Greene County (1-0) will travel to Jeffersonville on Friday for a road game against Twiggs County (0-1).
The Tigers are coming off a 28-20 win over rival Putnam County. On the other hand, Treutlen gave the Cobras a 40-0 loss after a disastrous 0-9 finish in 2023 under former coach Patrick Wray.
The new head coach, Roderick Cummings, wanted a better start, and Twiggs has a chance to rebound. So, Greene head coach Terrance Banks doesn’t want his team to take the Cobras lightly.
“Their program is improving,” Banks said. “One thing is their numbers aren’t high, but they’re trying to play disciplined and compete. If our boys go into the Twiggs game high off the horse, we’ll get punched in the mouth early, and I don’t want to get punched in the mouth. I want our boys to go out there and take it to [their opponent]. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Banks wants his team to work on itself and clean up mistakes such as senseless penalties. The Tigers were penalized 13 times for over 100 yards last week in a win over rival Putnam County.
“We’ll clean it up,” Banks said. “You have to look at it this way. It was the first start for our center, left guard, left tackle, and slot receiver. [Also], the wide receiver opposite Steve Miller and Landon Garretson [at quarterback]. Yeah, we had a scrimmage game, and we looked horrible as far as moving the ball. But we got it together [against Putnam], and I think we’ll get better each week.”
This past Friday, Treutlen ran the ball efficiently against Twiggs. The Vikings totaled 283 yards on 29 attempts. The Cobras might also have difficulty stopping Greene’s stout running game this week.
Last week, the Tigers rushed for 186 yards on 20 carries. Senior Amari Durham rushed for a team-high 114 yards on six carries (19 yards per carry) and a score. Junior Travez Gibson added 50 yards.
Treutlen pitched a shutout against Twiggs, and Greene could do the same. The Tigers’ defense gave up a few explosive plays to Putnam last week, so they’re looking to right the ship versus the Cobras.
Greene defenders like Kevin Wynn, Laryous Burt, Tavaris Turner, and Maderious Peek will be hungry.
Banks hopes his entire team will be hungry to tame Twiggs on Friday night.
“Every week is a competition, and we have to play hard and get better,” Banks said. “The one great thing from last year is that these boys expect to win. When you expect to win, you don’t get shaken.”