Also inside
•Chuckey-Doak Season Preview, PAGE 2
•North Greene Season Preview, PAGE 6
•South Greene Season Preview, PAGE 8
•West Greene Season Preview, PAGE 11
•Composite High School Schedule, PAGE 12
5
Knights Field Young Team After Senior Exodus
BY BLAKE BARTELS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
AFTON — Chuckey-Doak fans will see a different football team in 2024 as much of its players from the previous season graduated.
It’s a challenging situation to be in to say the least, but Chuckey-Doak coach Billy Kaylor is excited and optimistic after a good offseason.
“We had a good summer,” Kaylor said. “Our attendance has been great and we have a lot of kids working hard. We’re starting to build our culture here and we’re excited about this year.”
Kaylor enters his second year as Chuckey-Doak’s coach after leading the Black Knights to a 6-5 record in 2023.
Losing so many seniors in key positions, Kaylor knows
how tough the transition will be for his young team.
However, if the past few weeks have shown him anything, it’s that his team has the talent to be just as good, if not better, than last year’s squad.
“We graduated a lot last year, a lot of really, really talented players,” Kaylor said. “So we are really young, but we are excited to see the young guys develop and I think there’s definitely a lot of ceiling for this team. There’s a lot of improvement to be done and a lot of talent that hasn’t been tested yet. We’ll see how they improve in the preseason and hopefully grow every week.”
OFFENSE
With so many holes to fill, Chuckey-Doak’s offense has its work cut out, but junior
quarterback Dominique Atchison is confident there won’t be a drop-off in production.
Atchison played quarterback and receiver last year, which he looks to use to his advantage as he’s the favorite to step into that starting role in 2024.
“He’s really stepped up at quarterback,” Kaylor said. “He’s playing real well. Nothing’s done until it’s done, but he’s been getting most of the reps with the 1’s and he’s had a great summer. He’s a great athlete across the board. Very smart kid, he processes well and he’s very athletic, so he can run the ball, too.”
“We have a lot of young guys, so there’s a lot of learning been done this summer, but I feel like we are progressing a lot,”
Atchison said. “We have some (underclassmen) who are looking good right now, who have the potential to start and we’re trying to teach them and trying to get them to stay out of their head, because they’re young. The upperclassmen are stepping up and leading them. So we are all on the same page.”
As a junior, Atchison has
stepped into a leadership role.
“It’s fun, for sure,” he said with a smile. “I look forward to it.”
Knowing the route combinations and receiving tendencies will be important for the signal caller, helping him connect more often with his targets.
Sophomore Brayden Greene and freshman
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 at Unaka
Aug. 30 at Grainger
Sept. 6 WEST GREENE
Sept. 13 at South Greene
Sept. 20 PIGEON FORGE
Sept. 27 COCKE COUNTY
Oct. 4 CLAIBORNE
Oct. 11 at Johnson County
Oct. 25 UNICOI COUNTY
Nov. 1 at Gatlinburg-Pittman BOLD — Home Game
Skyler Davis look to be the team’s top receiving threats, with Kaylor saying they’ve both had a really good preseason.
Senior Hayden Roper and junior Gage Hill will be the feature running backs for the offense, both of whom Kaylor looks to lead the team not just in the run game, but also as leaders.
2023 RESULTS
UNAKA W 54-18
GRAINGER W 27-22 at West Greene W 40-6 SOUTH GREENE L 34-20 at Pigeon Forge W 7-0 at Cocke County W 26-21 at Claiborne W 27-6
JOHNSON COUNTY L 12-3 at Unicoi County L 47-45 (OT) GATLINBURG-PITTMAN L 55-15
Class 3A Playoffs at Alcoa L 56-6 BOLD — Home Game
2024 CHUCKEY-DOAK BLACK KNIGHTS
SUN PHOTO BY BLAKE BARTELS
Chuckey-Doak’s Dominique Atchison (11) throws a pass during practice.
On the offensive line carving lanes for both backs will be returning seniors James Seidl and Weston Ward, and returning junior Austin Shwartz. Several sophomores are vying for the other starting spots, and Kaylor said they’ll have to be “baptized by fire and make football players out of them.”
DEFENSE
Chuckey-Doak’s defense has a leader at every level, but question marks at every
level, too.
Seidl will bolster the defensive line at the edge position, Roper returns as the team’s top linebacker and Atchison will be swatting or picking off balls in the secondary.
With such a young team and such a small team, Kaylor said it’s likely many players will be starting on both sides of the ball.
“Unfortunately, with a young team, there’s a lot of unknowns,” Kaylor said. “We don’t really know what to expect with a lot of these young kids because they haven’t played Friday night football. So we gotta do a
KNIGHTS
lot of developing and do a lot of figuring out during scrimmages.”
On the line alongside Seidl will be Ward and Shwartz. Similar to the offensive line, many sophomores and a few freshmen are there to shore up the front as well, Kaylor said.
As linebackers, Seidl, Hill and Roper return to bolster the front seven and senior Jonah Cochran, juniors Dominic Hahnlan, Ethan Heimiller, William Johnson and Tayvin Cuddy will cause havoc in the secondary.
