Knights Coming Off Best Season
BY WADE LITTLETON Assistant Sports Editor
AFTON — Chuckey-Doak had its best football season in school history last year, going 10-2 and losing to Gatlinburg-Pittman in the second round of the TSSAA playoffs.
Following the successful season, coach Dallas Kuykendall left to coach at Morristown East this spring. Now the Black Knights are starting anew under new coach Billy Kaylor.
As an offensive lineman growing up, Kaylor is pleased with what he has coming back to the Black Hole.
“We’ve been up in this area before and liked it here,” Kaylor said. “Last summer, we camped at David Crockett Birthplace State Park (in Limestone). We loved it here. I was looking for little change, an opportunity to be a head coach and a great place to raise our kids. I thought this was a good area When this came open, we felt like this was where God was leading us.”
With Kaylor and his family left South Carolina and came to the mountains of Northeast Tennessee. All of his coaching stops had been in South Carolina before coming to Chuckey-Doak.
OFFENSE
In 2022, Chuckey-Doak
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 Unaka
Aug. 25 Grainger
Aug. 31 at West Greene
Sept. 8 South Greene
Sept. 15 at Pigeon Forge
Sept. 22 at Cocke County
Sept. 29 at Claiborne
Oct. 6 Johnson County
Oct. 20 Unicoi County
Oct. 26 Gatlinburg-Pittman BOLD -Home Game
2022 RESULTS
Knox Catholic 41, Chuckey-Doak 14
Chuckey-Doak 49, Happy Valley 7
Chuckey-Doak 39, Johnson County 6
Chuckey-Doak 56, Grainger High 30
Chuckey-Doak 34, South Greene 6
Chuckey-Doak 34, Unicoi County 20
Chuckey-Doak 49, Cumberland Gap 0
Chuckey-Doak 55, Claiborne High 0
Chuckey-Doak 76, North Greene 7
Chuckey-Doak 46, West Greene 35
3A PLAYOFFS
Chuckey-Doak 43, Austin-East 8
Gatlinburg-Pittman 47, Chuckey-Doak 34
2023 CHUCKEY-DOAK BLACK KNIGHTS
senior quarterback Cadin Tullock missed a lot of offseason work while he recovered from surgery. He didn’t compete with the Black Knights during 7-on7 competitions and didn’t return to full contact until August.
But all he did was accomplish the best season any
Chuckey-Doak quarterback has ever had.
In 12 games, Tullock completed 115 of 203 passes for 2,450 yards and 32 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.
Six receivers caught scoring tosses from Tullock, who now holds both the single season and career
passing marks for the Black Knights. Billy Goodman had thrown for 1,593 yards in 1992, while Matthew Palazzo held the career mark at 2,761 yards. Tullock passed for 3,667 yards and 44 touchdowns in his Black Knight career. Since he played offensive line
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY MATT LAWS
Chuckey-Doak’s Brasen Murvin (13) runs with the football during the Carter-Greene Jamboree on Friday night at Hampton High School.
KNIGHTS
CONTINUED FROM Page 2
in his high school days, Kaylor believes in running the football. Kaylor has one of the best players in Northeast Tennessee returning in back Brasen Murvin, an all-stater as a sophomore.
For the second straight year, Murvin broke the 1,000-yard mark. He rushed for 1,603 yards and 25 touchdowns on 179 carries, while also catching 16 passes for 254 yards and two TDs.
“With Murvin running the football, we’ve got a chance of being really good at the running game,” Kaylor said. “He’s certainly got the ability, as well as Brock Rush and Isaiah Treadway.
“I understand the necessity of throwing the football, but in our style of play we want to pride ourselves in pace of play and physicality. We should be able to throw the football when we want to. We’re going to play really fast and physical.”
Brock Rush and Isaiah Treadway are explosive players, according to Kaylor.
“Anytime we can get the ball in Rush’s hands, that will be good. Same thing for Isaiah,” Kaylor said. Rush pulled in a teamhigh 37 catches for 598 yards and nine touchdowns last season.
Treadway gave the Black Knights another reliable option at wide receiver, catching 19 passes for 494 yards and six touchdowns. Offensive line is Kaylor’s baby. Toney Hensley and
Isaac Waycaster are seniors who are being counted on to lead up front.
“They are seniors who are really talented,” Kaylor said. Also contributing on the line are juniors Eoin Nease and James Seidl.
“We’ve got a fairly good group coming back,” Kaylor said. “We’ve got a chance to have a good front if we stay healthy.”
