GHS Football 2017: Back On Top

Page 2 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

A letter from Coach Ballard...

Dear Greeneville and Greene County, On behalf of our football program, I would like to thank you again for the incredible support that you have shown our football team all season long! It was an amazing and exciting journey, and we know you were with us every step of the way.

We feel privileged to be a part of this community with you, and we were honored to represent Greeneville High School off exit #286 on December 1, 2017.

We were thrilled to have so many Greene Devil fans with us in Cookeville for the BCBS State Championship Game, and we were moved by the unbelievable community turnout. It felt like we were playing at home in Burley Stadium. We cannot thank you enough for making the trip to be a part of that special day with us.

To the assistant coaches, trainers, doctors, parents, band, cheer team, faculty, administration, school board members, WGRV, Greeneville Sun, game announcers, industry, past and present players, and all members of the Greene Devil community, thank you for making this another incredibly exciting and historic season. We attained our 4th trip to the State Championship game and claimed our 3rd State Championship title!

Thank you for being an invaluable part of our team!

To the 2017 Greene Devil players, you are a special group of young men. The 2017 Greene Devils will not just be remembered for going 15-0, winning the Region 1 4A Conference or winning a State Championship. I will remember them for the outstanding young men they are, and how they rallied a community together providing a sense of pride to our school. It was a wonderful collection of players and coaches that made this a season to remember, and we give God all the glory!

As always, a very special thank you to our students! They continue to show support for our team every Friday night and this is truly a representative of our great school. We cannot thank you enough for inspiring us to victory in Cookeville!

Thanks again to all that have been a part of this memorable season!

Go DEVILS!

This is a special publication of The Greeneville Sun commemorating the Greeneville High School football team’s 2017 state championship. The Greeneville Sun sports staff of Darren Reese, Tate Russell and Wayne Phillips compiled the content. Design by sports editor Darren Reese. All photography by Greeneville Sun photographers Darren Reese, Tate Russell, Michael Lindsay and Melanie Fritz.

The Greeneville Sun

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Page 4 Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Greeneville Sun

2017 TSSAA CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

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Friday, December 1, 2017 • Tucker Stadium • Cookeville, Tenn.

A Nice Ring To It Greeneville Caps Perfect Season With Record-Setting Performance In Title Game

BY DARREN REESE | SUN SPORTS EDITOR

COOKEVILLE – Sometimes there are not enough words to adequately describe what you are seeing.

The green-clad fans at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium Friday evening were more than happy to just sit back and admire greatness.

The Greeneville offense – one of the top-scoring units in the state all season – turned in a record-breaking performance that left even head coach Caine Ballard speechless.

The Greene Devils set a new state championship game record for points in a half and cruised to the program’s third state title with a 54-13 rout of Springfield in the TSSAA Class 4A finals in Cookeville.

Greeneville quarterback Cade Ballard, named a Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award winner earlier this week, tied a championship game record with seven total touchdowns.

The Greene Devils finished the 2017 season with a perfect 15-0 record.

Continued on next page

Greeneville players Chris Everhart (left) and Nick Rideout kiss the championship trophy.

The Greeneville Sun Continued from previous page

“It’s hard to describe it,” coach Ballard said after the game. “It’s so hard to explain it.”

“To see these guys accomplish this after all the months and years of hard work they’ve put in, it’s special. It’s a night they are going to remember for the rest of their lives.”

Cade Ballard finished 15-of-18 passing for 218 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 81 yards on 15 carries and another four scores.

He was named the game’s Offensive Most Valuable Player for his efforts.

“I don’t think it’s all hit me yet,” the younger Ballard said. “The ending of the game, and celebrating with my teammates, that’s all I could ever ask for.”

“I know once I get to sit back and take it all in and remember it all, it’s going to be awesome.”

Seth Crawford, one of only three seniors in Greeneville’s defensive starting 11, continued his recent tear as he intercepted two passes and was named the game’s Defensive MVP. Crawford finished the year with seven interceptions over the final

THE PERFECT SEASON three games. He finished the season with 12 picks – a new school record.

“I can’t ask for a better way to leave playing high school football, leaving here with a gold ball,” Crawford said.

“I knew I had to take it to another level (in the postseason). I knew if they threw it to my side, I had to make a play. I had to want it more than the other guy.”

The clock ran continuously in the second half due to the mercy rule.

As the final minutes ticked off, Caine Ballard got a water bath from a few of the players and the hugs were flowing on the sideline.

The players rushed the field and began passing around state championship hats and commemorative newspapers.

More than half of the home side of the stands were filled with Greeneville fans, rivaling the size of a typical Friday night crowd at Burley Stadium, if not more.

“Incredible,” coach Ballard said.

“There is no other way to describe it. That’s one of the most fun things, to come out of that tunnel and hear the roar and see that green back there behind you.”

“It makes all the work and effort worth it.”

SETH CRAWFORD

CADE BALLARD

Defensive MVP of 2017 state championship game

Offensive MVP of 2017 state championship game

Greeneville’s reserves got to play a big chunk of the minutes in the fourth quarter.

The Greene Devils finished with 396 yards of total offense to Springfield’s 194.

The Yellow Jackets were making only the second state championship game appearance in school history – the first since they won it all back in 1993. Greeneville played for a state title three straight times from 2009-2011, winning it the latter two years. Friday was the Greene Devils’ first appearance since.