“I feel like we’ll be pretty solid,” Atchison said about the defense. “We lost a lot of linemen, but our linebackers have pretty much stayed the same. The secondary’s switched up a little bit but we got guys who came ready to go and they put in the work. So I feel like we’ll be fine.”
“We’ve got a lot of learning to do with these young guys,” Kaylor said. “We lost two two-way starters on the offensive and defensive lines, so there’s a lot of figuring out to do with a group this young.
“We got some people in here who I feel like will surprise a lot of people on Friday nights,” he added. “I’m just looking forward to getting out there.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Hahnlan
“Billy Hahnlan’s been
Devils Look To Win One Week At A Time GREENEVILLE GREENE DEVILS
BY BLAKE BARTELS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
A year ago, the Greeneville Greene Devils went undefeated in the regular season, claiming the region title and making a deep playoff push in hopes of capturing their first state championship since 2018.
But all those accomplishments were marred by Upperman, who ended the Devils’ season one game from the Class 4A state championship game.
Some teams might linger on such a loss and fall off after getting so close, but Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen doesn’t even consider last year important anymore. What he’s focused on is the 2024 season and the athletes he has showing up and putting in work to try to be 1-0 each week.
“That’s last season,” Spradlen said. “I don’t dwell
on it. I won’t say I’m going to build off it, that’s not who I am. I got a brand new football team. I put that behind me. I don’t dwell
on that. It’s time to move forward. We’re worried about this year.
“First and foremost, we want to be the best team
we can be by the time we get to the playoffs. We want to be 1-0 each week and build off that. Our ultimate team goal that we set right
now is that we want to be Region 1-4A champs. We’ve had that title the last four years, so if you can win that, you put yourself in good position for the playoffs.” OFFENSE
The Devils are in a good
2024 GREENEVILLE GREENE DEVILS
Huskies Have ‘A Good Football Team’ Tilson Eyeing Best Season In His Four Years As North Greene Coach NORTH GREENE HUSKIES
BY SAM BUNDY SPORTS EDITOR
BAILEYTON — North
Greene has long been known as a basketball school with its boys and girls programs reaching multiple state tournaments.
Over the past four years, coach Eric Tilson has toiled tirelessly to bring respectability to North Greene’s struggling football program. And while the Huskies might not be in the discussion of state title contenders, they’re certainly making Friday nights on the Tundra more exciting, more enjoyable.
Last season, North Greene went 4-7 overall and 3-2 in Region 1-A with the four wins being the most for
the Huskies since 2014. And now having coached a senior class all the way through since taking the helm in 2021, Tilson has even higher expectations this season.
“As a coaching staff, we talk about it. If we’re going to do it, we’re going to do it now,” Tilson said. “We have a very talented group. We’re a very mature group. We need to take advantage of that.
“We don’t want to put pressure on the kids. They just need to go out and play. But I think they are a good football team and can step on the field with anybody on our schedule and compete. And as a coaching staff, we have to be able to put us in position to win. I
think we can do that.”
The Huskies’ main goal this season is to be one of the best football teams in school history. And in order to do that, they’ll need seven wins.
Good Luck to all Teams!!!
“That’s been our goal and we’re creeping to that point,” Tilson said. “Last year, we won four games and we were real competitive in three other games that could have
flipped either way. You see that kind of progress and it gives you some promise going into this year.
“Teams we shouldn’t beat, let’s go compete with those teams this year. And the
teams we should beat, let’s play well in those games and make sure we beat those teams.”
North Greene’s football transformation has come
2024 NORTH GREENE HUSKIES
DEVILS
position to defend their region title with the return of several starters on all levels of the offense, most notably their all-state running back Carson Quillen.
Quillen, who will be entering his senior year, said he’s ready to get back on the field and start a fresh season.
“You look at the things you can change and do better, but we have to look forward and see what this team can do,” he said. “(We) definitely want to get back to the spot we were in last year. We fell short of what we really wanted, but got farther than what we had in a while.
Definitely want to meet that expectation and go further.”
With more than 1,600 allpurpose yards and 27 total
TDs last season, Quillen is used to being the workhorse of the offense.
“I’ll do what I can to help the team,” he said. “Different teams will do different things. Sometimes I might have to be the decoy to help the team and get the yards, get the touchdowns that we need. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
One change this offense has is at quarterback.
With the graduation of Corbin Cannon, junior Caden Baugh enters camp as the frontrunner to take command.
“It feels great,” Baugh said about getting the opportunity to quarterback the Greene Devils. “My dad did it back in 2003, and to follow in his footsteps, it’s amazing and I’m ready to lead the team this year. We’re looking for a great year.”
Baugh is no stranger to playing under the Friday
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 TENNESSEE HIGH
Aug. 30 DOBYNS-BENNETT
Sept. 6 at Cherokee
Sept. 12 at Alcoa
Sept. 20 at Morristown West
Sept. 27 VOLUNTEER
Oct. 4 at Sullivan East
Oct. 11 at Grainger
Oct. 25 NORTHVIEW ACADEMY
Oct. 31 ELIZABETHTON BOLD — Home Game
night lights, though. He played a significant amount of snaps last season, but this year it’s likely he’ll be shouldering the full responsibility of the offense if he earns the job. A responsibility he welcomes fully.
