For a long time the Cyclones of Elizabethton have been known for their swirling defense and the path of destruction they leave behind, but on Thursday night at Burley Stadium those Cyclones posed little more challenge than a gentle breeze for the Greeneville Greene Devils.
In fact, the only things spinning with cyclonic speed in the battle of Region 1-4A rivals were the heads Elizabethton defenders as they watched Greeneville’s speedsters run by them on the way to a 48-7 rout.
“We challenged these guys to play with relentless effort, and I think they played as hard as they could in the first half. We put up a lot of points and played really good defense tonight,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “Early in the year we played exceptional football against a talented Upperman team. We challenged them to take it to another against Sevier County and they did. Then we challenged them to take it up another notch tonight, and those kids found a way to do it again.”
The 41-point victory matched a 55-14 win in 2010 for the Greene Devils’ largest win over Elizabethton since 1925.
“Any time we play Betsy we bring a lot of energy and the way we came out in the first half was awesome,” Greeneville senior quarterback Caden Baugh said. “On our senior night it’s awesome to play that team and beat them the way that we did.”
Most importantly for Greeneville the win clinches the Region 1-4A championship and the No.1 seed going into the playoffs which begin next week. As long as they keep winning the Greene Devils will be at home throughout the playoffs.
“Our goal is always to be Region 1-4A champions, and we played a dang good schedule to get to this point,” Spradlen said. “We wanted to be playing our best football when we got to this game and I think we are playing our best football right now. Now if you don’t win you go home. Things crank up a little more.”
The Greene Devils wasted little time lighting up the scoreboard on Thursday and they found six points on the second snap of the night. Caden Baugh fired a quick bubble screen to the left to Cole Franklin. A block by Zaydyn Anderson got him going and five yards down field Franklin swiped away the hands of a would-be tackler. From there he walked the tightrope down the home sideline and raced 80-yards to the endzone.
The extra point was blocked, but Greeneville played in front for the final 47:10 of the 48-minute contest.
“They deferred to second half and gave us the football first on a night we planned to defer for the first time all season,” Spradlen said. “Cole is a guy that comes in here and works hard every day, and to see him get down the sideline and score to get us started was great. Then to Zaydyn and Taren (Claridy) blocking for him on the edge to get him going was great.”
Elizabethton’s first drive lasted just over a minute and then the Greene Devils methodically marched to the endzone for its second score. Maddox Bishop carried it six times on the 14-play drive and he finished by going up the middle from the 21-yard line before spinning through a tackle and finding the endzone for 13-0 lead.
An interception by Tegen Begley got Greeneville the ball back quickly. On the second play of the second quarter Baugh took off to the left side and got loose for a 26-yard touchdown.
Baugh finished his senior night with 11 rushes for 127 yards, and was 9-of-10 passing for 208 yards with four combined touchdowns. All of that came in the first half.
“Caden was great. I got on him a little bit because he didn’t come down with the one we threw to him,” Spradlen quipped. “But I’m proud of him. He’s a leader and does everything you want a senior quarterback to do.”
Greeneville’s defense effectively put the game out of reach just over a minute later. Safety Kaine Ricker jumped in front of a Brycen Blevins pass and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Greene Devils a 27-0 lead with 10:41 left in the first half.
“It’s all about preparation. We were prepared for the rain and the wind, and it paid off,” Ricker said. “We knew what they were going to do. On the interception he threw to the middle of the field. I was in position and was able to get to it first. Then it was just about following my blockers to the endzone. I’ve had two this year that were close to pick sixes, so it felt really good to get that one in.”
After Elizabethton’s longest drive of the night led to a 15-yard punt, Greeneville’s offense again struck quickly. On the one-play, eight-second drive Baugh heaved the ball deep to Anderson on a post route and the speedster got behind everyone on the defense for a 55-yard score.
The big play allowed Anderson to cross the 1,000-yard mark on the season, making him the first Greene Devil to have quadruple-digit receiving yards in the regular season since Dorien Goddard in 2018.
With 4:06 left to play in the second quarter Begley leaped over the goal line to stretch the lead to 41-0.
For its final score of the first half Greeneville moved 91 yards in 55 seconds, crossing the goal line with 16 seconds on the clock. Baugh used passes to Ricker and Anderson, and 41 rushing yards to get his team into scoring position. From the 29-yard line Taren Claridy got wide open across the middle and stretched lead to 48-0.
The 48 points are the most Greeneville has ever scored in a half against Elizabethton, and the 35-point second quarter is also a high-water mark against the Cyclones.
In the first half Greeneville’s offense put up 410 yards and held Elizabethton, ranked No.6 in the state in Class 4A, to 98 yards. Greeneville finished with 469 yards of total offense.
The Greene Devils’ reserves gave up seven points on the first drive of the second half when Blevins hit Zach Wallin for a 13-yard touchdown.
Elizabethton more than doubled its offensive yardage in the second half while the clock was running continuously, but it could not put a further dent in the lead.
Greeneville now turns its attention to the Class 4A playoffs where it will open with Knox Carter next week in the first round.
Elizabethton’s opponent will depend on the outcome of Friday’s contest between Alcoa and Anderson County. If Alcoa wins the Cyclones will host Anderson County, but if Anderson County wins Elizabethton will host Gibbs.
Greeneville dominated Elizabethton on their way to becoming Region 1-4A Champions for the third-straight season. Hear what Head Coach Eddie Spradlen’s thoughts and feelings were after the Greene Devils big accomplishment. pic.twitter.com/z5ADtEwi26
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 31, 2025
Caden Baugh (@cadenbaugh) tallied over 300 total yards of offense and 4 total touchdowns in a dominant win over rival Elizabethton on Thursday. Hear what his thoughts were on becoming 3x Region 1-4A Champs. pic.twitter.com/L8c6DGgVI3
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 31, 2025
Greeneville DB Kaine Ricker (@KaineRicker) had a huge pick six and was a big leader in the Greene Devils first half shutout of Elizabethton on Thursday night. Hear what his thoughts were on his big play and becoming a 3x Region 1-4A Champ. pic.twitter.com/CgLsw2un0V
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 31, 2025
The Cyclones left Burley Stadium with a 41-point loss to the Greene Devils, securing GHS the Region 1-4A title. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/HNqGx5XFcx
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 31, 2025
Greeneville lays it on the number 6-ranked Elizabethton team, winning 48-7 en route to a number 1 seed for the playoffs. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/98VLnNUabV
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) October 31, 2025
