the first and second touchdowns of his high school career.
“I could not have performed like this without my linemen, they were phenomenal tonight,” Greene said. “I think we really proved something tonight. I think we proved that we have improved. I got my first a second high school touchdowns. This was just an amazing night all around.”
As a team Chuckey-Doak ran for 324 yards, and the Black Knights ability to control the line of scrimmage proved crucial in Friday’s win.
“I’m so proud of our offensive line,” Kaylor said. “We challenged those guys all week to go run the dadgum football. That is a young, inexperienced bunch, but they went out there and dominated the line of scrimmage. I’m so incredibly proud of them.”
Greene’s big day started on the Black Knights’ first offensive series. From the 29-yard line he took a handoff and maneuvered toward the perimeter. He slipped one tacklers with a slick spin move, and then he turned on the jets. Greene raced up the visitors’ sideline and no one in green and white could catch him on the way to a 71-yard touchdown.
The Huskies managed to block the extra point, and Chuckey-Doak had to settle for a 6-0 lead.
“We called power and I took it play side. I saw a guy pop up and I cut it back. From there it was just about getting up the sideline and striding it out,” Greene said. “It was awesome to get in front early and take the momentum. We stayed dialed in from there and made the big plays we know we can.”
Sophomore Skylar Davis quickly got the ball back for Chuckey-Doak when he jumped in front of a receiver to intercept a wobbly pass from North Greene’s Thomas Darnell.
On the ensuing possession Davis provided the offensive fireworks as well. On third and 23 quarterback Kiptyn Ball heaved a ball into traffic. Receivers Dom Atchison and Parker McMurry ran to the same spot and brought their defenders with them. Ball’s pass caromed off the receivers and their North Greene counterparts. Davis ran under the deflection and then kept running on his way to a 61-yard touchdown and a 12-0 Chuckey-Doak lead.
North Greene kept up the fight and with 9:16 left in the first half the Huskies had something to celebrate. Kelson Eastep ran up the seam and found himself alone in the back of the end zone. Darnell eyed his favorite target and delivered a 25-yard touchdown strike that closed the gap to 12-7.
After a Black Knights’ fumble Darnell and Eastep hooked up once more. This time the big receiver nabbed an out route. He then powered up the sideline and over the pylon. Juan Soto’s extra point put North Greene on top 14-12 with 5:32 left in the first half.
Chuckey-Doak was undeterred by falling behind and handed the ball to Greene five times on the next series as it methodically matriculated down the field. Ball used his legs to finish the drive, first dropping to pass before breaking loose to the right side and then diving for the pylon. Greene ran in the two-point try and Chuckey-Doak took a 20-14 lead into halftime.
“Kiptyn is a talented young kid who took a ton of shots last year. To see him go out and make that kind of play where he is going at the defense shows a lot of confidence from him,” Kaylor said. “I loved to see that. He has a lot of tools and is a good leader for us, and that was awesome.”
North Greene started the second half by coming up short on fourth down, and setting up Chuckey-Doak with a short field.
The Knights needed just three plays to cover 31 yards with Marcus Britt capping the drive with a six-yard touchdown run straight up the middle. Chuckey-Doak’s lead grew to 26-14.
A series of fruitless drives followed until Greene brought the crowd to its feet once more with 32 seconds left in the third quarter. The junior took a handoff up the middle and his offensive line opened up a gaping hole. Once he reached the line of scrimmage there was no North Greene defender within an arm’s length and he raced 58 yards to the endzone.
Brayden Weems was not going to let North Greene go down without a fight, and the senior returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Darnell ran in the two-point try to cut Chuckey-Doak’s lead down to 32-22.
Chuckey-Doak scored again with 1:25 left to play when Ball threw over the top of a blitzing Huskies’ defense and found Dominic Hahnlen wide open in the endzone. Hahnlen then pounded home the extra point to make it a three-score game at 39-22.
North Greene had one last gasp and with 1:05 left Darnell tossed a ball deep to Brandon Weems who hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass that set the final margin at 39-30.
Darnell was 7-of-20 passing on Friday for 167 yards and three touchdowns and two interceptions. As a team North Greene produced 235 yards of total offense.
Ball was 12-of-17 for 154 yards through the air. Chuckey-Doak finished with 473 yards of total offense.
Chuckey-Doak will hit the road next week with a trip to Sullivan East. North Greene will host West Greene on Thursday in the Greene Sports Zone Game of the Week.
After snapping an 8-game winless streak and gaining a 39-30 win over North Greene to open the season, hear from Black Knights Head Coach Billy Kaylor after the victory. pic.twitter.com/N6mHfkHs8U
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) August 23, 2025
Chuckey-Doak’s running back Brayden Greene ran wild for 270 yards & 2 TD on Friday night in a 39-30 win over North Greene.
Hear how his electric night developed with his post-game thoughts. pic.twitter.com/GDgRB8TSxP
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) August 23, 2025