Once the two teams had gone back to their dressing rooms after the game, Springfield head coach Dustin Wilson stopped by to once again congratulate and compliment coach Ballard on his team’s performance.

The Yellow Jackets (11-4) just didn’t have an answer for the Greeneville offense.

The Greene Devils only had one punt in the game – it was kicked by Cade Ballard, his first punt of the season.

Greeneville scored a touchdown on eight of its first nine possessions.

The most impressive drive of the night came when the Greene Devils took over possession at their own 39 with 37 seconds left in the half. Two straight passes to Dorien Goddard near the sideline picked up big chunks of yards and stopped the clock.

On first and 10 from the 19, Ballard hit Cameron Hite in the end zone with no time left on the clock.

It was the second touchdown in the final 1:44 of the half and gave the Greene Devils a commanding 40-7 advantage at the break.

“That was huge,” coach Ballard said. “Dorien got the two quick throws and did a great job getting out of bounds. Then Cameron catching that touchdown.”

“If the score before that didn’t rip their hearts out a little bit, that one probably did.”

Crawford set the tone for the game as he intercepted Springfield quarterback Luke Petitt on the opening Continued on next page

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Championship Scoring A look at the scoring plays in the 2017 Class 4A state championship game

Tigers Jackets

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Tigers Devils

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FIRST QUARTER GHS, 8:30 – Cade Ballard completed a 33yard pass to Seth Crawford to cap a 5-play, 64 yard drive that lasted 1:57. The extra point was blocked.

SHS, 5:44 – Kevontay White ran for a 38-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 2:46. David Madrid made the extra point.

GHS, 1:50 – Cade Ballard ran for a 2-yard touchdown to cap an 11-play, 52-yard drive that lasted 3:54. The extra point was blocked.

GHS, 1:34 – Cade Ballard ran for a 13-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive after Dorien Goddard recovered a Springfield fumble. Eli Shepherd made the extra point.

SECOND QUARTER GHS, 11:29 – Ty Youngblood ran for a 17-yard touchdown to cap a 3-play, 35-yard drive that lasted 33 seconds. Eli Shepherd made the extra point.

GHS, 1:44 – Cade Ballard completed a 28-yard pass to Seth Crawford to cap a 10-play, 87-yard drive that lasted 2:44. Eli Shepherd made the extra point.

GHS, 0:00 – Cade Ballard completed a 19-yard pass to Cameron Hite to cap a 6-play, 61-yard drive that lasted 0:37. Eli Shepherd made the extra point.

THIRD QUARTER GHS, 11:16 – Cade Ballard ran for a 5-yard touchdown to cap a 2-play, 6-yard drive that lasted 44 seconds. Eli Shepherd made the extra point.

GHS, 3:43 – Cade Ballard ran for a 4-yard touchdown to cap a 6-play, 39-yard drive that lasted 3:35. Eli Shepherd kicked the extra point.

FOURTH QUARTER SHS, 5:40 – Bryan Hayes ran for a 1-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive after a Greeneville fumble. The extra point was no good.

Page 6 Saturday, December 30, 2017 Continued from previous page

drive.

Crawford then turned around and caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Ballard to open the scoring.

The Yellow Jackets answered with an 8-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 38-yard touchdown run from Kevontay White, but it was all Greene Devils after that.

Ballard scored on a two-yard run on Greeneville’s next series. After Jacques Gillespie-Taylor forced a

THE PERFECT SEASON

Springfield fumble and Goddard recovered on the Jackets’ next offensive play, Ballard needed just one play to go 13 yards to pay dirt.

Ty Youngblood added a 17-yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, before Ballard and Crawford hooked up again with 1:44 on the clock, this time from 28 yards out.

Ballard added rushing touchdowns of five and four yards in the third quarter. Springfield capped the scoring with 5:40 left in the game on a one-yard run by Bryan Hayes.

Jaevon Gillespie and Youngblood both finished with 47 yards rushing for the Devils.

Crawford caught five passes for 78 yards, Goddard had four catches for 50, and Hite three for 69.

Youngblood also led the Greeneville defense with six tackles. Jamian Thompson had five, followed by Dalton McLain, Logan Shipley, Will Albright and Jacques Gillespie-Taylor with four each.

Albright and Gillespie-Taylor each had two tackles for a loss.

The Greeneville Sun INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS GREENEVILLE Passing Att Cmp Yds TD INT Ballard 15 18 218 3 0 Ferguson 0 1 0 0 0 Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Ballard 15 81 5.3 13 4 Gillespie 8 47 5.9 19 0 Youngblood 6 47 7.8 17 1 Moore 3 16 4.3 14 0 Mayes 1 8 8 8 0 Receiving C Yds Lg TD Crawford 5 78 33 2 Goddard 4 50 18 0 Hite 3 69 41 1 Youngblood 1 14 11 0 Thompson 1 3 3 0 Defense Tck TFL Sack Shipley 7 1 0 Hite 7 0 0 Gil.-Taylor 4 1 1 Albright 2 3 0 Crawford 4 0 0 Youngblood 5 2 0 Christian 2 1 0 Knight 0 0 1

INT FF FR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TEAM STATISTICS

Greeneville High School head football coach Caine Ballard accepts the state championship coach’s award following the Greene Devils’ win over Springfield in the 2017 Class 4A title game in Cookeville on Dec. 1.

