The game many football fans across East Tennessee have had circled on their calendars since August has finally arrived as Greeneville will make the trip to Anderson County for a Class 4A state quarterfinal contest on Friday night.
It is the seventh time in the last eight years these two teams have met in the playoffs. Both teams have been ranked near the top of Class 4A polls all season long and the Greene Devils are expecting a state championship level challenge on Friday.
“We have to come out and play our best football. We’re at the time of year where if you don’t do that then you’re watching from home next week. This is going to be a big time challenge,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “This is the game everybody wants to see. It’s an opportunity to practice on Thanksgiving, and outside of playing in a state championship game that’s about as special as it gets for a high school player. This is a big opportunity for our football team. It’s game everybody on both sides is going to be excited about. It’s a game people have been talking about since before the season even started.”
The Mavericks come into the contest with a 10-1 record, their only loss is to Knox West, the defending Class 5A state champion. Last week they beat Elizabethton 54-14.
Anderson County will be led by Mr. Football semifinalist running back Waylon LaRue. He finished the regular season with 1,426 yards and 19 touchdowns while adding 208 receiving yards with three more touchdowns.
“We have to contain their run game. They have a really good running back and he will get some yards. We have to limit those yards though,” Spradlen said.
LaRue will not be the only weapon at the Mavericks’ disposal and quarterback Landen Hensley finished the regular season with 1,997 passing yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 65 percent of his passes.
The Greene Devils have a dynamic running back of their own in Carson Quillen, and last week the Mr. Football semifinalist had the best game of his career with 307 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-10 win over Gibbs.
Greeneville will need to get more than just Quillen going on Friday to beat the Mavericks, and Spradlen is hoping to get playmakers Zaydyn Anderson and Jeriah Griffin some opportunities on the perimeter against what will primarily be man coverage looks from Anderson County’s secondary.
“We’re going to have to take advantage of what they try to do against us,” Spradlen said. “They run a lot of four-front stuff and run a lot man coverage. They try to stack the box. We do have to establish the run, but at the same time we need to get the ball to those playmakers on the edge. Carson needs to have a big night, but Cayden (Baugh) does as well. We need to get the ball to Zaydyn early and let him make some big plays.”
While Greeneville and Anderson County have met regularly in the postseason since 2017 the Greene Devils have won five of those six meetings. The lone loss was in 2022 during the Devils’ last trip to Anderson County. The Bull Ring is a tough place to play with both a lot of crowd noise and created noise, the pre game is filled with pomp and circumstance, and not many visitors have left victorious in recent years.
“You have to know that you are going into a hostile environment,” Spradlen said. “Their big jumbotron is right behind you and its going off all game being loud. They’ve got bullhorns and train whistles, and they try to do a lot of things to get you off your game.”
Greeneville leads the all-time series 9-6 but is 8-1 since 2006. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Clinton for what is expected to be a chilly evening.
