Greeneville’s defense shut down one of the state’s top rushing attacks on Friday night, and the offense moved up and down the field on one of the state’s stingiest defenses as the Greene Devils earned a decisive win in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.
Greeneville knocked off visiting White County 35-0 and is now moving on to the state quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive season.
“We knew this was going to be a physical game, and we knew this was going to be a challenge,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “But we came out here and played hard and it was a good night. I think we are playing our best football right now, and we continue to get better week to week.”
The win sets up a rematch with Anderson County who ended the Greene Devils’ season a year ago. This time the Maverick will be traveling to Greeneville’s Burley Stadium for the third-round matchup.
“We have to take everything up to another level. We have to keep working and getting better, but we are ready to roll,” Greeneville linebacker Jack Lister said. “We’re super excited about this game. We have a point to prove, and we’re going to play with a chip on our shoulders. Get your popcorn ready because there is going to be a show next week.”
Greeneville’s offense was clicking from the start and needed just four plays and 1:28 to take the lead. The big play on the opening drive came when Caden Baugh scrambled out of the pocket and found Kaine Ricker over the middle for a 37-yard gain.
Maddox Bishop followed with a 15-yard pickup, and Baugh capped the drive by faking a handoff and darting up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown. Samuel Gourley’s extra point gave the Greene Devils a quick 7-0 lead.
Baugh, a Mr. Football semifinalist, had another big day for Greeneville. He threw for 237 yards and two touchdowns on a 13-of-17 effort. He also ran for 63 yards and another score.
Greeneville’s offense was not able to move with quite the same ease the rest of the first half, but the defense was dominant as it smothered the boys from Sparta’s ground game.
The Warriors came into the contest averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground, but on Friday they managed just 58 yards on 31 carries. In the first half it was 23 yards on 13 carries.
“We just had to play hard and make sure we were lined up right,” Spradlen said. “I’m really proud of how we played defensively. To keep them out of the endzone all night was really big.”
Greeneville’s next scoring drive used 15 plays and took 6:45 off the clock. Jude Dyer carried the ball six times on the drive, including a powerful three-yard burst that gave the Devils a 14-0 lead with 41 seconds left in the first quarter.
Dyer was more involved in the offense than in recent weeks and he made the most of the extra carries. He finished Friday with 10 carries for 55 yards and two touchdowns. In addition to that he was flying all over the field on defense from his linebacker spot.
“We feel like we have three running backs that we can win with,” Spradlen said. “In big games Jude knows he will get more opportunities, and he made the most of them. He was big on both sides of the ball, and he really ran it hard tonight.”
White County was able to stop the Devils’ next two series. First it used a three-and-out, and then an interception by Eli Smith ended a 72-yard drive.
The Devils got the ball back with 37 seconds remaining in the half and needed just one play to stretch the lead to 21-0.
Baugh dropped to pass and found the look he wanted from the defense while Taren Claridy flew up the seam. The deep ball hit the junior receiver in stride and after he bounced off one would be tackler Claridy raced 70 yards to the end zone.
“That was really big for us. We got the ball back with less than a minute and to be able to put it in the endzone there was really important. It makes them decide what they want to do and takes them out of their game plan when they were trying to control the clock,” Spradlen said.
The Devils started second half with five running plays that covered 35 yards. The final one was an easy two-yard jaunt off left tackle by Dyer that pushed the lead to 28-0.
White County answered with its best drive of the night, but a holding call and big sack by Dyer who blitzed off the right side forced a punt.
Greeneville needed one snap to stretch the lead to 35-0 before the game went to the fourth quarter. Baugh lofted a deep ball to Cole Franklin and none of the Spartans could keep up with the senior as he raced 66 yards to the end zone.
Franklin finished the night five catches for 73 yards. Claridy had four catches for 95 yards. As a team the Greene Devils finished with 382 yards of total offense.
White County finished the night with 124 total yards and 61 of those yards came on three pass plays. Cole Sims who came into the night with more than 1,500 rushing yards was held to 23 yards on 18 carries with a long of eight yards.
After another playoff win at Burley, Greeneville Head Coach Eddie Spradlen spoke about the 35-0 shutout win over White County. Hear Coach Spradlen’s thoughts on next week’s pivotal clash with Anderson County also. pic.twitter.com/khNez1rD3q
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
Greeneville QB Caden Baugh (@cadenbaugh) delivered another great performance in a 35-0 shutout of White County on Friday in the second round. Hear how he was able to find his receivers and what lies ahead in the big-time showdown with Anderson County next week. pic.twitter.com/CdEjwOmj1X
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
Greeneville LB Jack Lister IV (@jack15_lister) spoke with us after Greeneville’s shutout over White County and what’s next with rival Anderson County coming into town next week. pic.twitter.com/zxtIDFO6N9
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
Greeneville football moves on to the 3rd round of the playoffs after a 35-0 thumping of White County.
Enjoy some of the highlights captured by our crew!#FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/skXG9iqWq1
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
Halftime! GHS leads over White County 21-0. #FirstHorizon #fyp #greeneville #football pic.twitter.com/JwIRXLZQny
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
Shutout at Burley! White County leaves empty-handed as the Greene Devils blank them, 35-0. #FirstHorizon pic.twitter.com/iveNfBYbG5
— GreeneSportsZone (@GSportsZone) November 15, 2025
