When August rolls around, a different type of energy swarms through the air around South Greene High School. The community shares a common excitement for Friday nights upon Rebel Hill. Both young and old travel out to the southern side of the county to band together and support their boys in maroon.
Expect things to be no different in 2024. With Head Coach Shawn Jones still captaining the ship and coaches Joe Case and Joel Burns alongside him on defense and offense the Rebels are ready to be feared on the gridiron.
They finished in 2023 with an 8-3 record, a berth in the TSSAA Playoffs, and a third-place finish in Region 1-2A. Last year’s success is last year’s success. They will be looking to create a new identity for themselves in a new season with a whole new outlook on things.
Expectations may be high on Rebel Hill, but if you don’t set them high then you might as well not set any at all.
“We want to go 10-0 and that’s what we’re going to believe that we can do that. We’re 0-0 right now and we’ll see what happens. We’ll take it week-by-week, but we feel like we can win them all. We could lose them all, but we feel very confident in the team we got as long as we can stay healthy,” Jones explained.
Their schedule will remain the same from last season only the venues will change. They did well knocking off every opponent outside of Happy Valley, Hampton, and playoff opponent Bledsoe County. With the same opponents this season and an experienced team returning, South Greene has big things in store for their new season.
A lot of recognizable names and faces will be repping South Greene this year. Most notably, offensive standouts Jacob Susong and Nash Rader. Both were instrumental to the Rebels success last season and hope to stay healthy in the long run to ensure a playoff push.
Susong will lead the team at the quarterback position for the third-straight season. His breakout year last season was cut short at the most inopportune time heading into the playoffs. He looks to bounce back with a stellar senior season.
“Susong has gotten better each year that he’s come up here. He’s going to be good for us,” Jones stated.
The Rebels were all banged up at the most inopportune time last year and want to ensure they have every man ready to step on the field when injuries occur. In that case, freshman quarterback Kayden Bowers will serve as Susong’s backup through the season.
Coach Jones explained, “We knew we had Nash and Race who had played quarterback before, we just didn’t expect to need them in that playoff game. We’re going to prepare more for a backup quarterback and try to get him some reps in the preseason.”
The running back position still belongs to Nash Rader. His near 1,000-yard season in a limited amount of time was a huge piece to South Greene’s success, and they will look to establish the run game with him receiving most of the handoffs again in his junior year.
“He’s come back bigger, stronger, and faster. He’s looking good there,” Jones bragged.
Tripp Neas showed flashes of promise last season and will receive plenty of reps in the backfield backing up Rader. Other backs on the depth chart are Zeke Rader, Jaden Estepp, and Bryce Hoag.
The Rebels lost a bit in the receiving department with the graduations of deep ball threat TJ Buckner and speed threat Dion Blair. Fortunately, they bring back Trey Gentry who is a talented senior receiver. “We expect great things out of him,” Coach Jones said.
Charlie Lane will line up in the slot position and is a player Coach Jones expects to have a breakout season. “Charlie is a gamer,” he bragged.
Lucas Couch has also earned a starting position in the receiving core and presents a big target for Susong to throw to. Some backup options that will see their name called upon and look to earn more playing time will be Simon Burns, Jeff Dotson, and Noah Shelton.
South Greene’s coaching staff has a lot to be excited about on the offensive line. A cast of returning Rebels will create an experienced offensive line unit to help pave the way for their offensive attack. “Up front we feel really excited. We’ve got a bunch of guys back and got some freshmen who can play,” Jones exclaimed.
Starting at center will be senior Brendan Lisenby. “He’s played for three years. He’s done a good job. Him and Susong work well together,” Coach Jones said about the senior.
Covering the blind side will be Heath Norton and standing beside him at left guard will be Seth Franklin. Jovan Pendleton will be transitioning into a role on the offensive line to start at right guard. Two players are still fighting for the starting spot at right tackle. Junior Zachary Bledsoe and freshman Justin Habberstad will be the ones fighting for that opportunity to start on Friday nights.
Filling out the depth charts on the offensive line is Thomas Mayhew, Dylan Shelton, Nathaniel Pitts, and Colton Silvers. Those athletes are able to rotate in and give those starters a breather when needed.
According to Coach Jones, it’s all about building depth and being able to replace one man with another that’s capable of doing the same job.
On defense, they are looking to do the exact same. A projected eight returning starters will have a slew of backups ready to step on the field at any moment and cause havoc to opposing offenses.
“We scrimmaged last Tuesday at Northview and I think Coach Case rotated about 23 kids so that’s really good,” Coach Jones mentioned.
Jovan Pendleton, Nathaniel Pitts, and Heath Norton are expected to start on the defensive line and pull double-duty on offense and defense.
The inside linebacker spots are projected to go to Zeke Rader and Charlie Lane. Sitting on the outside will be Tripp Neas and Jeff Dotson. Rader and Dotson are two names people aren’t as familiar with that Coach Jones expects to make big plays and have their name announced often.
The secondary will be led by Trey Gentry and Simon Burns at cornerback then both Nash Rader and Jacob Susong covering the backend at safety.
Coach Jones expects to see Lucas Couch rotating in at both outside linebacker and safety to help bolster their defense. Nolan Weems will help provide secondary help at corner and Shawn Owenby will do the same at safety.
Jaden Estepp, Kayden Bowers, Bryce Hoag, Noah Shelton, and Jaxxon Bowden are young freshmen that the Rebel coaching staff are comfortable rotating in and developing on Friday nights.
Payton Lawing, Cameron Smith, and Angel Sanchez are other reserves looking to make a statement and earn their spot in the lineup.
Brant Wilhoit will be returning for his junior year to take over the kicking duties for South Greene. “He’s worked really hard this summer,” Coach Jones bragged. “All we told Brant is to get consistent and he has.”
Rounding out South Greene’s roster is Wyatt Fender, Hunter Smith, Bryce Crum, Blaine Boles, Braxton Crittenden, Layne Cooper, and William Dotson. Those players fill out the roster of 38 players donning the maroon in 2024.
Joining Head Coach Shawn Jones will be assistant coaches Joe Case on defense and Joel Burns on offense. Chase Carter, Brad Malone, Bubba Rader, and Bryce Malone join the staff as volunteer coaches. South Greene Middle School Head Coach Alex Arwood will also be helping out on Friday nights.
The Rebels kick things off on August 23rd with a date in Jonesborough with the David Crockett Pioneers. Last year, South Greene pulled off a monumental upset to begin the season. This year, Crockett will be out for revenge.
“Crockett’s going to be tough to open up. I think they took us a little lightly last year coming here as a 5-A playing a 2-A school,” Jones mentioned. “It’s going to be a tough game playing at Crockett.”
Both in-county games against Chuckey-Doak and West Greene will be played on their home turf in weeks four and six.
The Rebels end the season on a three-game homestretch that will play in their favor with very important region matchups on the backend of their schedule. Eagleton Academy and Hampton travel to Rebel Hill in what could be championship-deciding games.
“I really like ending the season with Eagleton and Hampton, especially conference games, here at South Greene. Eagleton is going to be tough. They’re going to be fighting for the conference championship already in year two,” Jones stated. “It’s a tough schedule, but it’s a winnable schedule.”
The old saying is “Rebels are ready” and don’t expect that to change any time soon.
