A week ago North Greene picked up its first win of the season and on Thursday night the Huskies will turn their attention to starting Region 1-1A play with a victory.
Hancock County will be making the trip to Baileyton for the Homecoming clash.
“You always want start region play in good standing, and that starts this week,” North Greene coach Eric Tilson said. “Your non-region games don’t really matter in terms of making the playoffs. You play those to challenge yourself or get confidence, and we hope those two games have prepared us to start region play the right way.”
North Greene is coming off of a 34-20 win over West Greene a week ago in a contest where the Huskies did a lot of things right, forcing seven turnovers and producing nearly 300 yards of offense.
While the stat sheet a week ago showed a prolific passing day from quarterback Jared Swatzell it was running back Leon Johnson who made everything go in the mind of coach Tilson.
Johnson finished the night with 31 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown, but more importantly the threat of him running kept the Buffaloes’ defense in the box. On Thursday night Johnson’s role will once again be pivotal, whether that is running past defenders or opening things up for his teammates.
“We really relied on Leon Johnson last week,” Tilson said. “In terms of averages it wasn’t his best game, but he opened up the RPO game for us. He forced them to put seven in the box, and that really helped us control the second half.”
In week two North Greene’s passing game became more dynamic and proved it can challenge the defense from a variety of spots. Levi Gray hauled in two touchdown passes while Kelson Eastep and Parker Collins each had one socre. The week before against Chuckey-Doak Matt Boyd had 101 receiving yards with a touchdown.
The Huskies will hope that their multitude of weapons can prove to be a challenge for Hancock County’s aggressive defense.
Last week the Huskies faced a dynamic quarterback in West Greene’s Aiden Thompson, and they forced seven turnovers. The Indians will bring a similar attack to Baileyton with an offense the relies on the quarterback run.
“They have a really good playmaker at the quarterback position,” Tilson said. “It seems like he has the green light to run anytime he feels like he needs to, and he can make some big plays. He has put some defenders on skates.”
Hancock County is 0-2 on the season with a 33-0 loss to Cumberland Gap in week one and a 46-0 loss to Sale Creek in week two. The Indians are on a seven-game losing streak and have lost 30 of their last 32 games. They have never had a winning record in program history.
North Greene is 9-3 all-time against Hancock County. It is the Huskies best winning percentage against any opponent.
Kickoff for Thursday’s contest has been pushed back to 7:30 PM due to expected intense heat. Homecoming festivities will begin at 7 PM.