Kaylor said sophomore Dominique Atchison leads a good group of young players who are ready for playing time.
“We’ve got a chance to do some pretty good things,” Kaylor said. “I look forward to seeing our offensive line progress.”
DEFENSE
Kaylor said the Knights had several players who played quite a bit on defense last year, but weren’t starters.
“We’re replacing a fair bunch as well,” Kaylor said. “We’re going to have to play some guys both ways, so some of the same cast of characters will include Hensley, Waycaster and Nease.”
There is also room for many younger players to make their mark as well, according to Kaylor.
Sophomores Michael Miller and Gage Hill have both had a good spring and summer. Murvin will also play, as well as Rush, Treadway, Atchison and Martin Rojas.
“Some of those same guys are going to have to carry a fair bit of the load both ways,” Kaylor said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior Martin Rojas was the placekicker last year and will also figure in other ways for the Knights’ offense and defense.
REGION 1-3A
Region 1-3A got tougher for Chuckey-Doak with the additions of Gatlinburg-Pittman and Pigeon Forge to the league.
“Gatlinburg-Pittman has been very good traditionally. Unicoi County has had some tough squads,” Kaylor said. “It’s a good region, one of the better regions in East Tennessee in terms of 3A football. It will be a good test for us. If we can stay healthy and play well, we have a chance to be competitive.
“We’re looking to build a championship culture. If we do small things the right way, the rest will take care of itself.”
GREENEVILLE GREENE DEVILS
Cannon Taking Over At QB For Devils
BY SAM BUNDY Sports Editor
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The Greeneville Greene Devils’ roster has changed a little. Their region alignment has changed a little. But the challenges are the same – how do the Greene Devils first get past Elizabethton for the Region 1-4A championship, and then how do they advance deeper in the playoffs?
A year ago, Greeneville went 12-1 and defeated Elizabethton during the regular season to win the region but was bounced from the playoffs in the third round by eventual
state champion Anderson County. It was the second straight
LIGHTING FIXTURES CLEARANCE
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 at Tennessee High
Aug. 25 at Dobyns-Bennett
Sept. 1 CHEROKEE
Sept. 7 ALCOA
Sept. 15 MORRISTOWN WEST
Sept. 22 at Volunteer
Sept. 29 SULLIVAN EAST
Oct. 6 GRAINGER
Oct. 20 at Northview Academy
Oct. 27 at Elizabethton
BOLD -Home Game
2022 RESULTS
KNOX CENTRAL W 49-7
at Grainger W 35-0
ELIZABETHTON W 21-0
at Morristown West W 28-21 at Volunteer W 54-0 at Dobyns-Bennett W 21-20
SEYMOUR W 61-0 at Oak Ridge W 49-13 at Sullivan East W 51-0
at Elizabethton in Week 11 on Oct. 27.
Greeneville’s four non-region opponents are games at Tennessee High on Friday and Dobyns-Bennett on Aug. 25, and home games against Alcoa on Sept. 7 and Morristown West on Sept. 15.
“All those games are in our first five ball games. If we can survive those and stay healthy, that will be big for us,” Spradlen said.
“The state stepped in and did the region schedules this year. Our Week 11 game is our biggest game of the year. That’s good and bad. That’s your motivation to play Elizabethton because to win the region championship, you have to beat them. But it’s bad because we need to stay healthy to that point.”
MORRISTOWN EAST W 42-7
Class 4A Playoffs
FULTON W 45-6
“Ser ving Your Complete Lighting Needs Since 1960”
GIBBS W 58-28 at Anderson County L 38-7
BOLD -Home Game
year Greeneville was eliminated in the third round.
“At some point in each of the past two seasons, we’ve been the best 4A team in the state, but things haven’t bounced our way in the third round of the playoffs,” said Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen.
“Both years, we’ve had really key players who haven’t been able to play in those games due to injury, which really hurt us. So the big key for us is to stay
healthy.
“Our goal is to be the best we can be by Week 11 when we hopefully are playing Elizabethton for the conference championship.”
Region 1-4A lost Seymour in realignment, but added Cherokee and Northview Academy to go along with Greeneville, Elizabethton, Grainger, Sullivan East and Volunteer. The region showdown will likely be Greeneville
OFFENSE
Senior Corbin Cannon takes over at quarterback for Brady Quillen, who graduated in the spring with a diploma and a slew of passing records.
With Greeneville running roughshod through its schedule the past two years, Cannon got plenty of second-half reps as Quillen’s backup.
In 2022, Cannon completed 18 of 32 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
“When you lose a guy like Brady Quillen who played a lot of football games and won a lot of football games for us, it can be tough.
