South Greene hosted West Greene Friday night on Rebel Hill in a rivalry game that dates back to 1974. Both teams knew the importance of the matchup, with the winner not only getting to hoist the Milk Can but also opening region play with a 1-0 record.
It wasn’t the prettiest contest, with the two teams combining for 243 penalty yards — nearly half of their 539 total yards of offense. In the end, however, it was the Buffaloes who came away with the 28-21 victory to improve to 1-4 on the season.
An elated West Greene head coach Caleb Slover described his feelings after the close win.
“I’m just so proud of our kids. Nobody gave us a chance, and everybody has talked bad about us, not giving us a chance to be in the ball game, but our kids and our community kept believing and working hard. We told them that if we would go execute for four quarters, we would have a chance to win the football game, and that’s what we did.”
South Greene took the opening kickoff and began its offense the way everyone in the stadium expected, letting three-time Greenesportszone Player of the Week Tripp Neas go to work. His first two carries produced no yards, and then he fumbled on his third carry after gaining six yards, with West Greene recovering.
The Buffaloes began their first drive as if they were going to be their own worst enemy. A holding penalty followed by a false start left them facing third down, where they turned to a little trickery. Quarterback Aiden Thompson lateraled the ball to Tristan Banks, who then found Alex McMurray downfield for a 13-yard gain.
Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, the long gain still left them three yards short of a first down and facing fourth down. South Greene jumped offsides, however, giving West Greene new life and a first down.
Following an incomplete pass on first down, Thompson picked up a yard on second down and seven more on third down. A facemask penalty then set the Buffaloes up with a first-and-goal at the five.
Two plays later, Shawn Bailey plunged in from two yards out for the game’s first score. The PAT was blocked, leaving West Greene with a 6-0 lead with 5:24 remaining in the opening quarter.
South Greene began its second possession at its own 36 and leaned heavily on Trent Haynes, who replaced Neas in the backfield after Neas was injured on the opening drive.
Haynes picked up 17 yards on the first play and another 11 on the second. Eli Fillers was stuffed on the next play before Haynes added four more yards. A delay-of-game penalty backed the Rebels up, but they were able to convert a fourth down when Dawson Ripley connected with Simon Burns for a 16-yard gain.
Haynes ended the first quarter with a seven-yard run down to the West Greene 11.
Haynes picked up right where he left off as the second quarter began, running from the 11 to the seven and then into the end zone on the next play. The PAT gave the Rebels a 7-6 advantage with 11:15 remaining in the half.
West Greene began its next possession at its own 28 but managed to advance only to the 36 after a delay-of-game penalty and a blind-side block put the Buffaloes behind the chains, forcing them to punt.
South Greene got a good return on the ensuing punt, only to be backed up by a holding penalty during the return. Haynes continued to be the workhorse, capping the 10-play, 70-yard drive with a 35-yard dash around the right end that extended the Rebel lead.
The PAT made it 14-6 with 2:46 remaining in the half.
West Greene was not to be outdone.
The Buffaloes began their next possession at their own 15. After a four-yard gain on first down, Thompson broke loose for a 22-yard gain that carried him to the South Greene 10.
A bad snap backed the ball up to the 17, and it appeared Thompson had given the visitors something to celebrate when he reached the end zone on the next play. However, the score was negated by a holding penalty, and time expired to send the teams to the locker room with South Greene leading 14-6.
The second half began with West Greene’s Rylan Miller picking up consecutive first downs with runs of 10 and 12 yards. Bailey picked up another first down, and Thompson appeared poised to bring his team closer to the end zone.
A holding penalty backed the Buffaloes up, but they refused to be denied. After moving the ball down to the 26, Miller was given the ball four straight times and was pushing toward the goal line when the ball squirted loose.
Fortunately for West Greene, Trent Franklin was able to fall on the loose ball after it rolled into the end zone. Thompson then connected with Hunter Franklin for the two-point conversion, tying the game at 14-14 with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter.
West Greene continued to show its determination as the defense came up with its second fumble recovery of the game. The Buffaloes maintained possession for the rest of the third quarter and into the fourth, when Thompson plunged in from one yard out with 10:18 remaining.
The two-point conversion failed, leaving West Greene with a 20-14 lead.
The Rebels took the ensuing kickoff at their own 17 and marched all the way to the West Greene 35, highlighted by a 30-yard pass from Ripley to Fillers.
A South Greene unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty backed the Rebels up to midfield, and that’s when Neas appeared ready to produce the same heroics he had displayed the previous week against Chuckey Doak.
Ripley took the snap and handed the ball to Neas, who raced 50 yards to the end zone. However, the fans in attendance saw something they had seen far too often throughout the contest — the dreaded yellow flag for holding.
Ripley then connected with Burns for a 41-yard gain, giving the Rebels a first-and-goal at the nine.
The Buffaloes appeared to come up with another game-changing play when Hunter Franklin recovered a Neas fumble as he tried to power his way into the end zone. Neas, however, was ruled down by contact at the one, giving him another opportunity on the next play.
This time, Neas found the end zone with 5:21 remaining. The PAT gave South Greene a 21-20 lead.
West Greene took the ensuing kickoff and returned it to its own 42. Runs by Bailey and Thompson moved the ball all the way down to the South Greene 38, where an incomplete pass left the Buffaloes facing fourth-and-five.
That’s when everything went nuts.
Haynes intercepted a Thompson pass and appeared to return it 75 yards for a pick-six and a game-clinching score. The only thing the Rebel faithful didn’t see coming was a roughing-the-passer penalty that negated the interception return and gave West Greene a fresh set of downs.
Three plays later, Thompson raced around the left end for a 21-yard touchdown, diving toward the pylon. The two-point conversion gave West Greene a 28-21 lead with 1:11 remaining in the game.
South Greene had one final opportunity, but after an 18-yard completion moved the ball out to the 44-yard line, an intentional-grounding penalty, followed by a sack and two incomplete passes, ended the Rebels’ final possession.
West Greene took over on downs and went into victory formation to run out the clock.
The Buffaloes, now 1-0 in region play, were led by Thompson, who rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns. South Greene, which falls to 0-1 in the region, was led by Haynes’ 118 rushing yards and Ripley’s 142 passing yards.
“People can say what they want,” stressed Slover. “This group of kids has battled in every football game that we have played this year. Things haven’t always gone our way, but we are learning how to win and have a different culture.”
South Greene will host Cumberland Gap next week, while West Greene travels to Gatlinburg for a matchup with the Highlanders.
