South Greene scored 21 points in the first quarter on Friday night and never looked back as the Rebels ran away from West Greene in the second half for a 41-7 victory in the 51st edition of the Battle for the Milk Can.
The win secured a home playoff game for the Rebels, and with Hampton losing to Eagleton Academy, South Greene locked up the Region 1-2A Championship.
“I am super proud of the defense. Coach Case had them ready all year, and we have done really well. They have played well all year.” said South Greene coach Shawn Jones. “Offensively, we did fine tonight. We just had some mental stuff. We felt like we could have scored at least three more times in the first half. But I am proud of these guys. They played hard and did what we had to do. The biggest thing we were looking for tonight was getting a home playoff game, and now that is going to happen for sure.”
The Rebels wasted no time getting the offense going. After receiving the opening kickoff, Nash Rader went untouched down the near sideline for a 57-yard touchdown run on the very first play from scrimmage. Brant Wilhoit’s extra point made it a quick 7-0 advantage.
After holding the Buffaloes to negative yardage on their first two offensive possessions, Rader found space again – this time from 37-yards out. The extra point snap was mishandled, and the Rebels lead was 13-0 with 3:32 remaining in the first quarter.
The Buffaloes fumbled the ball deep in their own territory, and the Rebels recovered with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Jacob Susong made it hurt when he found Trey Gentry in the back corner of the end zone with Kyler Patterson defending. Patterson made a great play on the ball and tipped it into the air, but the ball fell into Gentry’s arms as he fell to the ground for the circus catch.
The two-point conversion was good, and before the first quarter was completed, the Rebels had extended their lead to 21-0.
The West Greene defense, paired with a few keys plays from the offense to extend drives, kept the South Greene scoring attack at-bay for most of the second quarter. The Buffaloes were threatening to score and make it a two-score game before the halftime break when Austin Franklin threw an interception to Gentry.
The Rebels drove down the field and scored on a quarterback sneak by Susong to take a 28-0 lead to halftime.
South Greene finished Friday with 311 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns. Rader led that effort with 251 yards on 18 carries with three scores. Tripp Neas ran for 51 yards on seven touches. Through the air Susong was an efficient 13-of-6 for 147 yards.
Coach Jones praised the South Greene offensive line, saying, “I want to call out my offensive line. They played well tonight; they have all year. I will call them out right here because they deserve it. We start with our left tackle over there, big 57, Heath Norton. At left guard we have Seth Franklin and he plays hard all the time. Brendan Lisenby, he’s the leader up there – he gets us where we’re supposed to be. At right guard you have Jovan Pendleton and we have some subs that have played all year, too, and we ended up with Zach Bledsoe as your right tackle.”
The offensive line got big praise from their coach for the Rebels, and for the Buffaloes it was a familiar name in Austin Franklin that gave West Greene a little life in the second half.
The Buffaloes got the ball to start the second half, and Franklin wasted no time sparking the offense as he raced past the South Greene defense to the tune of 68-yards for the first West Greene points since their blowout win over Cumberland Gap on October 4th.
Franklin was not finished helping make an impact, though. The senior, playing safety, high pointed a pass from Susong and returned it to near-midfield for the Buffaloes.
All the momentum seemed to be turning in the favor of the Buffaloes, but the spark from Franklin could not catch fire before the Rebels put the game away late in the third quarter.
Tripp Neas weaved his way through the Buffs’ defense en route to a 35-yard score with 4:49 remaining in the third quarter.
And on the first play of the fourth quarter, Rader scored again from the two-yard line. The extra point was blocked, but the continuous clock rule was enacted, and stayed in place the remainder of the game.
The win keeps the Milk Can on the south side of the Nolichucky River and secures the Region 1-2A Championship for the Rebels.
The Buffaloes fall to 3-6 on the season, 1-3 in Region 1-2A. West Greene will host Happy Valley next Thursday night on The Range. Eagleton’s win over Hampton on Friday eliminated the Buffaloes from playoff contention.
South Greene welcomes the Hampton Bulldogs to Rebel Hill for another Region 1-2A rivalry game next week.