See DEVILS Page 5
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY BRYAN CANNON
After two seasons serving as a backup, senior Corbin Cannon is slated to be the Greeneville Greene Devils starting quarterback this fall.
DEVILS
CONTINUED FROM Page 4
But Corbin Cannon has also played a lot of snaps for us the past two years,” Spradlen said. “We’re excited about him getting the opportunity to step in and be the man. He’s had really good scrimmages. He’s thrown the ball well and he’s run the ball really well, too.
“You get the same type stuff from Corbin as we got from Brady. First and foremost, he has great character. He’s a hard worker, a team leader ... a guy you can depend on to win football games.”
Cannon played the past two seasons between 170 and 175 pounds, but has
bulked up even more to 195 pounds.
“Corbin has had the strongest arm around here for a couple years, but we needed to see how he could run the football and he’s done a good job with that,” Spradlen said. “He’s run some people over in scrimmages. He’s 6-foot, 6-1 and 195 pounds – trying to tackle that is not very fun, really. It’s been fun watching him.”
Sophomore Caden Baugh enters the season as Cannon’s backup. As Greeneville’s third-string quarterback a year ago, he completed five of eight passes for 25 yards.
“We came into fall with Corbin and another really good sophomore quarterback in Caden,” Spradlen
said. “Everybody assumed Corbin would be the man, but he had to come in and show us he could take it over and really be the man. And he’s done that.
“Caden has had a good fall camp as well, but Corbin is a senior, a team leader. More even than how Corbin is playing, which has been really good, is his leadership –how he carries himself, what he does in practice, being the guy in the weight room that gets everybody going. I don’t need a quarterback who is the coolest kid on the football team. I need a quarterback who is going to work hard and lead our football team, and that’s for sure what you’re getting with Corbin.”
Like Cannon the past two
years, Baugh will likely get a good amount of reps this season.
“In high school football, at the level we play, you better have at least two quarterbacks if you’re going to be successful,” Spradlen said. “Caden has had a really good fall camp as well. We feel like we have two guys at quarterback we can win with.”
Greeneville returns senior Kameron Lester (6-2, 245), junior Brandon Iezzi (6-0, 270) and sophomore Bishop Merriweather (6-3, 340) on the offensive line, and junior Carson Quillen (5-10, 185) and senior Amanuel Dickson (6-foot, 200) in the backfield.
In 2022, Quillen ran for 563 yards and seven touchdowns on 55 carries, while Dickson ran for 304 yards and seven TDs on 44 carries.
Senior Drake Benko (510, 235) and junior Lincoln Burroughs (6-0, 250) “are both big, strong kids” who will also be on the line.
“We return three out of five starting offensive
See DEVILS Page 15
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY BRYAN CANNON
Greeneville’s Amanuel Dickson (4) and coach Eddie Spradlen celebrate during a jamboree on Aug. 10 at Carson-Newman University.
Huskies Hoping To Be Much Improved
BY WADE LITTLETON Assistant Sports Editor
BAILEYTON — Entering his third year as coach at North Greene, Eric Tilson is ready to embrace the future.
After a 1-10 season, including a first-round playoff loss, he has reason to believe that things are trending upward for his Huskies.
“We were really young last year with only three seniors,” Tilson said. “We felt like we played everybody’s best teams in their respective histories. We decided to take our lumps last year and made the decision to play teams with the same
amount of kids that we have. This will put us on a
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 at West Greene
Aug. 25 at Castlewood, Va.
Sept. 1 JELLICO
Sept. 8 CUMBERLAND GAP
Sept. 15 at Hancock County
Sept. 22 at Pineville, Ky.
Sept. 29 CLOUDLAND
Oct. 13 UNAKA
Oct. 20 HAPPY VALLEY
Oct. 26 at Cosby BOLD -Home Game
level playing field.” OFFENSE
The Huskies have a good core of upperclassmen returning. Tilson likes what he seen so far.
“We’ve got one of the biggest, strongest and fastest teams that we’ve had,” Tilson said.
The backfield goes through senior quarterback Grayson Collins. He has recycled over the years, beginning his prep career as a wide receiver two years ago, then moved to quarterback last season. Collins threw for 781 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 673 yards and eight scores, second on the team.
“He is a big playmaker for us,” Tilson said.
The Huskies have another threat on the ground in junior tailback Yeshua Vaught, who rushed for more than 1,000 yards as a
See HUSKIES Page 7
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY MATT LAWS
North Greene’s Yeshua Vaught (right) takes a handoff from Grayson Collins during the Carter-Greene Jamboree on Friday night at Hampton High School.