“I like the pressure,” Baugh said. “I perform better with it.”
Sophomore Kaine Ricker is also vying for the spot
under center, but no matter who’s taking snaps come September, they’ll have a solid core around them.
Receivers Zaydyn Anderson and Cole Franklin lead in the receiving game, providing a pair of trustworthy targets, and the powerful run game will be led by Quillen.
“I believe our skill guys have a chance to be as good as we’ve been in a while,”
2024 GREENEVILLE GREENE DEVILS
2023 RESULTS
at Tennessee High W 28-7
CHEROKEE W 69-0 MORRISTOWN WEST W 27-21 at Volunteer W 56-0
SULLIVAN EAST W 54-7
GRAINGER W 74-7 at Northview Academy W 31-0 at Elizabethton W 23-13
UPPERMAN L 21-14
BOLD — Home Game
Spradlen said. ”We got a ton of depth at the skill position. I’m really excited about that group.”
On the offensive line, Brandon Iezzi, Bishop Merryweather and Lincoln Burroughs return to carve lanes for Quillen and keep Baugh’s jersey clean. The other two spots on the
line are up for grabs, a battle between Laith Ivy, Caden Cox, Zorian Harris, Caedon Hirschy – four solid athletes, Spradlen said.
“Were going to be as big as we’ve been at offensive line, so I’m excited about that,” Spradlen said. “A bigbodied group that is really athletic and strong.”
DEFENSE
The Devils will have a lot of holes to fill on the defensive side of the ball. Amanuel Dickson, Bryson Myers, Nik Pillar and several other players from last year’s defense no longer wear the green, but Spradlen doesn’t seem bothered. He still has a lot of defenders returning, ones who helped shut out four teams and hold three others to less than eight points last season.
Alex Duckett
Korbyn Harris
Blake Bowers
Caden Cox
CJ Herkley
Dillon Hartman
Dominick Holzer
Napoleon Pacheco
Zorian Harris
9
9
6-1 285 11 78 Caedon Hirschy
6-1 280 10
Carter Raby K/P 5-9 130 10
Westen Wade H/B 5-7 135 9 82 Darien Humphreys WR/DB 5-10 155 12
Malakai Mayana WR/DB 5-7 110 9 84 Caden Jordan TE/DL 6-1 195 10
86 Preston Maples WR/DB 5-8 140 12 87 Owen Shaver WR/DB 5-6 130 10 88 Ty Riban RB 5-8 150 10
“There’s a lot of guys that are stepping in there that we expect to be big contributors,” Spradlen said. “We probably return a few more guys that got a lot of meaningful reps last year that’ll really help us out on defense. I’m really excited about that group. We’ve done three 7-on-7’s and got a lot of work in, but those puzzle pieces are not going to get going until we put them pads on. But I’m really excited about that group.”
One vital returner for the defense is their man in the middle, linebacker Drew Armbrister, who called plays last season.
“He was our main vocal guy getting
Rebels Hoping To Avoid Injury Bug In 2024 SOUTH GREENE REBELS
BY WAYNE PHILLIPS SPORTS EDITOR EMERITUS
It can be understood why South Greene High’s Rebels might be entering the 2024 football campaign with a little sour taste in their mouths after the way the season ended in 2023.
Injuries are always a big part of any season, but the bug struck the Rebels near the end of the 2023 season in a big way with their top running back and starting quarterback the victims of the misfortune.
The end result was the Rebs bowed out of the
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 at David Crockett
Sept. 6 CUMBERLAND GAP
Sept. 13 CHUCKEY-DOAK
Sept. 20 at Union County
Sept. 27 WEST GREENE
Oct. 4 at Seymour
Oct. 11 at Happy Valley
Oct. 18 EAGLETON ACADEMY
Oct. 25 GRAINGER
Oct. 31 HAMPTON BOLD — Home Game
postseason in the first round after being forced to go on the road for a meeting with Bledsoe County and a subsequent setback that ended the season with an 8-3 record.
“Yeah, it hurt us,” veteran Reb mentor Shawn Jones said. “Nash (Rader) goes down in the seventh week. We got him back for the playoffs, but then Susong (Jacob) breaks his arm in
for us as year,” Jones league, Hampton tough and some good players. Eagleton was dangerous they had team. So to watch. beat us last thing is we those teams
the final game of the regular season and we didn’t have him for the playoffs. We had some people fill in nicely for them, though, but it was a lot to overcome.”
“We start out at Crockett and they will be ready
The conference adds West Greene this year, and the schedule looks as tough as ever.
2024 SOUTH GREENE REBELS
REBELS
PAGE 8
for us as we got them last year,” Jones said. “In our league, Hampton will be tough and West Greene has some good guys and new players. Eagleton Academy was dangerous last year and they had no seniors on that team. So they will be a team to watch. Happy Valley beat us last year. One good thing is we have three of those teams (West Greene, Eagleton and Hampton) at our place this year.”
