The South Greene football team made the tough plays on Friday night and earned themselves one more week on the gridiron after a 23-13 win over Polk County in the first round of the Class 2A Playoffs.
“This was a big win for us. We want to play 15 games and it doesn’t matter how we get there, we just have to get there,” South Greene senior Nash Rader said. “We are going to fight it out. We never gave up tonight. Adversity hit us, and I felt like we responded better than we have been. I was happy to see us come together as a team to pull this one out.”
The Rebels are moving on to the second round for the first time since 2022 where the task gets much tougher. They will travel past Chattanooga face to 10-1 Marion County, the defending Class 2A state champion. South Greene has not advanced to the quarterfinals since 2020.
“I’m proud of this team. We gutted one out tonight. The guys were resilient tonight,” South Greene coach Shawn Jones said. “It’s huge to get a playoff win, it’s been a while since we’ve gotten one of these. We go on the road, but heck fire we don’t care where we play, we’re on to round two.”
Quarterback Nash Rader led the way for the Rebels, running for 211 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns. He threw for another 40 yards. As a team the Rebels ran for 301 yards on Friday.
“Nash is always big for us,” Jones said. “He had a big run on a bad snap where he just took off with it. That’s the kind of player he is. Before the game he told me we weren’t going to get beat tonight. By gosh he made sure we didn’t.”
South Greene’s started the night with a 14-play drive that lasted nearly six minutes but resulted in no points.
The Rebels’ defense forced a quick three-and-out, then offense went back to work with another methodical drive. This time they moved 47 yards in 10 plays before settling for a field goal. Brant Wilhoit was good from 29 yard and the Rebels led 3-0 with 11:11 left in the first half.
Polk County’s offense found a rhythm on its second series as it marched 61 yards in 10 plays. Aaron Vanderveer capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown plunge that put the Wildcats in front 6-3.
On the first play of the Rebels ensuing series Rader had to corral a bad snap, but he pulled it in and took off to the right for a 27-yard gain. Charlie Lane followed with a 20-yard catch and run, and then Tripp Neas powered his way to a nine-yard pickup.
For the third time in as many series South Greene found itself looking at fourth down in the redzone, but this time it found the end zone. From the 12-yard line Rader took off to the right, followed a block on the edge by Lane and stretched across the goal line to give South Greene a 10-6 lead.
Polk County started the second half by marching down to the one-yard line where the Rebels stood tall and forced a turnovers on downs. Ultimately the stop mattered little as the Wildcats followed by blocking a punt and getting the ball back on the 16-yard line.
Three plays later quarterback Cecil Burns got into the endzone on a sneak that flipped the lead to 13-10 in the Wildcats’ favor.
That lead lasted 42 seconds as the Rebels moved the length of the field in three plays. First Rader went to the left for a 28-yard gain. Lane then picked up 13 yards through the air, and Rader capped the drive by getting loose on the right side for a 24-yard touchdown run. Wilhoit’s extra point gave South Greene a 17-13 lead with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
Next the Rebels’ defense made a tough stop and forced a punt, but Trenton Thomas’ kick went 52 yards and bounced out of bounds at the 11-yard line.
South Greene was able to once again methodically march down the field while chewing up the clock. They moved 89 yards in 11 plays while burning 6:04 off the clock.
Neas carried four times for 54 yards on the drive. On his final carry Neas went off tackle to the right and saw nothing but open space in front of him. He waived to the defense and trotted across the goal line for an 18-yard score that gave the Rebels a 23-13 lead.
Neas finished the day with 15 carries for 81 yards.
Polk County ran for 157 yards on Friday and produced 190 yards of total offense. Gabe Adams led that effort with 127 rushing yards.
South Greene won their first playoff game in three years with a 23-13 win at home over visiting Polk County. Heat Coach Shawn Jones’ excitement after advancing to the second round and what it took to get there. pic.twitter.com/bvSWnRFIsn
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 8, 2025
Nash Rader led South Greene to their first playoff win in three years on Friday night with a pair of touchdowns in a 23-13 win vs. Polk County. Hear what adjustments helped South Greene win and what’s next for the Rebels. pic.twitter.com/O3KAGkJY0A
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 8, 2025
South Greene gets its first playoff victory in three years off the back of a 23-13 win over Polk County. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/bRtmmRtTaq
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 8, 2025
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Tripp Neas and the South Greene Rebels win their opening round home playoff game over Polk County, 23-13. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/fLk2Eul0Lk
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 8, 2025
