Burley Stadium will be rocking for the first time this season as Tennessee High travels to Greeneville to kickoff the 2024 season, while fans of Chuckey-Doak and South Greene will have to hit the road for their first taste of Friday-night lights. Chuckey-Doak will travel to Unaka while South Greene visits David Crockett on Friday.
“It’s exciting, and it seems like it’s been forever since we started the season here at Burley Stadium. We get the fans here to kick off the season and it’s going to be special,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said.
A year ago, Greeneville took down Tennessee High 28-7 at the Stone Castle in Bristol. The Vikings lead the all-time series 18-29-3 with the first meeting occurring in 1917, but Greeneville has won seven of the last eight meetings dating back to 1996.
Spradlen expects the Vikings to try to control the line of scrimmage and to implement a power run game on Friday night. That will mean that the Greene Devils are going to rely heavily on veteran defensive linemen Brandon Iezzi and Quinton Humphreys along with linebacker Drew Armbrister to set the tone early.
The Vikings will count on running back Trent Dowdell to lead the way on the ground after leading the team in rushing last year. At quarterback Turner Elliott and Jack Richardson will both see action, and regardless of who is taking snaps both will be on the field in some capacity as they are two of the team’s best athletes.
“They want to win the line of scrimmage on offense,” Spradlen said. “I expect them to try to run straight at us and use that to set up the play action pass. We’ll see a lot of formations with tight ends.”
Greeneville’s offense will be led by All-State running back Carson Quillen, but Spradlen anticipates that Tennessee will load the box and do all they can to slow down the Devils’ run game. That may mean junior quarterback Caden Baugh will be called on to loosen up the defense in his first start. Baugh will have plenty of weapons on the perimeter to distribute the ball to, including speedy junior Zaydyn Anderson.
In week one every coach worries about penalties, turnovers and conditioning, and that will be no different for Spradlen on Friday.
“You can’t have dumb penalties,” Spradlen said. “Week one a lot of times comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes. You are going to expect penalties in week one, and maybe some turnovers. But we have to be focused on limiting those.”
Last year Greeneville went 11-1 and advanced to the Class 4A state semifinals. Tennessee High went 7-4 and lost in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs to Powell.
SOUTH GREENE AT DAVID CROCKETT
A year Class 5A David Crocket visited Rebel Hill and left with a sour taste in their mouths after turning the ball over five times in a 35-18 loss. South Greene coach Shawn Jones expects the Pioneers to be out for revenge and knows that his squad has a tough test in front of them on Friday.
“I don’t think they are going to take us lightly this year, when they may have last year,” Jones said. “It was a close game last year until they threw two interceptions and Nash (Rader) followed each with a touchdown. I feel really good about this game and think we can go in there and win. But I told the boys they are going to ready for us, they won’t be looking at us as some little 2A school. In a 5A vs 2A matchup they should be expecting to win.”
The Rebels return some key veterans from a year ago including Jacob Susong who will begin his third year as the team’s starting quarterback, and running back Nash Rader who broke off a few big plays last year against Crockett.
David Crockett enters the season with a young but talented roster. The Pioneers will be led by sophomore quarterback A.J. Wynn who is not only a capable passer but also a talented runner. His favorite target will 6’3” 195 lb. speedster Lamarkus Dunn.
Defensively Jones expects the Pioneers to run a three-man defensive front that will blitz linebackers from a variety of directions. He feels like it will be important to get the ball in space with the pass game to back the defense off, and then find room to run the ball.
The Rebels like opening the season with a tough opponent from a larger classification. They know a win or loss in week one will not define their season, but Friday’s test will prepare them for the games that really matter late in the year.
“You never want to start 0-1, but this is type of game that will make us better win, lose or draw,” Jones said. “We’re always excited this time of year. It’s finally football season and we are ready to go.”
CHUCKEY-DOAK AT UNAKA
A year ago, Chuckey-Doak’s Billy Kaylor earned his first head-coaching win in a 54-18 victory over Unaka. On Friday night a new-look Black Knights’ squad will travel to Stoney Creek to take on the Rangers again while looking to kickoff 2024 with a win.
Chuckey-Doak went 6-5 a year ago before falling to eventual state champion Alcoa in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
The Black Knights lost their leading passer, rusher and receiver from and year ago and will be looking to establish and new identity this year. Much of that will start with quarterback Dominique Atchison who is going under center for the first time after playing receiver last year. Atchison adds a playmaking ability with his legs and has grown a lot as a passer over the offseason.
Senior Hayden Roper will be the Black Knights’ primary running back, and is someone who has stepped up to become of the team’s leaders over the offseason.
Unaka went 2-9 last year before falling to Coalfield in the first round of Class 1A playoffs.
The Rangers will be led by senior quarterback Brynin Repass who is returning to the starting role. He will be joined in the backfield by sophomore Draedyn Freeman. Freeman played a variety of roles for the Rangers as a freshman, but now they feel like they have found a spot that he can excel in.
Defensively Unaka will be led by safety Micah Gray who led the team in tackles a year ago.