OFFENSE
Rader, a junior, and Susong, a senior, both return this year along with a host of experienced linemen that should make the Rebels competitive in Region 1-2A. Offensively they should have some firepower, and there are eight returnees on defense that should help that side of the ball be a squad that contends.
“Offensively we should
2023 RESULTS
Aug. 18 DAVID CROCKETT W 35-18
AUG. 31 CUMBERLAND GAP W 47-0
Sept. 9 at Chuckey-Doak W 34-20
Sept. 15 UNION COUNTY W 47-0
Sept. 22 at West Greene W 29-14
Sept. 29 SEYMOUR W 35-25
Oct. 6 HAPPY VALLEY L 26-20
Oct. 13 at Eagleton Academy W 20-19
Oct. 20 at Grainger W 34-13
Oct. 27 at Hampton L 32-14
Class 2A Playoffs
Nov. 3 at Bledsoe County L 42-21 BOLD — Home Game
be able to move the ball,” Jones said. “Having Rader and Susong back is big. But Tripp Neas really picked it up and played well after Nash got hurt. That gives us two good backs to throw in there, plus we hope to get some others ready to help back there, too.”
Neas is only a sophomore but had to grow up early in his freshman campaign. Both Rader and Neas are expected to be in the backfield when the Rebels open 2024 on the road at David Crockett.
“We’ve got a lot of people back, but we lost some good ones, too,” Jones said. “We’ll really miss our wideouts (TJ Burkey and Dion Blair). TJ was so big he could just go up and get it. And Dion was probably our most consistent player last year and really picked it up in the second half of the year. Plus we lost what we felt was our No. 1 lineman in Jacob Warren. But we
SEE REBELS, PAGE 13
HUSKIES
through hard work. When Tilson took the job, his first priority was to get the Huskies and their followers to think about football in the way perennial state powers Greeneville and Elizabethton think about football, and to grind like those programs do.
“The parts that we can control, we’re 99 percent bought in,” Tilson said. “You have your detractors. But for the most part, we’re seeing kids who I didn’t think would buy in who are now buying in and doing the little things right. They’re starting to experience the success of that. They’re starting to make plays. They’re starting to beat people. They’re starting to realize, ‘Oh, this is paying off now.’”
Problematic in the Huskies’ past football endeavors, Tilson said, is there was the thought the program could be turned around overnight, which led to unrealistic expectations. “I knew it would be a long
process. Some people were like, ‘It doesn’t have to be a long process.’ But, yeah, I knew it would be a long process, especially doing it the right way,” Tilson said.
“We were not going to take shortcuts. So we’ve taken our lumps. Our kids have hung in there through the adversity, and now we have an old, tough team.
“When you have a good team, it doesn’t guarantee success but it gives you a chance. And I can sit here and say we have a good team. I can’t predict what the season will hold, but we have a chance.”
Perhaps the biggest reason North Greene has a chance is Tilson has stuck around for four years, giving much needed stability to the program.
“I’ve always been the type of person that when I set out on a goal, I want to achieve it,” Tilson said. “I want to do right by these kids. We’re going to be here until the job is done. There have been opportunities (to leave), but I have felt there is something not finished here and I owe it to these kids to make sure I follow
2024 NORTH GREENE HUSKIES
through on what I’ve told them we are going to do. So that’s what’s kept me here.”
And, too, Tilson has stayed because of the relationships he’s built with other coaches of other sports and administrators at North Greene.
“The support from our administration, the support from the district level has been real encouraging,” he said. “They’re doing things behind the scenes that are making the jobs of all football coaches in Greene County easier. An example is they bought a GPS robot painter so we don’t have to paint fields anymore. People don’t understand how big that is when it comes to saving time. It’s huge.
“So things like that, increasing stipends for coaches to be able to go get some more coaches, making our time more valuable, stuff like that. Little things like that make you think, ‘I can stick around another year.’ But it really comes down to the relationships. We have a real good school culture here and I just enjoy being here.”
OFFENSE
North Greene’s offense has been geared toward senior running back Yeshua Vaught, who became the school’s all-time leading rusher last season at 2,220 yards.
Vaught ran for 805 yards
and five touchdowns on 146 carries in 2023 and will still carry the bulk of North Greene’s offense on his hulkish frame this season, but the Huskies now have a passing game to complement him.
“We’re going to be a lot of 10 personnel,” Tilson said. “We’re still kind of wing-Tesque in terms of run game, but we’re doing a mixture of air raid stuff. Some people call it the wing raid. A lot of spread option type stuff.
“A lot of our playmakers are out in space and we’re really comfortable with our quarterback. He’s making good decisions and throws the ball really well, which takes a lot of heat off our running game.”
Junior quarterback Thomas Darnell returns after completing 73 of 148 passes for 885 yards with eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions in his first season under center in 2023.
“He got moved second game last year. He had no quarterback training to that point,” Tilson said. “We just happened to see him throw in practice. I remember when it happened. We ran the NCAA levels route –post dig shallow. He read the post correctly, went down to the dig and threw the dig right on time. It was perfect. And we were like, ‘Yep, we’re making this change right now.’”