HUSKIES
CONTINUED FROM Page 6
sophomore.
Vaught gained 1,043 yards on 250 attempts with nine touchdowns. He caught five passes for 90 yards and another score while also making 47 tackles on defense. Five went for a loss in addition to his three forced fumbles.
“He has gotten faster,” Tilson said. “He is 100 miles per hour everywhere he goes. We think that he will break the school rushing record his first game. His hard work at practice makes our job easier.”
The Huskies have a plethora of wide receivers, led by Jake Duffy, Colton Robbins, Nicholas Mitchell, Brandon Weems and Brayden Weems.
Thomas Darnell (6-foot-4, 175 pounds) is trusted to be in the right spot at the right time, according to Tilson.
“We feel that our receiving corps can score a lot of points,” Tilson said.
On the line, Tilson said that his group is one of the youngest that he’s ever coached, with four sophomores and a junior averaging 260, 230, 240
and 210 pounds across. He complimented the group as being the “best front groups they play.”
It helps to have conference Freshman of the Year Owen Pierce returning for his second go-round.
Center Blake Hurd is a new starter for the Huskies.
Eli Johnson is a student of the Huskies’ weight room.
“Johnson has really invested in the weight room,” Tilson said. “He keeps growing.”
Tackles include brothers Mason Barrett and Weston Barrett, both identical 6-5, 210 pounders
“Mason really has long arms and legs,” Tilson said. “If he gains weight, he will be a special player.”
DEFENSE
Returning starters for North Greene include Pierce and Weston Barrett at nose guard, Johnson at defensive end, Vaught at inside linebacker, Robbins at outside linebacker and Duffy at safety. Cornerbacks will be Mitchell and Darnell.
“Mitchell’s a baller. He’s all over the place,” Tilson said. Newcomer defensive end Ethan White (6-2, 230) has hit the ground running since transferring from Cherokee.
2022 RESULTS
at Unaka L 38-12
CASTLEWOOD, Va. L 49-20
LAKEWAY CHRISTIAN L 50-12
JELLICO W 32-28 at Red Boiling Springs L 39-12
WEST GREENE L 56-7 at Cosby L 41-26
SOUTH GREENE L 58-7 at Chuckey-Doak L 76-7 at Cloudland L 54-22
Class A Playoffs at Coalfield L 56-6
BOLD -Home Game
“He plays and practices so hard,” Tilson said. “He is a wrecking ball.”
The defensive line is anchored by Christian “Pine Knot” Cogdill.
“He is a tough guy,” Tilson said. “He broke his collarbone in camp last year, but didn’t tell anybody. He was supposed to be out for the season, but he was back in six games.”
Cogdill went out when a player’s elbow went through his face mask and broke his nose.
Strong safeties will have a similarity with twins Brandon Weems and Brayden Weems (both are 5-9, 150).
“They are both two of the fastest kids in the school,”
Tilson said.
Duffy serves as quarterback of the defense at free safety.
“He’s a smart football player,” Tilson said. “We call him The General.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Collins, the quarterback, will also serve as the punter. Caleb Fields is the Huskies’ field goal/extra point kicker.
THE SCHEDULE
North Greene’s schedule for the next couple of seasons will include playing teams with similar enrollment levels. Region
1-A has grown by one team with Hancock County rejoining the fold after two years away from varsity football. District teams are Jellico, Hancock County, Cloudland, Unaka and Cosby. The Greene County Board of Education added two coaches to each school’s coaching staff for football. For North Greene, it was an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
2023 NORTH GREENE HUSKIES
SOUTH GREENE REBELS
Rebels Thinking Deep Playoff Run
BY WAYNE PHILLIPS Sports Editor Emeritus
South Greene Coach
Shawn Jones has changed the mindset of his football team from just making the playoffs to making a deep run in the postseason.
With the success of the Rebels the past few seasons, and advancing to the third round of the post-season two years ago and to the second round last year, it’s a goal that seems much more attainable than it was just a few seasons back.
“I think the kids feel like the team can make a deep run,” the veteran Rebel
coach said as his team prepares for the 2023 cam-
Good Luck to all Teams!!!
