GREENE COUNTY
After playing a physical fall scrimmage against Putnam County, the Greene County football team began the regular season off on a positive note.
The Tigers defeated the Eagles of Business Engineering Science and Technology (BEST) Academy 37-12 in a contest where they led the entire time.
Second-year head coach Terrance Banks told the Lake Oconee News that even though there were multiple teaching moments from the season-opener, the team played well on both sides of the ball.
“I think we have a lot to work on. Some of the good parts of our game were the defense because they didn’t allow a single touchdown through four quarters,” Banks said. “Offensively, we rushed for over 360 yards, and that’s always a plus when you can run for that many yards. We also hit all of our extra points and didn’t get anything blocked, so we were successful there as well.”
Banks’ backfield definitely found success against the Eagles, and as a team, Greene County rushed for 387 yards on 56 carries.
Sophomore Travez Gibson picked up where he left off last season and led the Tigers with 139 yards on the ground.
Junior Amari Durham found the end zone twice with 78 yards on seven carries. Not only did senior Aveon Baugh rush for 112 yards with a score but he also had a 31-yard reception for a touchdown.
Other players such as Melvin Lawrence and Quincy Robbins also contributed to the ground game while BJ Mullen and Qua Burdette found success through the air.
Banks acknowledged that it’s important to have a variety of backs, and he recognized that each one could play a vital role in the team’s success.
“Any time you can run the ball for that many yards, it’s always a plus and will give you a big advantage,” Banks said. “ It’s always good to see someone like Aveon Baugh, who didn’t play last year because of feeling he was overlooked, come back and have the kind of game he did. He’ll play a big role for us this year.”
“Gibson was somebody who was our number two running back behind Malik [West] last year, so for him to come back and still be the ‘bell cow’, carrying the ball 23 times for over 100 yards, it bodes well for him and our offense,” Banks added. “Durham is somebody that we knew could be special. After finally getting him integrated on both sides of the ball, he got some touches as the running back and definitely made an impact.”
With the dominance on the ground, Greene County didn’t need much through the air from its quarterback Steve Miller.
Miller only threw nine passes in the contest but completed those at a 67 percent rate while carrying the ball six times – one of which was a touchdown. Miller also struggled out of the gate, throwing two interceptions to the Eagles’ defense.
Banks believes turnovers will hurt the team in future games, and that they will need to take care of the ball more effectively if they want to win close contests.
“Something that we’ll need to work on tremendously is winning the turnover battle,” Banks said. “Even with the win, [the score] could have been greater had we taken care of the ball and we didn’t.” We can’t afford to continue to lose the turnover battle moving forward if we want to be where we want to be.
“I think the hardest part in your maturation in becoming a good football team, and I tell people this all the time, is playing well in the games you know you’re supposed to win,” Banks continued. "Offensively and defensively, we pressed a lot because we felt confident in our ability. We had guys not letting the game come to them, so moving forward, we want to go with the flow and understand the score will take care of itself if we’re not trying to overdo it.”