Understandably, Darnell’s
2023 RESULTS
Aug. 18 at West Greene L 26-0
Aug. 25 at Castlewood (Va.) W 36-0
Sept. 1 JELLICO L 14-7
Sept. 11 CUMBERLAND GAP L 21-18
Sept. 15 at Hancock County W 20-14
Sept. 22 at Williamsburg (Ky.) L 52-7
Sept. 29 CLOUDLAND L 46-8
sudden transition from receiver to quarterback was a bit skittish at times.
“Throughout the season, you could see some nervousness in decision making, but he still played pretty well. He ended up being one of the top quarterbacks in the league,” Tilson said. “This year, he’s had an entire offseason to work – a lot of watching film. And 7-on-7s were big for him. We pressed the envelope and saw what type of throws he can make. We’ve been able to figure out what routes he likes to throw, what he’s comfortable reading. We’re all on the same page with him now and he’s making good decisions.”
Senior Jake Duffy is North Greene’s top playmaker at the receiver spots. Last season, he caught 20 passes for 199 yards and two TDs.
“He’s our utility player,” Tilson said. “He primarily plays one of our slot receivers, but he can come into the backfield. We can even hand the ball off to him and let him throw the ball. He’s that type of athlete. When we went to camp, we had six 7-on-7 games and he probably scored 15 touchdowns. He has big-play ability.
“Defenses are going to stack the box in an effort to stop (Vaught) and now we have the ability to make them pay for that. Teams will have to pick their poison.”
Junior twins Brandon
and Brayden Weems give Darnell more options at receiver.
“They’ve shown playmaking ability. Both scored a bunch in the spring and 7-on-7 seasons,” Tilson said. “They look about exactly the same and they play about the same. Brandon has been playing more of the slot stuff, giving him some jet motions, a lot of screens. Brayden has a little better ability down the field catching on posts and verticals.”
Sophomores Matthew Boyd and Kelson Eastep will see significant time at outside receiver.
“We call them the twin towers,” Tilson said. “They were about 6-foot-2 last year and they’re all of 6-4, 6-5 this year. They have good ball skills.”
Senior Dash Stigen, who primarily played defense last year, is also stepping into an offensive role.
Another way North Greene will look to take pressure off the running game is the use of screen plays, which will include getting the ball to Vaught on slip screens.
“Yeshua transformed his body from his freshman to sophomore years, he transformed it again from his sophomore to his junior years, and he’s transformed it again from his junior to his senior years. He looks like a tank truck. He’s just running over people,” Tilson said. “In our
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 WEST
Aug. 30 CASTLEWOOD (Va.)
Sept. 6 at Jellico
Sept. 13 at Cumberland Gap
Sept. 20 HANCOCK COUNTY
Sept. 27 WILLIAMSBURG (Ky.)
Oct. 4 at Cloudland Oct. 18 at Unaka
Oct. 25 at Happy Valley Nov. 1 COSBY
Weems give options at
Both the seasons,” look same and same. playing stuff, giving motions, a lot has a down the posts and Matthew Eastep time at the twin said. “They 6-foot-2 last of 6-4, have Stigen, who defense stepping role. North take running screen include Vaught transformed his freshman years, he again from his junior transformed junior He truck. over said. “In our
Buffs Up Expectations In Year 2 Under Monroe WEST GREENE BUFFALOES
BY BLAKE BARTELS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
MOSHEIM — 2024 will be year two for West Greene Buffaloes coach Evan Monroe and all of the expectations have been raised.
After a 3-7 record his first year, Monroe expects to finish year two stronger.
“I’ve had a full season with the guys to go through a weight program,” Monroe said. “Our offensive line is definitely much stronger than what it was last year. They took the weight room serious, so I think up front will be a little better for us this year.
“Another year of experience under their belt does them a lot of good. Having that full offseason to get my feet under myself and start building a culture that we want here.”
As with any team, the Buffaloes have holes to fill due to graduating seniors. They graduated a fair amount but still have a solid core returning from last year’s team, a core that has a chip on its shoulders.
“We lost a pretty good group of seniors last year, but the guys we have coming back, we’ve put a little more on them this year,” Monroe said. “We’re expecting more from them. We’re expecting these young guys to step up and
be ready. We want to be a perennial playoff team and we’ve raised our expectations this year.”
OFFENSE
The biggest change on the offense comes at quarterback. Last year’s starter Dawson Daniels departed for college, leaving the spot under center vacant. There were a few options to replace him, but Monroe said no one was more suited for the role than Austin Franklin.
Franklin was the team’s most diverse skill position player, playing multiple positions last season, including wide receiver, defensive back and returner, and excelling at all of them. So it only seemed right that the team’s best returning player take the most important role.
“He did a lot for us last year,” Monroe said. “This year, he’s going to be the guy behind the center. He’s a great athlete. If his second, third read isn’t there, he’s got the ability to make guys miss with his legs and we like that about him. He’s a very smart player and we like his ability back there.