GHS SHS First Downs 22 11 Rushing Attempts 35 27 Rushing Yards 178 117 Yards Per Rush 5.1 4.4 Passing Yards 218 76 Comp-Att-Int 15-19-0 11-24-2 Yards Per Completion 14.5 6.9 Total Offensive Plays 54 51 Total Offensive Yards 396 194 Yards Per Play 7.3 3.8 Fumbles/Lost 1/1 3/1 Penalties/Yards 9/68 6/55 Punts/Avg. 1/54 4/34.5 Punt Returns/Average 1/17 0/0 Kick Returns/Average 3/20.7 3/21.7 Int/Return Yards 2/6 0/0 Time Of Possession 23:23 24:37 3rd Down Conversions 6-9 3-11 4th Down Conversions 0-0 2-3

The Greeneville Sun

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Page 8 Saturday, December 30, 2017

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The Greeneville Sun

INDIVIDUAL SEASON STATISTICS Passing Cmp Att Ballard 188 229 Ferguson 20 30 Collins 5 6

Yds TD INT 3148 38 5 226 1 1 -8 0 0

Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Ballard 173 985 5.7 65 21 Youngblood 111 749 6.7 49 15 Gillespie 85 700 8.2 53 12 Montgomery 29 161 5.6 47 3 Mayes 18 84 4.7 20 0 Team 14 -84 0 0 -5.6 Shuffler 14 101 7.2 29 2 Moore 14 93 6.6 19 2 Ferguson 13 122 9.4 45 2 Kershaw 8 64 8.0 16 0 McLain 7 37 5.3 11 1 Collins 7 8 1.1 12 0 Crawford 2 8 4.0 6 0 Receiving C Yds Lg TD YPC Goddard 64 1012 77 12 15.8 Crawford 47 957 60 14 20.4 Hite 32 541 51 9 16.9 Thompson 24 364 89 3 15.2 Moon 19 236 50 1 12.4 Iezzi 7 68 24 0 9.7 Gillespie 6 62 28 0 10.3 Freshour 4 76 55 0 19.0 Albright 2 29 15 0 14.5 Youngblood 2 25 14 0 12.5 J. Wallin 2 7 4 0 3.5 Henley 1 -1 0 0 -1 Myers 1 -2 0 0 -2 Freeman 1 -3 0 0 -3 T. Wallin 1 -5 0 0 -5 Kicking FGM FGA LONG XPM XPA KO/TB Shepherd 3 6 34 86 89 99/77 CeJ Jones 0 0 0 8 9 8/3 Team 0 0 0 0 2 Miles 0 0 0 0 0 9/4 Punting Punts Avg. Long I20 Shepherd 11 30.2 43 2 CeJ Jones 3 24.0 34 1 Crawford 2 20.5 23 0 Ballard 1 54.0 54 1

Punt Return Thompson Iezzi Crawford McLain Henley

Ret Yds Avg Long TD 12 101 8.4 21 0 3 137 45.7 81 1 3 44 14.7 22 0 2 22 11 15 0 1 0 0 0 0

Kick Return Crawford Thompson Iezzi Goddard Pruitt Shuffler Mitchell Moon Hite

Ret Yds Avg Long TD 9 139 15.7 25 0 5 146 29.2 60 0 4 51 12.8 18 0 3 101 33.7 54 0 3 62 20.7 28 0 2 12 6 11 0 1 16 16 16 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Defense Solo Assist TFL Sacks FR INT FF PBU 1 Nick Iezzi 9 8 1 0 0 0 0 1 5 Garrin Shuffler 25 30 2 0 0 1 0 1 6 Jacques Gillespie-Taylor 38 38 18 11 1 0 6 1 7 Bransen O’Dell 6 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 Will Lowery 10 17 1 0 0 1 0 0 10 Logan Shipley 55 30 10 2 0 0 1 0 11 Dorien Goddard 6 10 1 2 1 0 0 1 14 Dalton McLain 39 34 1 0 3 1 0 5 15 Matthew Wagner 7 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 16 Leyton Mitchell 17 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 18 Jamian Thompson 38 8 2 0 1 0 0 4 19 Garrison Brooks 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 Jaevon Gillespie 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 21 Cameron Hite 47 37 7 0 0 3 2 2 22 Morgan Montgomery 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 Seth Crawford 31 2 2 0 0 12 0 6 24 Jaden Pruitt 11 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 26 Will Albright 40 29 5 0 0 2 1 2 27 Michael Moore 15 14 3 0 0 0 0 0 29 Tyler Marsh 15 17 8 1 0 0 0 0 30 Keyontae Harrison 12 7 1 0 0 1 0 0 32 Ben Christian 17 26 4 1 0 0 0 0 33 Kenny Kershaw 72 57 6 0 1 0 0 2 35 CJ Henley 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 41 Parker Burns 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 42 Robert Freeman 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 Lane Doane 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 Ty Youngblood 75 65 5 1 0 1 0 1 48 Trey Mayes 4 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 50 Sam Allen 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 52 Trent Knight 14 13 8 1 0 0 0 0 53 Alec Crum 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 54 Chris Everhart 8 9 4 1 0 0 0 0 57 Clay Odom 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 61 Jackson Metcalfe 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 62 AJ Greenway 13 19 7 2 0 0 0 0 63 Spencer Schofield 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 66 Trever Belcher 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 67 Grayson Jennings 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 69 Justin Fraser 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 70 Nick Rideout 23 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 74 Jake Hartman 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 75 Grant Busler 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 76 Gabe Seaton 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 77 Flint Carter 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

The Greeneville Sun

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Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 9

The Kids grow up too fast and parents always hope and pray that they will find success and joy along the way. Congratulations to the team and the coaches for this great milestone and to the parents who have watched, cheered, laughed and cried along this “blur of life”... and who wish they could do it all again.