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 DAVID CROCKETT
Aug. 31 CUMBERLAND GAP
Sept. 8 at Chuckey-Doak
Sept. 15 UNION COUNTY
Sept. 22 at West Greene
Sept. 29 SEYMOUR
Oct. 6 HAPPY VALLEY
Oct. 13 at Eagleton Academy
Oct. 20 at Grainger
Oct. 27 at Hampton
BOLD -Home Game
2022 RESULTS
at Daniel Boone L 26-0
KNOX CATHOLIC L 54-0 at Happy Valley W 34-0 at West Greene L 16-14
CUMBERLAND GAP W 35-18
CHUCKEY-DOAK L 34-6
HAMPTON L 37-0 at North Greene W 58-7 at Johnson County W 21-15 at Seymour W 19-7
Class 2A Playoffs
ROCKWOOD W 34-16 at York Institute L 27-0
BOLD -Home Game
paign. “I think Hampton, out of our region, playing for a championship two years ago, gives us hope that maybe we are capable of doing that, too. We made a good run last year, beating Rockwood but then losing Nash (Rader) who was hurt and couldn’t play against York, and we got put out. But we think we have enough offensive weapons returning to be competitive.”
ball that’s about it,” Jones said.
Last season began with the Rebels trying to decide on who would be the signal-caller, either then sophomore Jacob Susong or incoming freshman Nash Rader. Both were capable and talented. Eventually the team decided on Susong at QB and putting Rader in the backfield. It turned out to be a successful choice.
“We knew we needed both on the field,” Jones said. “Nash is solid. Last year in the playoffs against Rockwood he rushed for 173 yds. but got hurt and didn’t play against York. We knew going into this year that Nash would be our No. 1 back, and Susong had a great off-season and he’s throwing the ball well. It’s all about maturity. Going from a sophomore to a junior is a big deal. Susong has learned to be a leader, and we’re excited about both of those guys going forward.”
With the bulk of last year’s offense returning, the Rebels do look solid, and most observers feel South Greene and Hampton will battle it out again for the top spot in Region 1-2A, even though the league has a couple of newcomers in West Greene and Eagleton Academy.
“We lost a couple of key receivers in Ealey (Isaiah) and Rambo (Cody), but on the offensive side of the
South Greene uses a spread offense, with receivers running all over the place. In addition, Jones said he wants to up the speed a little on the offense this year, but to do that, everyone will have to be in really good physical condition since most key people go both ways on offense and defense, and a “hurry-up” offense leaves little time for rest.
Jones has a bevy of re-
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY MATT LAWS
South Greene quarterback Jacob Susong throws a pass during the Carter-Greene Jamboree on Friday night at Hampton High School.
REBELS
CONTINUED FROM Page 8
ceivers to choose from. Seniors Dion Blair and TJ Buckner will be key. Blair has not played on offense in fall scrimmages due to a hamstring issue, but he should be ready for the opener. Junior Trey Gentry and senior Conner Race are others that saw plenty of playing time last year.
“Nash will start at running back but we can rotate others in there,” Jones said. “Keyshawn Engram (senior) and Race can be used there if they aren’t in the slot. They practice both positions. There are others. Sophomore Lucas Couch and Charlie Lane, senior Noah Robinson, and freshman Tripp Neas will be used a lot. We have a lot of skill people and we plan on using them.”
Don’t expect Susong to just be a drop-back passer.
“We had the Myers boys for several years and they could throw and run,” Jones smiled. “Susong can run it some. We adjust to the talent we’ve got, and we’ve been fortunate to have good quarterbacks and good receivers the past
several years. Coach (Joel) Burns does a good job with the offense. I keep my hands out of it. I feel if you are going to be an assistant coach you need to be allowed to coach. So I’ll sit back and help, and make some decisions at times, but I’ll let the assistants do their thing.”
A lot of talent returns on the offensive line, many of whom played as sophomores and freshmen.
Heath Norton, now only a sophomore, will start at left tackle, junior Seth Franklin will be at left guard, junior Bredan Lisenby will center the ball, and the right side will have senior Jacob Warren and junior Garritt Ricker at tackle and guard respectively.
“Only one senior among those starters,” Jones said. “And we’ll rotate in Zachary Bledsoe (soph.), Jovan Pendleton (jr.), and some others.”
Coach Joe Case calls the defense and the Rebs have a big hole to fill in the graduation of Derek Miller, who was a team leader at linebacker, and Phillip Blair, who was a real aggravation to anyone trying to block him.
“We’ve got a lot of people back, but it’s hard to replace those guys,” he said.
Pendleton will likely start at nose tackle, with Warren and Colton Silvers (soph.) joining him on the front line. Nathaniel Pitts (jr.) and Heath Norton (soph.) are other front line players.
return to the secondary as corners, while Buckner and Nash Rader will play safety, with Susong rotating into the secondary as needed.