“Him being a receiver and knowing the routes and route combinations has helped him tremendously,” Monroe added. “The part
2024 SCHEDULE
Aug. 23 at North Greene
Aug. 30 CLOUDLAND
Sept. 6 at Chuckey-Doak
Sept. 13 EAGLTON
Sept. 20 UNICOI COUNTY
Sept. 27 at South Greene
Oct. 4 at Cumberland Gap
Oct. 11 HAMPTON
Oct. 25 at Sullivan East
Oct. 31 HAPPY VALLEY
BOLD — Home Game
we are learning now is just learning the reads and knowing the progressions. But he’s a football player. Some of the stuff he does, you just can’t coach it.”
Last year, Franklin was all over the field, playing as the Buffaloes Swiss Army knife. This year, he’ll be stepping up to take the most important position on the field. The nerves are there, he said, but he’s confident in his abilities to help lead this team into the postseason.
“I’m a little nervous, but I gotta adapt,” he said.
Franklin said he’s only got one goal for this season and that’s to make the playoffs, and if that means stepping up and throwing the ball, he’ll do it.
Tasked with keeping the new QB upright, junior offensive lineman Damien Sentelle returns to the line. Monroe is excited to see his development this season and looks to him to be a leader on the offensive line.
Also returning is senior Zachary Diltz, who missed four games last year with a torn labrum, and senior Jaden Ray. The other positions on the front are expected to be filled by juniors Caidyn Fortner, Jonathan Tucker and Leland Payne.
“The other spots are guys who are all juniors, but got a lot of experience as sophomores playing,” Monroe said. “I look forward to seeing our offensive line. They’ve come together as a unit.”
The strength of the offense will be both through the air and on the ground, Monroe said. Receivers Alex Johnson and Braden McCamey return as the team’s
DEFENSE
top targets for Franklin, and senior Dillon Teston and sophomore Shawn Bailey are the running backs.
2024 WEST GREENE BUFFALOES
2024 COMPOSITE HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Aug. 23
Chuckey-Doak at Unaka
Tennessee High at Greeneville
West Greene at North Greene
South Greene at David Crockett
Aug. 30
Chuckey-Doak at Grainger
Dobyns-Bennett at Greeneville Castlewood (Va.) at North Greene
Cloudland at West Greene
Sept. 6
West Greene at Chuckey-Doak Greeneville at Cherokee
North Greene at Jellico Cumberland Gap at South Greene
Sept. 12
Greeneville at Alcoa
Sept. 13
Chuckey-Doak at South Greene
North Greene at Cumberland Gap
DEVILS
us lined up last year, so it’s great to have him back,” Spradlen said. “A guy that really knows this defense and I’m really excited for what he does for this football team. He’s a team leader for the defense.”
“Greenville’s always been a tough defensive team,” Armbrister said. “We pride
ourselves on being the toughest defense. Period. Not in 4A. Period. And we really want to carry that into this year.”
Last season, Armbrister had 60 tackles, 50 assists, two sacks and an interception. Already a leader last season, this year, he’ll have to take center stage after the departure of so many seniors.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys,” Armbrister said. “But they’re hungry and they
Eagleton Academy at West Greene
Sept. 20
Pigeon Forge at Chuckey-Doak
Greeneville at Morristown West
Hancock County at North Greene
South Greene at Union County
Unicoi County at West Greene
Sept. 27
Cocke County at Chuckey-Doak Volunteer at Greeneville
Williamsburg (Ky.) at North Greene
West Greene at South Greene
Oct. 4
Claiborne at Chuckey-Doak
Greeneville at Sullivan East
North Greene at Cloudland
South Greene at Seymour
West Greene at Cumberland Gap
Oct. 11
Chuckey-Doak at Johnson County
want to work. If we can get them in the right spot, they’re gonna be ready to play ball.”
Also returning on defense are Iezzi on the line and Anderson and Thomas Lollar in the secondary.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Another departure the Devils had was their punter/kicker Quentin Brandon. No decision has been made on who will be stepping in to take over
Greeneville at Grainger
South Greene at Happy Valley
Hampton at West Greene
Oct. 18
North Greene at Unaka
Eagleton Academy at South Greene
Oct. 25
Unicoi County at Chuckey-Doak
Northview Academy at Greeneville
North Greene at Happy Valley
Grainger at South Greene
West Greene at Sullivan East
Oct. 31
Elizabethton at Greeneville
Hampton at South Greene
Happy Valley at West Greene
Nov. 1
Chuckey-Doak at Gatlinburg-Pittman
Cosby at North Greene
that role, but Spradlen is confident someone will step up and fill that important role.
“We got about four or five guys working for those positions,” he said. “It’ll be something closer to the season before we name a starter.”
SUN PHOTO BY BLAKE BARTELS
Greeneville quarterback Caden Baugh throws a pass during a 7-on-7.
feel like we’ve got some people we can put in there to get the job done.”
Senior Charlie Lane and
junior Trey Gentry will be in the wideout spots and both got in plenty of playing time last year, giving the team some options in the passing game.
The Rebels have garnered the reputation over the past
several seasons of a team that can really hurt you with their passing attack. But the 2024 edition may be more of a “run first, throw second” team.
