West Greene’s football season has not gone how it had hoped, but on Thursday night the Buffaloes get one more chance to play at home and one more chance to improve their playoff seeding.
The Buffaloes will square off with Cumberland Gap in a Region 1-2A clash. The winner will earn No.3 seed from the region in the playoffs and the loser will be the No.4 seed.
Who the teams would see in the first round of the playoffs is very much still up the air. Oneida and Eagleton will meet on Thursday and the winner will take the No.1 seed from Region 2-2A. Polk County, Eagleton and Oneida could all be the No.2 seed depending on how Thursday’s action goes.
Prior to Thursday’s kickoff West Greene will celebrate senior night, and the Buffaloes seniors would like nothing more than to earn a win in their final game at The Range.
“This group of seniors have a bunch of guys that I have been around for a long time,” West Greene coach Evan Monroe said. “I’ve coached them in middle school and now in high school, and many of them have become extensions of our coaches on the field for our younger guys. I enjoy coaching these guys. They have brought a great attitude every day, and I love those guys.”
Cumberland Gap comes into Thursday’s game with a 3-6 record, but is 0-2 in Region 1-2A action while being outscored 120-6 in those games.
West Greene is most concerned about the Panthers’ passing attack led by Kole Carter who has thrown for 1,219 yards with nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season. His favorite target has been Benson Hensley who has 40 catches for 620 yards and five touchdowns.
“They bring a great passing attack into this game,” Monroe said. “They have three really good receivers, and a quarterback that gives them a chance to go get it. They try to get their guys the ball in space and let them work. We have to get a pass rush and make the quarterback uncomfortable.”
Last week the Panthers fell to archrival Claiborne 34-0. Their last win came on September 19, 26-22 over Wartburg.
West Greene is 0-9 on the year and is looking to break a 13-game losing streak. The Buffaloes last win was over Cumberland Gap a year ago, 40-0 on the road.
Last week the Buffaloes fell to Unicoi County 42-0. West Greene has only mustered seven points in the month of October, and the focus on Thursday will be to execute better when they have the ball.
“We have to execute this week. We have seen glimpses of what we can be, but we haven’t executed well enough to sustain drives,” Monroe said.
West Greene has beaten Cumberland Gap each of the last two years by a combined score of 89-20. The Buffaloes lead the all-time series between the two programs 9-6 dating back to 2003 when Cumberland Gap first fielded a team. The two teams met every year from 2003 to 2014, and then resumed the series in 2023.
