GREENE COUNTY
The Greene County Tigers (8-0, 3-0) travel to Greenbrier High School this Friday to battle the Aquinas Fighting Irish (6-2, 2-1) in the team’s ninth game of the season.
• Series History: Greene County leads, 5-4.
• Last Meeting: Aquinas High School defeated Greene County 28-27 in 2022.
The Tigers come into the next matchup facing another top-10 team in their classification. Head coach Terrance Banks’ team is currently the No. 2 ranked team in Class A Division II, and they have to play the No. 9 ranked Fighting Irish at 7:30 p.m. this Friday.
This would have essentially lined up to be the region championship, but Aquinas fell to a Washington-Wilkes team that Greene County will have to play next week. The Fighting Irish made a late, fourth-quarter push, but the Tigers in blue and yellow eventually won 31-27.
Greene County is coming off its eighth consecutive victory after defeating Lincoln County 28-3 at home last week. On top of that, Aquinas won last year’s installment by one point, so the Tigers will be hungry for redemption.
Banks’ defense has been one of if not the best in Class A Division II, but they will be tested this Friday.
Through eight games, the Fighting Irish offense is averaging around 30 points per game with a little over 300 yards of total offense per game.
Aquinas’s offense is highlighted by quarterback Jim Franklin and his two weapons out wide, Buddyrow Garrer and Jack Rhodes. Franklin has thrown for a little over 1,400 yards, with Garrer and Rhodes combining for around 900 of those.
Greene County’s front seven has been dominant against the run, but the Tigers secondary has been quietly making a name for itself.
Steve Miller and Chris Lowe both lead the Tigers with four interceptions on the season, while BJ Mullens and Justin Hill have combined for three more.
As a whole, Banks’ defense has forced 15 turnovers up to this point, which is almost two per contest.
If Greene County wants to overcome the results from last year, they will have to continue to move the ball on the ground. The Tigers had three rushing touchdowns last Friday and will hope to continue to establish the ground game this week.
With a win, the Tigers solidify themselves at the top of the region and will be waiting to see the results of the Washington- Wilkes game. If both Tigers’ teams win, the region championship is next Friday.