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Page 10 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Adding To The Legacy Coach Caine Ballard Reflects On Program’s Third State Championship Season

BY DARREN REESE | SUN SPORTS EDITOR

C

aine Ballard is looking forward to the Christmas break.

On top of spending time with family, it will give Greeneville’s head football coach a chance to finally catch his breath.

It has been a whirlwind couple of weeks since the Greene Devils captured the program’s third state championship with a win over Springfield in Cookeville.

Now that the semester-ending duties are over and the championship parties are winding down, Ballard hopes to have a chance to reflect on the 2017 season.

“Honestly, I haven’t had time to think about it much because I’ve been so busy (since the game),” Ballard said. “That’s a good thing. I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining about it, there’s just been a lot going on.”

“I really hope in the coming week or so to have a chance to reflect on it, go back and watch all the game films and really let this thing sink in.”

Continued on next page

Greeneville head football coach Caine Ballard and son Cade are pictured kissing the state championship trophy following the Greene Devils win over Springfield in the 2017 TSSAA Class 4A title game at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville earlier this month.

The Greeneville Sun Continued from previous page

The 2017 season was a special one for everyone involved with the Greeneville football program, culminating with the record-breaking performance in a 54-13 rout of Springfield on the first night in December at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.

The Greene Devils set a new state championship game record for points in a half as they raced out to a 40-7 lead at intermission. Junior quarterback Cade Ballard tied a state championship game mark with his seven total touchdowns in the contest.

But as the popular quote by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson goes, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

And as sweet as celebrating on the turf in Cookeville that night was, this year’s version of the Greene Devils will remember much more about the season than just the final chapter.

You could say the journey started many years ago, when a lot of this year’s Greene Devils were playing youth football together and dreaming of those Friday night lights at Burley Stadium.

You could say the journey started 12 months ago, when the Greene Devils suffered a heart-breaking loss to Knox Central on a last-second Hail Mary that ended their season on that same Burley Stadium turf.

And then the journey really got cranked up this past January when the weight lifting and early-morning workouts began.

Even back then, Coach Ballard saw something special in this group. Unlike some previous teams, there was no lack of leadership or camaraderie or togetherness that can plague the best of would-be championship contenders.

As senior Nathaniel Moon put it, “We’re just different.”

THE PERFECT SEASON “The commitment the guys made to the program every day, there was no way they were going to put in all the work they put in and then go out there and fail,” Ballard said.

“They were there for each other, they leaned on each other, they encouraged each other, they fed off each other. It was a fun thing to watch.”

All of those attributes were there despite the fact that this year’s Greeneville roster featured just a dozen seniors, and only four of them started, including place kicker Eli Shepherd.

The other three starting seniors – receives/defensive backs Seth Crawford and Jamian Thompson, and lineman Nick Rideout – were captains for the state championship game.

But despite the fact that not many of the members of the senior class were in the starting line-up, that didn’t mean they weren’t an integral part of the team, Ballard point out.

“That senior class did an outstanding job,” the coach said.

“They were very unselfish. The Nathaniel Moons, the Jonathan Freshours, the Ethan Zooks, I could go all the way down the list. They were great teammates and great leaders.”

The leadership didn’t come from just the graduating class, though. The junior class featured several guys who had been playing since their freshman seasons, and even the sophomores provided key performers and vocal leaders.

Despite it’s youth, this year’s Greeneville squad was a very mature team.

“We are blessed to have really good leadership throughout our program right now,” Ballard noted.

The coach stacked the early non-region part of the 2017 schedule to help better prepare his team for what would await them in a postseason run.

And, boy, did the Greene Devils answer the call.

They started the season by rallying from a second-half deficit to defeat Class 6A foe Dobyns-Bennett at home in front of one of the largest crowds Ballard said he could remember at Burley Stadium.

That was only the opening act for the Devils, though, as they went on to demolish two more 6A rivals over the next three weeks. They beat Morristown West 38-14 and Science Hill 4226, both on the road.

It was after the game in Johnson City that Ballard began to believe his team was destined for great things in 2017.

“As a coach, you always kind of look for that point in the season where you can say, ‘Okay, here we are’,” he remembered.

“For me, it kind of started the first game of the year.”

“We were behind in a big game against a team that we don’t get to beat very often, and to come back and win that one.

And then to go on the road to Science Hill and play as well as we did up there, that has to make you feel good.”

Those wins, Ballard said, really set the tone for the rest of the season.

“They were huge wins for us from a confidence standpoint, not that this bunch was lacking any confidence. But it always feels good for everyone involved in the program when you can win those kinds of games. It just creates so much excitement right out of the gate.”

The question marks for Ballard entering the 2017 campaign revolved around the offensive and defensive lines, where the Greene Devils had to replace several talented players and only had one senior in the starting line-up this year in Rideout.

As the season progressed, though, it became apparent that the guys in the trenches were going to be a strength and not a

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 11

liability.