“All the offensive line will rotate and be able to line up on defense, so we do have some depth up there,” the coach said. “But we want to develop some more with our younger players.”
Brant Wilhoit, a sophomore, will handle the kicking duties.
Levi Treadway (sr), Zek Rader (jr.), Keyshawn Engram and Christian White (sr.) may start at linebacker, but there are several others who will play there.
Jeff Dotson (jr.), Lane, Race and Couch are others who will be called upon.
Gentry and Blair will
The new region has the old four (South Greene, Hampton, Happy Valley, Cumberland Gap) with two new ones (West Greene and Eagleton Academy).
“With only four teams we all knew we were going to the playoffs,” Jones said. “Now it’s larger and somebody is going to get
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left out. There’s a lot to play for. We hope we can be there going into that last week of the season when we play Hampton to have that game really mean something.”
South Greene’s non-conference schedule is loaded with nothing but larger schools. They open the year at home to David Crockett. Union County and Seymour are on the schedule, along with Grainger and Chuckey-Doak.
“Playing good teams as non-conference opponent will make you better in the post-season,” Jones said. “I’ve always felt that way.”
See REBELS Page 12
2023 SOUTH GREENE REBELS
New Coach Sticking With Winning Formula
BY WAYNE PHILLIPS Sports Editor Emeritus
West Greene High School has turned to one of its own products to guide the fortunes of the Buffaloes’ football team.
Evan Monroe, who played football at West Greene and graduated in 2011, never really planned for teaching as a profession when he entered college. But he eventually chose to go down that path, and when he did, coaching football has become a big part of his life.
“I always wanted to coach football at some level,” the new mentor said. “Football was a big part of my life growing up. It’s all worked out pretty well --- teaching and coaching. I served two years at West Greene Middle as an assistant, and was head coach for three years. So I know most of these kids from the years at the middle school.”
When the opportunity arose to move to his alma mater to take over for Scotty Verran, who resigned from coaching after last season, Coach Monroe was happy to take the offer. Moving from the feeder school for the high school program meant there was very little adjustment involved.
“What we run is very similar to what Coach Verran ran,” the coach said of the Buffs’ system. “I didn’t want the kids to spend all summer learning a new
system. It’s what we ran at the middle school, so instead of learning something new they could just come in here and execute what we know. It’s the same on defense. Coach (Mark) Greenlee has been around here a long time, and I’m a believer in ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’ He knows defense.”
Running the ball successfully is a top priority.
“We want to try to wear down our opponents with a ground and pound game,” Monroe said.
“We’ve got some strong kids on the line who can lean on people and hopefully wear them down, and we’ve got some younger kids who are working hard.”
There are several returnees. The coach started with lineman Braden McCamey, a junior who has stepped up to show leadership skills in scrim-
mages and will be a key part of both the offensive and defensive fronts.
A successful offense almost always starts with the quarterback, and senior Dawson Daniels will be the leader there. He stepped in at times last year for starter Jaden Gregg.
“Dawson knows it’s his show this year and it’s time for him to step up and guide us,” the coach said.
“He’s worked hard this summer and we’ve watched him do some good things in scrimmages.”
The Buffs return a veteran running back in Wyatt “Doc” Moody, a senior who showed last year he has the ability to collect yards in open spaces and be the kingpin of the running attack in 2023.
“Doc is short in stature, but one of the strongest kids we’ve got on the roster,” Monroe noted. “He wants to run between the
2023 SCHEDULE
Aug. 18 NORTH GREENE
Aug. 25 at Cloudland
Aug. 31 CHUCKEY-DOAK
Sept. 8 at Eagleton Academy
Sept. 15 at Unicoi County
Sept. 22 SOUTH GREENE
Sept. 29 CUMBERLAND GAP
Oct. 6 at Hampton
Oct. 20 SULLIVAN EAST
Oct. 27 at Happy Valley BOLD -Home Game
2022 RESULTS
UNION COUNTY W 27-6 at Northview Academy L 44-13
CLAIBORNE W 28-12
SOUTH GREENE W 16-14 at Johnson County W 21-18 at North Greene W 56-7
CLOUDLAND W 42-0 at Cherokee W 42-12
UNICOI COUNTY W 24-23 at Chuckey-Doak L46-35 Class 3A Playoffs
PIGEON FORGE L 48-0
BOLD -Home Game
tackles. He’s tough. He’s probably got the highest GPA on the team, a 4.3.
He takes advanced classes and takes the classroom seriously, just like he does football.”
