It would be hard to imagine a worse start to a game than what West Greene went through on Friday night at North Greene, but the Buffaloes never stopped fighting and rallied to a 32-16, season-opening win.
“I’m doing a lot better right now that I was with four minutes left in the first quarter,” West Greene coach Evan Monroe said gleefully after Friday’s win. “Tonight was tough, but I’m incredibly proud of how our guys responded. Once we settled in and started playing our brand of football we scored 32 straight points. This was a gritty win for our guys.”
Within the first five minutes of Friday’s contest the Buffaloes had fumbled twice, allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown and given up a safety as they found themselves in a 16-0 hole. Things were looking bleak, but West Greene stuck to the game plan and as the game wore on the Buffs began to wear on the Huskies.
“I can’t say what I was thinking at that point,” Monroe said of the first quarter. “But we told the guys all week that something was going to go wrong, that’s football. When adversity hits, how do we respond? We got punched in the mouth. Bur for us to come back and respond was a great team win.”
The Buffaloes took their first blow on the game’s opening whistle. North Greene’s Jake Duffy caught the opening kickoff at the 20-yard line and handed it off to Brandon Weems who went straight up the middle on his way to a touchdown and quick 6-0 Huskies lead.
West Greene quarterback Austin Franklin raced 53 yards on the game’s first offensive snap, but on the next play running back Skylar Shelton coughed up the ball and North Greene’s Kelson Eastep jumped on it.
Franklin was able get the ball back with an interception on defense, but on the ensuing offensive possession West Greene fumbled into the endzone. The Buffs did jump on the ball first to prevent a North Greene touchdown, but the still resulted in a safety and an 8-0 Huskies’ lead.
After the free kick went out of bounds to further West Greene’s problems North Greene started on the Buffs’ 45-yard line. North Greene capitalized on the field position when Thomas Darnell hit Duffy in the back of the endzone on a crossing route for a 15-yard score.
On the two-point conversion North Greene lined up in a swinging gate formation with Duffy at center but also as the end man on the line of scrimmage. Darnell hit him with a quick pass just across the goal line to push the lead to 16-0.
The teams exchanged turnovers with North Greene throwing and interception and West Greene fumbling, and on the night the teams combined for eight turnovers. North Greene lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions, while West Greene lost one fumble and threw three interceptions. Another West Greene fumble resulted in a safety.
Thing finally started going West Greene’s way when Isaiah Roberts blocked a punt and Shelton returned it to the Huskies’ 17-yard line.
Two plays later Franklin took off around the corner to right and dove at the pylon for a 5-yard score. He then hit Braden McCamey for two points that closed the gap to 16-8 with 8:24 left in the first half.
On the day Franklin ran for 164 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries. As a team West Greene ran for 300 yards on Friday.
“Skylar (Shelton), (Dillon) Teston and (Austin) Franklin, those guys run the ball hard, but it starts up front with those big guys,” Monroe said. “That is usually the position group I work with and I am so proud of those guys up front. Then Austin gave us everything. His leadership, his ability to run the ball, his ability to make plays was so big. He’s just a special kid.”
West Greene’s Leland Payne jumped on a fumble to give the Buffaloes another chance. The ensuing drive took just over four minutes and with 1:42 left in the first half West Greene tied the game at 16-16. Braden McCamey finished off the drive when he took a snap out of the wildcat at powered across the goal line from one yard out. Franklin ran in the tying two-point conversion.
Late in the third quarter the game was paused for over and hour when West Greene offensive lineman Zachery Diltz went down with injury. Paramedics had to be called, but after the game Monroe was optimistic about his condition.
After the game the Buffaloes’ Twitter account reported that, “All feeling had returned and he’s doing much better.”
“It was great to see our guys come out and rally and play hard for their brother,” Monroe said. “From what I understand the kid is doing better, and I’ll be on my way to see him as soon as I leave here.”
A North Greene punt quickly followed the restart in play and West Greene put together a nine-play, 60-yard drive. Franklin finished things off by slipping up the right sideline for a 12-yard score, and with 10:36 left in the game the Buffaloes led for the first time at 24-16.
With 4:55 left West Greene was effectively able to ice the game when Dillon Teston rumbled across the goal line from 13-yards. Shelton ran in the two-point try and the Buffs led 32-16.
West Greene held North Greene to seven yards of offense in the second half. On the day the Huskies produced 115 yards of offense, but 98 of them came in the first five minutes of game play.
“I don’t feel like I called a very good game, and I didn’t put our kids in position to win,” North Greene coach Eric Tilson said. “We have to go back to the drawing board and figure things out. We started off real hot, but the game caught up to us. We showed some signs that we can make big plays, but how consistently can we do it? We have to learn to weather the storm.”