On the offensive line, two juniors on the left side in Tommy Taylor and Trent Knight were joined by a pair of sophomores in right guard Chris Everhart and center Devin Dye. Just last week, Rideout and Everhart earned All-State recognition from the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. But Ballard said that the play of the group as a whole far exceeded his expectations this season.

“Devin Dye as a sophomore continued to get better and better and Tommy Taylor, I can’t say enough about how well he played,” Ballard noted. “Trent at left guard is undersized, but he may be the toughest of the whole group.”

“Chris is a great athlete and a big presence up there, and Nick had an incredible stretch of games, particularly in the playoffs.”

Some of those guys turned around and played the defensive tackle positions as well.

But the breakout seasons on that side of the ball belonged to defensive ends Jacques Gillespie-Taylor and Logan Shipley.

Gillespie-Taylor played sparingly in 2016, but this year he tallied 113 tackles and led the team in tackles for a loss (18), sacks (11) and forced fumbles (6). He also earned All-State honors at season’s end.

Shipley, despite missing a couple of games due to injury, finished with 98 tackles and ten tackles for a loss.

“Defensive line was a question mark, too,” Ballard said. “I told the coaches before the season started that our success on defense would be determined by how Jacques played, and he delivered for sure.”

“I knew if Jacques and Logan played well, we were going to be really good. They both had outstanding seasons.”

But this year’s Greeneville defense had playmakers on every level, which certainly made

defensive coordinator Eddie Spradlen rest a little easier at night.

Sophomore linebacker Ty Youngblood and senior defensive back Seth Crawford were also named to the All-State team. But both of them had equally talented teammates around them at their positions.

Youngblood finished with a team-high 148 tackle. He was joined by starting linebackers Kenny Kershaw and Garrin Shuffler to form one of the most sure-tackling groups in the state.

Kershaw finished with 138 tackles. Shuffler missed a big portion of the regular season due to injury but gave the defense a big boost with his return for the postseason.

In the defensive backfield, Thompson played the corner position opposite of Crawford.

At the safety positions were two hard hitters in Cameron Hite and Dalton McLain.

Hite had 98 tackles, including seven tackles for a loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles.

Crawford broke the school record for interceptions in a season with 12, and seven of those came in the final three games of the year. He had four alone in the state quarterfinals to help the Greene Devils rally from a 21-point deficit against Anderson County. He had two more against Springfield to earn Defensive MVP honors of the state championship game.

Other top tacklers for the Greeneville defense this season were Will Albright (78), Tyler Marsh (41), and A.J. Greenway (44).

The Greene Devils recorded 26 interceptions as a team this year.

Offensively, Cade Ballard led the way as he became the fourth player in program history to win the TSSAA/TenContinued on next page

Page 12 Saturday, December 30, 2017 Continued from previous page

nessee Titans Mr. Football Award. He completed 188-of-229 passes for an 82 percent completion rate while totaling 3,148 yards, 38 touchdowns and just five interceptions.

“When Cade was named a finalist, we both looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s not be at Mr. Football and not playing in the championship game,’” coach Ballard said. “We’ve done that before and it’s not fun. You don’t want to be down there for the award and not playing in the last game.”

“But it was certainly a great honor for Cade. The way everything came together the way it did, it was a blessing for us.”

Coach Ballard said he could tell the game slowed down for his son during his junior campaign.

“The game was just so fast to him as a freshman and even a sophomore,” the elder Ballard said. “The experience he has on the field, you could see him be more comfortable. He sees things quicker.”

THE PERFECT SEASON

“As a quarterback, the quicker you can see things, the quicker you can get rid of the ball and get it where it needs to be on time. That helped him. He is obviously surrounded by tremendous guys, as well.”

The Greeneville wide receiving corps proved to be one of the best in the state as five players tallied 19 catches or more.

Junior Dorien Goddard led the way with 64 catches for 1,012 yards and 12 touchdowns. Crawford had 47 catches for 957 yards and 14 scores, with a team best 20.4 yards per catch average. Cameron Hite had 32 catches for 541 yards and nine touchdowns. Thompson caught 24 passes and Moon 19.

The running game was highlighted by a pair of bruisers in Youngblood and Jaevon Gillespie, who rushed for 749 and 700 yards, respectively. Youngblood found the end zone 15 times and Gillespie 12.

Ballard was the team’s leading rusher with 985 yards and 21 touchdowns on 173 carries.

Senior Eli Shepherd highlighted the kicking game as he made 86-of-89 extra

Champions aren’t made in the gyms.

Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.

— Muhammad Ali

points and 3-of-6 field goals.

The fact that the Greene Devils only lose a handful of starters leaves expectations high for the program in 2018 as well.

Coach Ballard knows his toughest coaching task will be to keep his guys from getting complacent in their bid for a repeat. It’s something he’s had to do before as a coach as Greeneville won back-to-back state championships in 2010 and 2011.

The Greeneville Sun “I just have to remind the guys how they’ve felt after this one, getting to sign autographs and being heroes to all these young kids,” Ballard said. “If they want to feel that way again, we’ve got to do it again. They have to know that all the other teams and coaches want to feel like we felt this year.”

When asked what he will remember most about the 2017 state championship game, Ballard replied, “Honestly, the bus ride.”

“I love being on the bus and knowing that no matter what, it’s the last time together. Knowing that it’s going to end is bittersweet, but most teams and coaches don’t get to know when it’s going to end.”