“With those two backs we should be,” the coach noted. “People can’t really sit on Nash all the time with Tripp back there. But we can still throw it. Charlie and Trey have both played a lot of ball, and we’ve got some new ones coming in Simon Burns (sophomore) and senior Jeff Dotson, plus some others that we will throw in there.”
The coach mentioned freshman prospect Noah Shelton at receiver, along with junior Lucas Couch. The offensive line will be solid, as center Brendan Lisenby returns for his senior year. Senior Seth Franklin and junior Heath Norton are also returning along the front line.
“Having a strong line is so important, especially in 2A ball,” Jones said. “We’re working now on getting some people ready to rotate in and we hope to use several, trying to keep people fresh. We hope to stay healthy, but we want people ready to rotate in if we do get the injuries.”
Junior Zachary Bledsoe and freshman Justin Habberstad might get the starting nod to join the returning veterans on the offensive line, and senior Cameron Smith will also get playing time.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY BRYAN CANNON
South Greene quarterback Jacob Susong (left) hands off to Nash Rader during a 47-0 homecoming win over Union County last season.
BUFFS
Many starters on offense will also be on defense. But no matter who’s out there, the identity of this team will be physical, Monroe said.
“I want to be physical,” he said. “Whatever we are doing, I want us to be physical and own the line of scrimmage.”
The defense will have a solid amount of rotating players, more so in the front seven than in the secondary.
Being physical will be tough when the leader of the defense, Wyatt Moody, the former middle linebacker, has graduated. That leaves a big hole in the defense. However, Monroe
2023 RESULTS
NORTH GREENE W 26-0 at Cloudland W28-22
CHUCKEY-DOAK L 40-6 at Eagleton L 21-18 at Unicoi L 42-8
SOUTH GREENE L 29-14
CUMBERLAND GAP W 49-22 at Hampton L 52-6
SULLIVAN EAST L 47-28 at Happy Vally L 38-28
BOLD — Home Game
said that the Buffs have the perfect guy to step up and fill that leadership role, Sentelle.
“He’ll be that strong side linebacker. He’s a run stopper,” Monroe said with a smile.
Alongside Sentelle at linebacker are Teston and
2024 WEST GREENE BUFFALOES
Greene, both having played the position before. Skyler Shelton and McCamey will be on the outside.
On the front line are a rotation of multiple guys. Diltz will be the nose tackle, with Payne, junior Ethan White and sophomore Isaiah Roberts working depending on the down and distance and the formation needed.
“Big thing is that we are trying to keep guys fresh,” Monroe said. “The d-line is a good place that you can get a couple plays here, couple plays there, rotate a guy in.”
Fortifying the secondary at corner are Franklin and senior Zack Barkley, who Monroe said had a strong finish last season. Playing safety is Johnson with the other spot still open and possibly being another spot of rotation to keep players fresh. Some of those who Monroe looks to rotate in are sophomores Trystan Banks and Matthew Harral, and Freshman Kyler Patterson.
With a rotation of defenders, competition is ripe at those spots.
“There’s some competition and we’re getting better every day,” Monroe said. “You hope to find your everyday starter there, but you’re always going to be able to roll guys in, which is nice. A guy gets a little winded, you can grab a guy that you know is ready, ‘Hey, go in there and give me a couple plays.’”
With a consistent rotation of fresh guys, Monroe expects whoever is out there to give opponents all kinds of headaches.
“I look forward to seeing our defense come together,” he said. “We’ve got guys that have bought in, guys that want to have a lot of
success and they work hard. We’re a blue collar type of team. Grab your lunch pail and lets get to work.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kendal Caldwell will be reprising his role as the team’s primary kicking specialist. Last year was his
first year as a kicker and this year, Monroe is looking forward to seeing him show his talents on the field.
“He’s getting a lot more consistent, which is what we’re looking for,” Monroe said. “Hopefully, he’ll be a good weapon for us this year.”
scrimmage we threw him, they 25 and he for 11 more falling off literally dragging
Of course, screen plays depends ability to off, but the have to create Tilson feels are big enough enough up
“We’re year,” he the offensive tackle Owen was the freshman year two offensive continued you’d be find a better league.”
Senior is “a really physical left junior Blake center.
“Hurd weight since year and position to Tilson said. on the snap changed to be able consistent
REBELS
Jones said were working freshman get him prepared quarterback.
“We want some snaps and have the coach we didn’t enough practice although job after along, we have more
SUN PHOTO BY BLAKE BARTELS
West Greene coach Evan Monroe watches practice.
HUSKIES
scrimmage at Sullivan East, we threw a slip screen to him, they get to him on the 25 and he carries the pile for 11 more yards. They’re falling off of him and he’s literally dragging them.”
Of course, making screen plays work not only depends on the skill player’s ability to find a gap and take off, but the blockers in front have to create lanes. And Tilson feels the Huskies are big enough and quick enough up front to do that.
“We’re pretty large this year,” he said. “Anchoring the offensive line is left tackle Owen Pierce. He was the freshman of the year two years ago as an offensive lineman. He’s continued to progress and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better lineman in our league.”
