Miller Grove avenged a bad loss to Greene County last season with a 56-7 rout of the Tigers this past Friday night.
The Class 2A Wolverines (5-1) dominated Greene County (1-5) from the opening kickoff to the final whistle.
The Tigers’ defensive unit struggled to contain the Miller Grove duo of quarterback Thomas Winston and wide receiver Kenneth Gladden Jr. Winston finished the game connecting on 10 of 12 pass attempts for 302 yards and three touchdowns. Gladden hauled in five passes for 152 yards and two scores in the lopsided win.
Greene County also struggled to stop Miller Grove’s ground game, which rushed for over 100 yards.
The Tigers never found their offensive rhythm, as a stingy Wolverine defense nearly pitched a shutout. They scored once when quarterback Landon Garretson connected with receiver Denim Harris through the air.
Another positive for the Greene County offense was the return of tailback Travez Gibson, who missed the first five games of the season. He was limited against Miller Grove but performed well for the Tigers in the loss.
“A big takeaway from the game is that we got one of our key players back on the field,” Greene County head coach Darius Robinson said of Gibson. “We eased him into our game plan. He had about 15 carries or so.
“ I also thought the guys played resilient, and that Miller Grove is a really, really good football team this year.”
After the loss, the Tigers quickly moved on and started preparing for region play, which begins this Friday at Warren County (2-4). They will face a Screaming Devils’ squad that is riding a two-game winning streak.
Robinson isn’t concerned about his team’s 1-5 record and said the slate is wiped clean once region play begins.
“I talked to the boys about how the season is divided up into three seasons,” he said. “You’ve got your non-region schedule, and then you get to hit the reset button and you get your region schedule, and then you hit the reset button again and you get to the playoffs.
Now, essentially, we’re back to 0-0, and the only important thing is the here and now. And you want a chance to win the region, so Friday is a big game for us.”
Greene County won last season’s matchup 28-14, so Warren County will look to get revenge.
Robinson told his players that the Screaming Devils would be well-prepared, led by head coach Steven Simpson. He expects them to give the Tigers everything they’ve got as both teams will try to start 1-0 in the region.
“I think it’s their homecoming, so we’re expecting a great crowd out there and a similar foe, with us not being too far from each other,” Robinson said. “It’s going to be interesting. They’re a tough team. They’ve got a lot of great fight. Coach Simpson does a really good job, and those guys are tough, athletic, and physical.”