“To know it’s week 15 and that no matter what, it’s the last ride together ... the last time in the locker room together ... the last game together ... that’s kind of special.”

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The Greeneville Sun

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Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 13

Dustin Moore 1993 • William Carmichael 2010 • Terrell Rollins 2011 • Cade Ballard 2017

Mr. Football

Quarterback Cade Ballard Becomes Greeneville’s Fourth Winner Of State’s Top Award NASHVILLE – Seven years ago, a nine-year-old Cade Ballard sat on a stage at the Embassy Suites in Murfreesboro, taking pictures with Willie Carmichael.

Carmichael was the Greeneville High School quarterback that season, and was being honored as one of the top football players in the state at the TSSAA/Tennessee Titans Mr. Football awards ceremony.

Little did the young Ballard know that one day he would be in the same position as Carmichael.

But fast forward to a late November afternoon this year and that’s exactly what transpired.

Ballard, the junior quarterback for the Greene Devils, was in Nashville at Nissan Field – home of the Tennessee Titans – to hear his name called as this year’s Mr. Football winner for Class 4A. “I always dreamed about it,” Ballard said. “I always looked up to those other guys when I was smaller. I remember everything about it. It’s definitely special to be here and be honored with this award.”

“Being here with all the other guys who have won it over the years for Greeneville, I think that’s what’s made it a lot more special for me, seeing everybody come through – it’s a very cool experience.”

Ballard is the fourth Mr. Football winner in Greeneville High School history, joining Dustin Moore (1993), Carmichael (2010) and Terrell Rollins (2011).

Continued on next page

Greeneville head football coach Caine Ballard congratulates son Cade on winning the 2017 TSSAA/Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award following a ceremony held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville in late November.

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THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Congratulations, Greene Devils!

Class 4A State Champions!

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THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Bob’s

Continued from previous page

The latter two helped lead Greeneville to a state championship in the year they were honored.

Four days after winning the award this year, Ballard did the same as he led the Greene Devils to a win over Springfield in the TSSAA Class 4A title game in Cookeville.

Ballard was called on stage at Nissan Stadium as a finalist for the award, along side Anderson County quarterback Stanton Martin and Dontae Smith of Spring Hill.

Mike Keith, Voice of the Tennessee Titans, then announced that Ballard was this year’s award recipient.

Afterward, the 10 overall winners – one from each of TSSAA’s nine classifications and then a kicker – were taken to the Titans’ locker room for a group photo and to meet with their families.

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 15

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A Titans jersey with the name and number of each honoree printed on the back hung in lockers around the room. Ballard got hugs from his family members who were in attendance, and then a handshake from dad and head coach Caine Ballard, with the words “We’re proud of you”.

“We’ll talk about it after the season,” Cade Ballard said at the time. “I think that’s what’s cool about it.

We’re not done yet. We’ll finish up this week and then after the season we’ll probably reflect on it and it will be pretty cool.”

Ballard threw for 3,148 yards this season on 188-of-229 passing, an astounding 82-percent completion rate. He recorded 38 touchdowns to just five interceptions.

He was also the team’s leading rusher with 985 yards and 21 touchdowns on 173 carries.

Congratulations to the

Greeneville High School Greene Devil Football Team on Your Championship Season!

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Page 16 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

2017 TSSAA CLASS 4A STATE SEMIFINALS | Greeneville vs. Marshall County Friday, November 24, 2017 • Burley Stadium • Greeneville, Tenn.

Devils Make Easy Work Of Marshall Co. To Reach 286

BY WAYNE PHILLIPS Sports Editor Emeritus

GREENEVILLE – The number 286 has been very important to the Greeneville High football team this season. You might have noticed it on some tweets and social media, hashtag 286.

That number will have even more meaning next Friday when the Greene Devils take that Exit 286 off Interstate 40 in Cookeville to head to Tennessee Tech and play for a state championship.

Greeneville earned the right to battle for its third state title, all under Coach Caine Ballard, by whipping Marshall County 49-24 on a brisk night at Burley Stadium Friday in the state playoff semifinal game.

Mr. Football candidate Cade Ballard ran for two touchdowns and passed for two more, and the Tigers from the midstate had no answer in stopping Greeneville’s high-powered offense as the Devils improved to 14-0 on the year.

The state championship game will be staged at 4 p.m. (Greeneville time) on Friday at Cookeville. The opponent will be Springfield, who defeated Haywood in the other state semi game Friday night.

“I’m just very proud of these young men for what they’ve done, and they have one more hurdle to cross to finish a dream season,” Coach Ballard said after the semifinal victory. “We’ve talked about that number 286 all season, the exit for Cookeville, and now they’ve reached that goal.”

The Devils were challenged defensively by the antics of Marshall County quarterback Bryce Wallace and tailback Kamron Liggett, but the GHS offense had the ball for eight possessions in the game and scored on seven of those as the Tigers could not slow it down enough to stay in the game.

The Tigers took the game’s opening kickoff and kept the football over half of the opening period, driving down inside the 10 before a holding penalty followed

by a false start flag thwarted the momentum and they had to settle for a 32 yd. field goal by Caleb Estes to take a 3-0 lead.

It was a sign of things to come in the opening half as Marshall County kept the ball almost 16 minutes compared to only eight by GHS. But the Devils did not waste any possessions, scoring a touchdown on all three of theirs to take a 21-10 halftime lead.

