The Greeneville football team is returning to Burley Stadium on Friday night looking to stay perfect in Region 1-4A play in a matchup with the Grainger Grizzlies.
“Grainger is a tough football team. They don’t have the record they probably want to have, but they have been in every ball game,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “They are a team that is going to battle for four quarters. I’m excited about being back at home in Burley Stadium and I’m excited for Military Appreciation Night. I’m ready for a big week for the Greene Devils.”
Greeneville will be holding Military Appreciation Night on Friday, and all active and former members of the military will receive free admission by showing their military ID. There will also be special ceremonies before kickoff and at halftime.
Greeneville comes into the contest 7-1 on the season and 5-0 in region play. It has already secured a home game in the first round of the playoffs, but will have to beat Elizabethton next week to claim the region championship. The Devils are coming off a 42-7 win over Volunteer a week ago.
Grainger is 3-5 on the year and 1-4 in region play. The Grizzlies have already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Grizzlies will bring a run-heavy offense to Burley Stadium on Friday. Last week in a 42-20 loss to Unicoi County they ran for 211 yards led by Ayden Vineyard who had two touchdowns.
“They will try to run the football at you and out formation you,” Spradlen said. “We have to make sure we are dialed in and ready to go. They have some big kids up front that play physical.”
On defense Grainger will rely on a big defensive line and will load the box behind them in an effort to stop the run.
Last week Greeneville’s quarterback-receiver combo of Caden Baugh and Zaydyn Anderson had a field day when Volunteer loaded the box and relied on man coverage on the outside. Anderson broke the school record for receiving yards in a game with 245 yards, and he broke the school record for receiving touchdowns in a game with four. Baugh was 11-for-16 for 320 yards and five touchdowns.
A year ago Greeneville beat Grainger 69-0. In three of the last four meetings between the two programs Greeneville has scored 69 or more points. The two teams have met every year since 2009 and Greeneville leads the all-time series 17-0.
The closest margin is 35-0 in 2015 and 2022. The average margin of victory for Greeneville is 50.6 points. Grainger has never scored more than 16 points and Greeneville has never scored less than 35 points in the series.
As always you can listen the game on WGRV 99.5 with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
