A week ago Greeneville got involved in a knock-down-drag-out battle with one of the state’s top teams. The game went to overtime, but the Greene Devils came up short.
This week the Devils have another tough test as Region 1-4A foe Cherokee is coming to Burley Stadium. Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen knows his team has to be focused on what is in front of them, and they can’t let Sevier County beat them twice.
“We can’t show up hungover from Sevier County. We have to put that behind us,” Spradlen said. “We have to be ready for Cherokee. We played with great effort on Thursday night, but now it’s time to move on to Cherokee. We can’t let getting beat by Sevier County beat us twice.”
The Chiefs come into the contest off to their best start since 2019 with a 5-1 record. Last week they got by Seymour 28-21, and the Cherokee’ lone loss came to Elizabethton 30-7. The Chiefs are scoring 36 points per game led by running back Jayden Weston who has already surpassed 1,000 yards on the year after running for 151 yards against Seymour.
The Chiefs return starting quarterback Landon Jeffers, who as also found success in the passing game this season.
“Cherokee is scoring a lot of points,” Spradlen said. “They return their quarterback from last year and he is a really good player. He runs it really good and throw is well. They have a good receiver and a running back that’s explosive. This is going to be a challenge for our defense.”
Greeneville is also 5-1 on the year and is coming off a game in which it contained one of the most dangerous passers in the state in Sevier County’s Cooper Newman, but the Devils defense will be challenged again on Friday night.
Spradlen expects to see six Chiefs in the box on defense all night on Friday and a lot of man coverage on the perimeter. That could open things up for quarterback Caden Baugh in the passing game while allowing receivers Zaydyn Zanderson, Taren Claridy and Cole Franklin to find space on the perimeter.
Baugh is coming off of a game where he ran for 155 yards and a score, and added two touchdowns through the air.
“They play a lot of man coverage, they play a four-man front and pretty much keep two linebackers in the box all the time,” Spradlen said. “We have to be able to spread the football out and beat man coverage. We have to continue to do what we have been doing on offense. We are going to have to throw the ball, but we have to continue to run it well too.”
A year ago Greeneville won the matchup 46-0. The Greene Devils lead the all-time series 25-8. The Chiefs have not scored on the Greene Devils since 2008, losing the last four meetings by a combined scored 234-0. The last time Cherokee beat Greeneville was in 2006, 28-20. In the last 12 meetings, going back to 2002, Greeneville is 11-1.
Friday night will be Homecoming Night at Burley Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM with homecoming festivities taking place beforehand. As always, the game will be live on the air on WGRV, 99.5 FM.
