The South Greene Rebels (8-3) claimed their first playoff win since 2022 with a 23-13 victory over Polk County on Friday night and look to keep that momentum going with a huge challenge on the road at Marion County (10-1) this week.
The Rebels are lining up against the defending Class 2A State Champions on their own turf. It’s a challenge that is rare. Never before has a Coach Jones led team competed against a defending state champion in 2A. It’s a challenge the Rebels are certainly excited for.
“It’s real exciting. It is exciting to play someone different,” Coach Jones stated. “I think it was Ric Flair who said ‘to be the man you’ve got to beat the man’. You knew you had to play Marion County sometime in the playoffs, so why not now?”
South Greene improved to 8-3 with last week’s win, while the Warriors are 10-1. This will be the first ever meeting between both programs.
The high-powered offense for South Greene is averaging 35.6 points per game and their stifling defense is only allowing 16.4 points per game. Marion County is averaging 31.5 points per game while only allowing a low 8.0 points per game.
“They are a dang good football team. They are young, quick, and fast. But we feel like we can match up,” Coach Jones stated.
Last week’s win was what a true playoff game is. Four lead changes, goal line stands, long and successful offensive drives, triumph for one, and sadness for another. The Rebels fought through adversity multiple times and showed how talented they can be in crucial situations. South Greene is almost certain to face adversity this week in a football rich environment facing one of the top teams in the state.
Marion County has appeared in nine state championship games and are five-time State Champions (1990, ‘92, ‘94, ‘95 and 2024).
South Greene is hoping to break a pair of records on Friday. They have never won a road playoff game in program history and have never hosted a quarterfinal game on Rebel Hill.
“We’ve got nothing to lose. Everybody thinks since they are the defending state champions they’re supposed to win the home games, but we feel like we match up with them. We do make history if we can win that game right there when the horn goes off. It’d be the first time we win a road playoff game in school history and you turn around and get round three at home. So, you’d have two history-making things right there,” Coach Jones explained.
Jones said his three keys to the game are to get off the field on third down, force them to make mistakes, and score when they have the opportunity.
The winner of this game will move on to next Friday and play the winner of Gordonsville (11-0) and Oneida (6-5).
Marion County is located in the Central Time Zone in Jasper, so the game time could be a little confusing. Kickoff is set for 7:00 CT, but 8:00 ET at home. You can hear all the action on The Big Dawg 103.1 FM WIKQ with Brian Stayton and “the coach” Barry Carter on the call.