The wing position will be handled by Baxley Britton, a senior, and Austin Franklin, a junior.
“We want to get the ball in Austin’s hands when we can,” the coach said. “He’s put on 15 lbs. of muscles
Skylar Shelton, a junior, is in his first year playing for the Buffs, but has also been a pleasant arrival. Monroe said Shelton played tackle on the line at the middle school, “but he’s stretched out now to about 6-2 and can run well,” and the coach feels as he understands more about the offense he will continue to improve.
Garber is an all-around athlete and can slide into other positions if needed, including at receiver.
As noted earlier McCamey will anchor the offensive line, with junior Zachary Diltz at tackle, sophomore Caidyn Fortner at center, and senior veteran Justin Sentelle. Sentelle can play any position along the line. Sophomore Leland Payne “is a kid you need to find a spot for,” and senior Zach Caroll also returns.
over the summer and he’s quicker. He can make things happen in space.
Britton played a lot for us last year.”
Ean Kieffer and Maddox Garber, both seniors, are also ready to lug the football when called upon.
Junior Alex Johnson has been a bright spot. The junior could be a key receiver as the coach said he had “great hands and if it’s close to him he’ll go get it.”
Size wise, Monroe thinks his Buffs can match up with most opponents. Sentelle is 6-3 and moves well and doesn’t mind going up against the bigger tackles, Harrell is 280 lbs., and Fortner is at 250.
“We have a little beef up there,” Monroe smiled. “McCamey may be one of our smallest linemen but he makes up for that with his ‘want to.’”
Freshmen Tanner Gross and Isaiah Roberts are showing enough effort to earn playing time along the line,
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE SUN BY MATT LAWS
West Greene’s Dawson Daniels (14) looks for running room as Maddox Garber (20) blocks during the Carter-Greene Jamboree on Friday night at Hampton High School.
BUFFALOES
CONTINUED FROM Page 10
“Our numbers are down some this year, so the younger kids are going to have to be ready to rotate in there and help us,” he added.
Many of the starters on offense will need to play both ways. Monroe said while he would like to be able to rest some of his offensive starters, “sometimes at a smaller school you just don’t have that luxury with not very much depth.”
The Buffs will continue with their base 3-4 defense, but sometimes they will walk up a linebacker or a safety and make it look like a split 4 defense.
The coach expects to rotate several linemen, although McCamey will definitely be a key up front. Diltz returns at nose tackle, and Leland Payne and Zack Caroll will see plenty of minutes.
Garber will be counted on as a key linebacker. Baxley
Britton was in there often last year. Ean Kieffer and Phillip Adkins are others, along with Jacob Greene and Dillon Teston.
The secondary will depend a lot on Austin Franklin at corner and he has been impressive in scrimmages. Britton will play safety along with Alex Johnson and Skylar Shelton. Daniels has been at cornerback in the fall workouts.
The kicking game has been a big part of the West Greene offense the past few years, with the Shelton brothers along with an exchange student last year. Kendall Caldwell, a sophomore soccer player by trade, is currently doing the kick duties. Daniels was a very adequate punter last year and returns to that job. Several possibilities are there in the return game,
Greene in the 1-2A along with Hampton, Cumberland Gap, Happy Valley and newcomer Eagleton Academy, a new school in Blount County.
“I think the region will be tough, with some very physical teams,” Coach Monroe said. “The South Greene rivalry means even more now that we are in the same region. It should be a fun game to watch or play in. Hampton is so physical, and so are the other teams in there. We have got to match them physically if we want to do well, and we’ve worked hard at that in the weight room.”
West Greene Buffaloes
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COMPOSITE SCHEDULE
August 18
Greeneville at Tennessee High
Unaka at Chuckey-Doak
North Greene at West Greene
David Crockett at South Greene
August 25
Greeneville at Dobyns-Bennett
Grainger at Chuckey-Doak
North Greene at Castlewood, Va.
West Greene at Cloudland
August 31
Chuckey-Doak at West Greene
Cumberland Gap at South Greene
September 1
Cherokee at Greeneville
Jellico at North Greene
September 7
Alcoa at Greeneville
September 8
South Greene at Chuckey-Doak
Cumberland Gap at North Greene
West Greene at Eagleton Academy
September 15
Morristown West at Greeneville
Chuckey-Doak at Pigeon Forge
North Greene at Hancock County
Union County at South Greene
West Greene at Unicoi County
September 22
Greeneville at Volunteer
Chuckey-Doak at Cocke County
North Greene at Pineville, Ky.
