The South Greene Rebels hit the road on Friday night for their toughest test yet as they head to Happy Valley to play the undefeated Warriors in a pivotal Region 1-2A game.
“They’re the best team we’ve seen all year. They’re just a hard-nosed football team. They’ve lost a few players before the season even started, but they’ve just rallied. They haven’t lost a regular season game since starting 0-3 last year,” Coach Shawn Jones stated.
It was Happy Valley who played spoiler to South Greene’s undefeated season up to this point last season. The Warriors walked off of Rebel Hill with a 26-20 victory and ultimately forced the Rebels to go on the road in the playoffs only a month later.
While there was some controversy last year as to whether there were twelve men on the field after the huddle was broken or whether a Warrior’s knee was down on a crucial conversion on a punt fake, the Rebels want to leave no doubt on the field as to who’s the better team this season and strip them of their undefeated season.
“Yeah, you’ve got some revenge on your mind cause they got us last year. But really the revenge part is that’s what put us on the road in the playoffs. We got beat at Hampton and by them and that’s what put us on the road and we don’t want to do that this year. So, there’s the revenge part. Not necessarily our undefeated record, it was the part that they put us on the road in the playoffs so that’s the revenge we’re looking for,” Jones expressed.
Most people expect the winner of Friday night’s game to be the favorite to win the conference at season’s end. Both teams are undefeated in regional action up to this point and neither want to see that zero fade away at games end. Happy Valley has victories over Eagleton and Hampton, last year’s No. 2 and No. 4 seeds, while South Greene has one decisive win over Cumberland Gap.
“These kinds of games are what you love as a coach. Last few years we’ve been up at the top fighting for a conference championship and here we go again,” Coach Jones mentioned. “If we take care of ourselves and win out, we’re going to win the conference. But it starts this week and we’ve got to go 1-0.”
Both team’s boast stiff defenses that average less than 12 points allowed per game. Happy Valley has not allowed more than 19 points in a game all season and averages only 9 points-per-game. The Rebels average almost the same with 11 points-per-game allowed and haven’t allowed more than 20 points in a game this season.
On offense, South Greene is punishing teams with an average of 34 points-per-game and hold a point differential of +116. They have outscored their opponents 173-57. The Warriors seem to improve each week on offense with a higher point total in each game. They average 28 points-per-game and have outscored their opponents 111-37.
You can expect to see a run-heavy attack from Happy Valley and a loaded box on defense. Their quarterback and fullback are their two biggest threats according to Coach Jones and two key players South Greene will focus on. He also expects them to load the box and stuff the defensive line with 4-to-5 linemen to try and stop the run.
The Rebels saw what senior leader Jacob Susong can do in crucial situations last week with a 15-for-18, 209-yard, two touchdown performance in their 10-point come-from-behind victory over Seymour and look for him to have a big night leading the way. Stud running back Nash Rader has accumulated 643 yards on the ground and accounted for 10 rushing touchdowns this season so far. He will be another key player the Rebels will rely on to have a big night.
“Nobody really expects us to go up there and win on Friday night. And that’s great. All Carter County thinks it’s going to be Happy Valley and that’s great. I’m sure some people here in Greene County think it’s going to be Happy Valley, but hey, that’s why you play the game. We’re prepared this week and we have prepared so far this week and I think we’ll be ready to play,” Coach Jones expressed.
Happy Valley has won 11-straight regular season games after starting 0-3 last season. Their only loss since that time was their playoff loss to Oneida. South Greene has won 12 out of their last 15 regular season games dating back to the beginning of last season.