“It was obviously Marshall’s game plan, with their big line and good runners to try to keep our offense off the field, and it was a good plan,” Ballard said. “But we were able to break some big plays on them in the second half and got some distance on the scoreboard.”

After the Tigers went up 3-0 with 5:52 left in the opening quarter, GHS took over and promptly marched 80 yds. in 10 plays, with quarterback Ballard having plenty of success throwing quick balls to his wide outs in space and letting them go to work behind crisp blocking from the

other receivers. Ballard hit all 10 passes he threw in the first half, including five in that first drive. The touchdown came on a 4-yd. strike to Cam Hite who streaked free across the right side of the end zone.

Eli Shepherd was perfect on his first of seven PAT s he made on the night.

The Devils got a stop on defense and forced a punt, and GHS took over near mid-field and quickly went to work again.

Ballard threw 19 yds. to Seth Crawford, 9 yds. to Dorien Goddard and 1 yd. to Jamion Thompson, before picking up 15 yds. himself on a keeper. Ty Youngblood got the score on a 1 yd. run with 10:54 left in the half as the Devils went up 14-3.

Marshall County put together another time-consuming drive but got nothing out of it, keeping the ball over five minutes and driving down to the 31 before Jacques Gillespie-Taylor brought down Wallace with an 11-yd. sack and the drive fizzled out.

Continued on next page

SENIOR STATEMENT

SETH CRAWFORD

T

he 2017 football season will be one that I will never, ever forget.

Being my senior season, everything became more important since it would be the last time I would get to play high school football. My four years of playing for Greeneville have been an incredible experience.

The group of people I got to play with made the season extra special. We are a very close

group that has played together for a long time. We had a special bond that I will remember for the rest of my life.

This year’s team was different than a lot of teams due to being so close and really enjoying being around each other. This season was also special because of the coaches that have helped me become a better player and person.

I will remember all the big games like D-B, Science Hill,

Elizabethon and Anderson County, and how our team did whatever it took to win those games. But most of all I will

remember my teammates and coaches, whether it was in the summer workouts, lifting weights or celebrating a victory.

Going undefeated and winning the state championship was an amazing experience.

We started the year with the goal of getting to Cookeville and bringing home another Gold Ball and were blessed to be able to accomplish our goal.

Praise God for giving me this tremendous opportunity to be around such great teammates and coaches.

The Greeneville Sun INDIVIDUAL LEADERS GREENEVILLE Passing Cmp Att Yds TD INT Ballard 13 16 158 2 0 Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Ballard 14 150 10.7 65 2 Youngblood 10 76 7.6 30 2 Gillespie 7 56 8.0 41 1 Receiving C Yds Lg TD Thompson 7 89 31 1 Crawford 2 33 19 0 Goddard 2 22 13 0 Hite 2 14 10 1 Defense Tck TFL Sack INT FF FR Kershaw 12 0 0 0 0 0 Shuffler 12 0 0 0 0 0 Youngblood 11 0 0 0 0 0 Shipley 11 3 0 0 0 0 Gill.-Taylor 11 0 2 0 0 0 McLain 10 0 0 0 0 0 Hite 9 0 0 0 1 0 Crawford 2 0 0 1 0 0

TEAM STATISTICS

GHS MC First Downs 20 23 Rushing Attempts 33 48 Rushing Yards 277 180 Yards Per Rush 8.4 3.8 Passing Yards 158 185 Comp-Att-TD-Int 13-16-2-0 16-27-0-1 Yards Per Completion 12.2 11.6 Total Offensive Plays 49 75 Total Offensive Yards 435 365 Yards Per Play 8.9 4.9 Fumbles/Lost 0/0 1/0 Penalties/Yards 6/50 8/75 Punts/Avg. 1/22.0 3/39.0 Punt Returns/Average 0/0 0/0 Kick Returns/Average 2/0 5/25.6 Int/Return Yards 1/23 0/0 Time Of Possession 19:58 28:02 3rd Down Conversions 2/5 10/17 4th Down Conversions 2/2 2-3

THE PERFECT SEASON Continued from previous page

Starting at their own 32, Greeneville moved it quickly towards paydirt, with Youngblood going the final 30 yds. when he broke into the clear up the middle. That score made it 21-3 with 3:15 left in the half.

But Marshall County showed some fight and got back into it with a touchdown just before intermission. They drove 80 yds., with the big play a 39 yd. pass from Wallace to Matt Runions, who caught the ball between two defenders at the GHS 12.

Three plays later Liggett scored on a 1-yd. plunge and the PAT by Javarria Rucker made it 21-10 at intermission.

The only failed possession of the game for the Devils came on the first drive of the second half when they had to punt, but Marshall County messed up and suffered a big loss when the center snapped the ball to an unsuspecting Wallace, who had to chase it down and fall on it for a big setback.

Greeneville got the ball back after a punt and the Devils took over at their 33, and scored in only three plays. Ballard overcame a holding penalty by hitting Hite on a 10-yd. pass, then broke left around end and showed some speed when he outran two Tigers who seemed to have the angle on him. Ballard’s 65-yd. sprint to the end zone boosted the lead to 28-10.

A personal foul penalty on the Tigers put them in a bind on their next possession and another punt ensued, followed quickly by yet another Greene Devil touchdown. This one came after Jaevon Gilles-

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 17

pie darted downfield on a 41-yd. run, and he later scored on a 6-yd. run to up the lead to 35-10 with 3:21 left in the third.