South Greene at West Greene
September 29
Sullivan East at Greeneville
Chuckey-Doak at Claiborne
Cloudland at North Greene
Seymour at South Greene
Cumberland Gap at West Greene
October 6
Grainger at Greeneville
Johnson County at Chuckey-Doak
Happy Valley at South Greene
West Greene at Hampton
October 13
Unaka at North Greene
South Greene at Eagleton Academy
October 20
Greeneville at Northview Academy
Chuckey-Doak at Unicoi County
Happy Valley at North Greene
South Greene at Grainger
Sullivan East at West Greene
October 26
Gatlinburg-Pittman at ChuckeyDoak
North Greene at Cosby
October 27
Greeneville at Elizabethton
South Greene at Hampton
West Greene at Happy Valley
The
Luck To Our High School Football Teams!
2023 GREENEVILLE DEVILS
2023 WEST GREENE BUFFALOES
DEVILS
CONTINUED FROM Page 5
linemen, so you always feel good about that,” Spradlen said. “We graduated a really good lineman in Ty Williams, but we’re really excited about the group we have.”
Also getting carries in the backfield will be seniors Bryson Myers (6-1, 225) and Zac Chrisman (6-1, 230).
“We have a ton of depth at running back, which we’re excited about,” Spradlen said. “It’s a real heavy running back room by ability and by weight. Carson is probably the lightest and he’s about 190 pounds.”
Dickson has been taking snap one in the backfield during scrimmages, but don’t look for the Greene Devils to have a feature back like they had with Jaevon Gillespie and Mason Gudger in years past.
“Early in the year, you’ve got to have all those backs,” Spradlen said. “Then, depending on how the season goes, somebody might take over more. But all those guys are contributing on defense as well, so right now we’ve got to have those guys to spell each other so we’re getting the best out of everybody when they’re on the field.”
Sophomore Zayden Anderson (6-foot, 145), senior Hayden Goad (5-10, 145), Quillen, sophomore Aa’Darian Samples (5-9, 165), junior Isaac McGill (6-4, 175), senior Nik Pillar (6-2, 185), junior Mitchell McMahan (6-5, 190) and sophomore Cole Frank-
lin (5-10, 150) will be the receivers.
Quillen is the top returning pass catcher with 22 catches for 396 and two TDs in 2022, while Anderson had six catches for 38 yards.
“We’re going to be a little young at receiver, but it’s going to be a good young,” Spradlen said. “There’s probably more depth at receiver than we’ve had, but they’ve got to get some game reps for sure.”
DEFENSE
Greeneville returns seven starters on a defense that allowed just 11 points and 187 yards a game in 2022.
The heart of that defense is Dickson, Pillar and junior Drew Armbrister (511, 195) at the linebacker spots.
Pillar had 52 tackles, 37 assists, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks, three fumble recoveries and an interception in 2022.
Armbrister had 52 tackles, 33 assists, five tackles for loss and a fumble recovery, while Dickson had 46 tackles, 28 assists, 20 tackles for loss, three sacks, a fumble recovery and an interception.
“I feel like we have one of the better linebacking crews in East Tennessee and really the state,” Spradlen said. Greeneville will also be strong across the defensive front with Myers, Chrisman, Lester, Iezz, Merriweather and junior Quinton Humphrey (6-3, 260).
Myers had 37 tackles, 25 assists, 16 tackles for loss, 12 sacks and three fumble recoveries in 2022.
Lester had 23 tackles, 17 assists, four tackles for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries, while Chrisman had 23 tackles, 11 assists, seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
Quillen and Goad return in the secondary. In 2022, Quillen had 34 tackles, 32 assists, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and three interceptions from his safety spot, while Goad had 14 tackles, two assists and an interception from his cornerback spot.
“We’ve got to be able to run the football, and then we’ve got to play good defense and be able to stop the other team from running the football. Those two things make you successful,” Spradlen said. “It all comes down to what we’re doing in the weight room and how hard we’re practicing.
“We’ve played as hard as I can remember us playing in scrimmages. We’ve just been as physical as we’ve been in scrimmages in a long time. I’m super excited about that. We’ve practiced that way. It’s carried over into scrimmages, and I think that will carry over into the games.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Senior Quinton Brandon (5-11, 155) handled kickoff and punting duties last year, and he’ll do the same again this year. He’ll also take over PAT and field goal duties.
In 2022, Brandon had 35 touchbacks on kickoffs and averaged 36.3 yards per punt, including a long of 46 and 10 inside the 20-yard line.