Senior Weston Barrett is “a really big body, real physical left guard,” and junior Blake Hurd is at center.
“Hurd has added a lot of weight since his freshman year and has put himself in position to really help us,” Tilson said. “He’s real solid on the snap now. We’ve changed some technique to be able to get a more consistent snap, and he’s
REBELS
Jones said the coaches were working with freshman Kayden Bowers to get him prepared as backup quarterback.
“We want to give him some snaps in scrimmages and have him game ready,” the coach said. “Last year we didn’t give our backups enough practice snaps, and although they did a good job after the injuries came along, we want them to have more reps.”
done a great job with that.”
Junior Adam Bernard is at right guard.
“He’s a kid I didn’t think would be able to play and really contribute until he was a senior. But he’s just kept doing everything we’ve asked him to do,”
Tilson said. “He’s done things exactly like you’re supposed to. He’s bought into the weight room and has gotten significantly faster, and now he’s one of our best linemen. He’s about as technically sound as anybody we have.”
Sophomore Shawn Russell rounds out the line at right tackle.
“In our scrimmage against Sullivan East, we wanted to see how well the line could protect the quarterback and our quarterback stood tall the entire night,” Tilson said. “We were happy about that.”
DEFENSE
North Greene will run a 3-3-5 defense, again taking advantage of its speed.
“It’s a very versatile defense that we can line up against anything,” Tilson said. “It allows us to get our playmakers on the field. Our best players are skill guys. So we get a bunch of safeties out there, which gives us a lot of speed on the field. And when we go
DEFENSE
The Rebels lost Jacob Warren and Garrett Ricker to graduation, but there’s experience on defense as well.
Heath Norton is back at nose tackle, junior Jovan Pendleton is on the defensive front while senior Jeff Dotson and Tripp Neas figure to be the outside linebackers. Charlie Lane returns as inside backer and will be joined by senior Zeke Rader. The corners will probably be Trey Gentry and Simon Burns, while Susong and Nash Rader will man down the safeties.
against power run teams, our defense can go to a 3-5 very quickly. We don’t have to change out anybody. It just condenses down. Just very versatile.”
Duffy will be the main cog at middle safety.
“He has to be a center fielder back there, which is what he plays in baseball,” Tilson said. “He has a natural knack to play that spot.”
Safeties on each side of Duffy will be Brandon Weems and Stigen, who played those spots last year.
“Those positions have to be able to come up and play the run, which both do really, really well,” Tilson said. “They have to be able to cover the flats, cover a deep third and be able to play a cover two as well. They have a lot of space they have to cover and both do it just fine.
“Brandon does it with top-rate speed and Dash does it with length. He’s a very tall safety with long arms.”
Darnell, who Tilson dubs as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and Estep and Boyd will be at the corners.
At linebacker, Vaught will be outside with Brayden Weems and Colten Suggs being at the other spots. Leon Johnson, who led the region in tackles for loss
“Coach (Joe) Case (defensive coordinator) is rotating about 20 guys right now, so he’s getting some guys ready to go,” Jones smiled. He mentioned Lucas Couch at linebacker or safety, Nolan Weems (sr.) at corner, Zachary Bledsoe and Thomas Mayhew (fr.) on the line and Colton Silvers jr.) on the line, while Nathaniel Pitts (sr.) will probably start some on the front.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Junior Brant Wilhoit was the team’s placekicker last year and will handle all the kicking duties for the Rebs
with 13 last season, will be at Mike linebacker.
“Leon has a knack for finding the football,” Tilson said. “Looking for a real big season from him.”
North Greene will rotate as many as eight players on the defensive line, including all the offensive linemen and sophomore Dylan Gentry.
The Huskies will be looking to make up for the loss of all-state lineman Colton Robbins.
“We don’t have to
this season. After attending some summer kicking camps, Jones said his kicker has strengthened his leg and his accuracy has been good.
“We missed Brant at the Happy Valley game last year when he was out sick, and we wound up losing that game because we went for two after touchdowns as we didn’t have a kicker,” the coach added. “The kicking game is so important. We feel if we get inside the 20 with him we have a good chance of getting some points.”
replace his numbers at that position, but we need to replace that productivity somewhere,” Tilson said. “I think our guys up front will do a good job of allowing our linebackers to make a lot of plays.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Having graduated their long snapper and kicker from last year, Tilson says the Huskies are having trouble finding replacements and likely won’t be kicking field goals
this season.
Brandon Weems and Hurd are competing for kickoff duties, and Darnell will punt out of an offensive formation.
“We implement a rugbystyle punt,” Tilson said. “We want the ball to stay low and roll. If a team drops a returner back, we might go for it (on fourth down). If you don’t drop one back, we’ll kick it over top of you and let it roll.”
Duffy and the Weems twins will return kicks.
FILE PHOTO
North Greene’s Yeshua Vaught (3) runs behind Eli Johnson (55) during a game against Jellico in 2023 in Baileyton.
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY MATT LAWS/CARTER COUNTY SPORTS
South Greene football coach Shawn Jones (right) watches 7-on-7 drills in 2022 at Elizabethton.
