The South Greene Rebels are looking to build off a successful season last year with a brand-new group ready to make an impact in the 2026 season.
The Rebels finished 8-4 (2-1) a year ago with a playoff appearance. The season ended in the second round of the Class 2A playoffs with a 35-0 loss to Marion County. Much of that team is gone now. All-State quarterback Nash Rader, leading tackler and Region 1-2A Defensive Player of the Year Charlie Lane, kicker Brant Wilhoit, and four of five starting offensive linemen are all gone.
South Greene’s squad has a lot of familiar faces, but a lot of new faces in new places are looking to make a splash. Head Coach Shawn Jones is back again leading the Rebels staff. Jones has helped lead South Greene to eight-straight seasons with a .500 or better record along with nine-straight playoff appearances and would certainly love to extend both streaks.
It will all start with one of the best returning players in the county in Tripp Neas. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark with 1,015 yards rushing last season and 18 total touchdowns winning Region 1-2A Offensive Player of the Year.
“At the end of the year last year he did some TikToks and different things about ’29 out’ and I think people thought he was moving, but he did move. He moved to number zero,” Jones stated. “He’s gonna be our leader. He has been in the offseason. We’re gonna go as he goes.”
The quarterback position will see a newcomer step into the spotlight this year. Sophomore Dawson Ripley will be named starting quarterback heading into the new season. “He’s got big-time potential throwing the ball and leading this team,” Jones expressed.
A name many people were quick to learn about last year was Trent Haynes. A breakout freshman campaign saw Haynes collect 67 tackles and 4 interceptions. It’s not wrong to say you could expect another breakout season from Haynes on the offensive side of the ball this year.
“We expect a lot out of him on both sides of the ball this year. He’s going to play some slot and some running back,” Jones explained.
The senior class consists of nine players including Neas, Simon Burns, Noah Wright, Shawn Ownby, Angel Sanchez, Bryce Crum, Lucas Murdock, Braxton Crittenden, and Eli Fillers. Noah Wright will miss his senior season with an injury.
Coach Jones is very high on Eli Fillers to be a breakout prospect in the upcoming season. “We knew he was athletic and finally got him out this year. Last week in our first scrimmage we held Tripp out and Trent got banged up and we knew what kind of athlete Eli was and we threw him in at running back and I’ll be dang if he didn’t play really well against Grainger. We’ve got him all over the place on both sides of the ball. He’s playing outside linebacker, he’s playing slot, he’s playing running back. We really expect a lot out of Eli and we’ve thrown a lot on him since he’s come out,” Jones explained.
The junior class is relatively smaller with only six members. Noah Shelton, Jaden Estepp, Wyatt Fender, Hunter Smith, Thomas Mayhew, and Justin Habberstad round out the short list of juniors.
The sophomore class features 15 underclassmen looking to break through and crack the starting rotation. Trent Haynes, Dawson Ripley, Jaxen Taylor, Landon Murdock, Dawson Rosenbalm, Colton Green, John Harris, Daniel Irvin, Isaac Bouthellete, Carson Wells, Kayden Trentham, Dalton Thornburg, Dakota Hopson, Corey Heater, and David Whittman round out the large sophomore group.
The freshman group consists of a dozen young men entering the high school ranks. Sammy Jones, Wyatt Milhorn, Camden Marshall, Adrian Bobadilla, Wyatt Crosby, Aiden Boyd, Grady Wilhoit, Kasen Justice, Holden Tolliver, Braxton Alshie, Korbin Franklin, and Hayden Ricker are the freshman players for the Rebels.
Head Coach Shawn Jones will be joined by Joe Case, Joel Burns, Marc Wright, Brad Malone, and Bubba Rader on the coaching staff.
The Rebels compete in Region 1-2A in a small four-team conference with Happy Valley, West Greene, and Cumberland Gap. With only four teams the Rebels are guaranteed a playoff spot when the calendar flips to November.
“We’ve got four teams in the conference. The good thing is you know you’re gonna be in the playoffs. Hopefully there at the end it’s down to us and Happy Valley. Happy Valley has had some transfers come in and that’s fine. We’ll see how we stack up and play. West Greene has a new coach. They’ll be different. Cumberland Gap has been young the last couple of years so they’ve still got all those kids. The conference will be big.” Jones said.
The non-region schedule consists of county foes North Greene and Chuckey-Doak along with Morristown East, Daniel Boone, Johnson County, Eagleton, and Concord Christian.
South Greene begins the regular season with Morristown East on Rebel Hill on August 21st.
