The Greene County football team spent its Homecoming weekend in good spirits after getting a dominant win in its first region game of the season.
The Tigers defeated Towns County 47-0 and kept their undefeated season alive by moving to 6-0.
Head coach Terrance Banks was proud of how his guys played and glad that they gave a great effort for four quarters.
“We did well in all three phases of the game, and I’m very happy with their performance,” Banks said. “We still made some mistakes, but it was one of the first games the kids gave great effort in all four quarters, and we came out with a win.”
As soon as the game began, the Tigers exploited the talent difference and held the Indians to negative rushing yards in the first half. Greene County’s defensive front created pressure almost every play, and the Towns County ball carriers didn’t have many places to go.
Junior defensive tackle Kevin Wynn, who recently received an offer from the Florida Gators, got into the backfield multiple times and had a handful of tackles for loss in the first quarter alone. He was accompanied by multiple other Tigers in wreaking havoc on any Indian playmaker who tried to make something happen with the ball for the rest of the first half.
On top of that, Greene County’s special teams units made sure the team’s offense had great starting field position on almost every drive. The Tigers' first three drives started inside Towns County territory, and all three eventually led to rushing touchdowns.
On top of that, the Tigers’ special teams unit scored by itself when punt returner Chris Lowe took one back after there was some miscommunication from the Towns County sideline – no one ever downed the ball, so Lowe picked it up to score.
Banks was ecstatic on the sidelines as Lowe crossed the goal line and acknowledged that it takes a smart player to be able to make that play.
“A lot of people don’t realize this, but a lot of our guys have deep knowledge of the sport,” Banks said. “Football IQ is knowing football and what to do at any given moment. We teach guys to stay close to the ball when it’s punted to us and to see Chris [Lowe’s] awareness that Towns County was running off the field, and he could still pick up the live ball and run it back was the icing on the cake.”
Running backs Travez Gibson and Armari Durham each found the end zone in the first half and were efficient in the run game. Senior Quay Burdette also got involved in the scoring by taking a screen pass for a touchdown.
Quarterback Steve Miller not only managed the game offensively but also made plays on the defensive side of the ball, as well. Miller ended the first half with a pick-six, extending Greene’s lead over Towns.
Banks believes Miller’s defensive performances from here on out will be a big factor in determining how the rest of the season will go for the Tigers.
“What he does on the defensive end is so important for us, and not to say he’s not a good quarterback, but I think that’s where he’ll play at the next level,” Banks said. “He’s so long and has such great football IQ. For him to read that play and jump the route to get the interception for a touchdown, it was big to see that as a coach. If we are to go 1-0 for a long time, it will be because of his performances on that side of the ball.”
After being up 40-0 at halftime, Greene County played a lot of backups in the second half.
Even with less experience, the Tigers finished out the final half strong and made a stand on defense to give the team its first shutout of the season. The Tigers have come close multiple times already, but Banks acknowledged this was the first time there was complete effort in all facets of the game.
“They’ve come close to a shutout in multiple games, and some of those games, it’s been special teams or the offense that has virtually given up those scores,” Banks said. “We do a ‘donut-for-a-donut’, and it hasn’t been their fault, but I told them that they weren’t getting donuts until the Greene County Tigers held its opponent to zero points. For it to come down to the younger guys at the end to make that final stand was big for the team, and they’ve been waiting a while to get that shootout, so the guys were excited.”
The Tigers now turn their attention to Warren County for their second region game.