The postseason will begin on Rebel Hill on Friday night and South Greene will be looking to take down Polk County for its first playoff win since 2022.
“We’re excited the playoffs are here. We always love this time of year. We’ve had a good week of practice and we’re ready to go,” South Greene coach Shawn Jones said. “We know they are going to come in here hungry, but we are at home and we want to protect our home field.”
The Rebels finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and are the No.2 seed from Region 1-2A. Last week they fell to Happy Valley 20-14 in a game that awarded the Warriors the No. 1 seed.
Polk County is 5-5 and is the No. 3 seed from Region 2-2A. The Wildcats fell to Eagleton 38-14 least week. Eagleton is the only common opponent on the two teams’ schedules and in Week 10 the Rebels beat the Royals 27-13.
The Wildcats will rely on a run-heavy offense that is led by senior Gabe Adams. In 10 games Adams ran for 1,199 yards and 10 touchdowns on 204 attempts. Sophomore Jackson Cox carried it 111 times for 677 yards and four touchdowns.
“You just change the uniforms colors and Polk County looks a lot like Happy Valley,” Jones said. “They run a single wing and do a lot of the same stuff as Happy Valley. Region 2 is always tough. Eagleton won that region and we beat them two weeks ago, so that makes us feel a little better. But we know this is going to be a tough game.”
The Rebels bring a dynamic running game of their own into the contest led by quarterback Nash Rader and tailback Tripp Neas. Jones expects a heavy box from Polk County on Friday and that may open up Charlie Lane Lucas Couch and Simon Burns in the passing game.
“They are going to run a 4-3, which we have seen all year. We’ll try to get Nash on the edge and let him throw a little bit,” Jones said. “We feel confident in what we have on offense, but when we have the opportunities to score we have to take advantage of them.”
Friday will be the Rebels first ever meeting with Polk County, which is located in the far southeastern corner of the state on the border with North Carolina and Georgia.
Last year the Wildcats beat Happy Valley 14-13 in the first round of the playoffs. That was the program’s first playoff win since 2013. Polk County has not advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 1979.
Looking beyond the first round South Greene is on the same side of the Class 2A playoff bracket as Region 3-2A champion Marion County and Region 4-2A champion Gordonsville. With a win South Greene would likely head to Marion County, the defending Class 2A state champions, in the second round.
“We have the defending state champs potentially in round two,” Jones said. “Gordonsville is another really good team on our side of the bracket. Looking past this week we are looking to make history by winning our first road playoff game. We want to win this first one, and then go to Marion County and upset the defending state champions. Getting a third round game at home would be more history, but right now winning game one is the most important thing.”