Thoughts of Cookeville were already dancing in the minds of the GHS faithful, but Marshall County showed some life with a 78-yd drive that took 17 plays and carried into the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 15 yd. passes from Wallace to Devontavious Wilson and Dagon Stacy put the Tigers in business in the red zone, and Wallace scored untouched on a 5-yd. run with 9:55 left in the game to close the gap to 35-17.

The Tigers tried to get the ball back with an onsides kick, but Seth Crawford recovered the squib at the 42 of GHS. From there the Devils scored again, eating up five minutes of the clock with Ballard

going the final 25 yds. untouched on a keeper after the Devils front line gave him a gaping hole. That score boosted it to 42-17 with 4:43 left.

The outcome was settled, but the scoring wasn’t.

Seth Crawford, who picked off four passes in last week’s quarterfinal win over Anderson County, got another one, this one on a tipped Wallace pass that Crawford grabbed and ran down to the Tigers’ 35. It was the only turnover of the game for either team.

Ballard uncorked a 31yd. touchdown pass to a diving Jamion Thompson in the end zone for their final score of the night.

Marshall County also tacked on another one with only 19 seconds left to play, culminating a 57-yd. drive with a 7 yd. touch-

down run by Wallace that made the final 49-24.

Ballard, who will be in Nashville Monday for the TSSAA Mr. Football Awards Ceremony, had another solid game, hitting 13-of-16 passes for 158 yds. and two touchdowns.

He also led the team in rushing with 150 yds. on 14 carries.

Ty Youngblood finished with 76 yds. on 10 attempts while Jaevon Gillespie tacked on 56 yds. on seven totes. Jamion Thompson had seven catches in the game for 89 yds.

Greeneville finished with 435 total yards of offense.

Marshall County wasn’t shabby either, with 365 yds. of offense. Wallace hit 16-of-27 passes for 185 yds. and rushed for 82 yds. Kamron Liggett had 79 yds. rushing on 20 carries.

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Page 18 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

SENIOR STATEMENT

NATHANIEL MOON Wow. What a ride …

This year has been so special to me for a multitude of reasons.

This last go around was everything that I dreamed it would be.

Every high school athlete that has a competitive spirit wishes and works for the ability to play in and win a state championship. I am blessed and proud to say that I am a part of the handful that got this opportunity. I have learned many things about myself this past football season that have helped me on and off the field, and I will value that and cherish all of the memories for the rest of my life.

Sitting in the locker room after losing to Knox Central my junior year was devastating to me and the rest of my brothers. What ensued the next few weeks, no one besides the people in the locker room will understand. We got two days of break from lifting and then it was on.

We lifted during Winter Break, during school, after school, etc.

Whenever we could get one in, we got one in.

On top of that, Cade and us receivers would come to Burley and have the lights turned on at 6 a.m. Coach Hansel told us not to worry about the weather being cold because it was going to be cold when we were playing in December. All of us believed that and bought in. We would

work. We worked on perfecting our routes, Cade worked on timing with us. The bonds that were made last winter were what set that group apart.

I am proud to say I was a part of the best wide receiving corps in the state. Everyone sees all of the accolades that the guys on our team receive, but not everyone understands the drive and dedication that we and the coaches possess. Yes, there are somedays when you think “Why the heck am I in this stupid squat rack?” or “Why am I pushing this prowler on this turf and why is it sticking?”

Looking back on all the work we put in, I would not change a thing. When you dedicate yourself to something, and then you look over at your opponent who is about to give out in the 4th quarter, you realize that there is a method behind the madness, and that Coach Ballard isn’t trying to kill you in the summer.

All of those questions get answered on Friday nights when thousands are watching because of the stuff you did when no one was watching. WE’RE JUST DIFFERENT. I am so thankful for the coaching staff at Greeneville High School. They are all great guys and it starts with Boss himself. Coach Ballard is a man who I will always admire and I will always respect. I am thankful that Coach Ballard was on me

all the time about just playing football during my freshman year. What I love most about the coaches and especially Coach Ballard is that they always break you down when you are too stubborn to realize what they are doing is benefiting you and the team, and then they build you up right after that.

I am thankful for the perfectionist attitude that Coach Ballard and the rest of the coaches have. I am so thankful that Coach Hansel got to experience winning a state championship for the first time because he was putting in the same hours as we were during the offseason, and you could tell how bad he wanted it. Coach Hansel is a guy I will always have respect for as well.

I am extremely thankful for Coach Spradlen in the weight

room, Coach Gillespie, Taylor, and Harris’ attitudes on the field, Coach Jones’ pregame speeches, and Coach Crawford, Bentley, and Hammonds’ football wisdom.

I could go on and on about Coach McCall. Coach McCall is someone who is special to me, not because he is physically strong, but because mentally he is the strongest person I know.

I wish I could write a paragraph for every single one of them. I am so blessed to have played for all of these great men, husbands, and fathers and I will cherish the memories forever. There is not a better staff in the entire state of Tennessee.

I could not have asked for a better way to end my senior year as a football player at Greeneville High School. Yes, I love basketball, but it really does not get any better than Burley Stadium on a fall Friday night.

This place is truly special and when people say it goes by too fast, they aren’t lying. I am so blessed to be a part of a school and have a community that supports us the way they do.

Any underclassman out there that thinks this lasts forever, change your mindset. Every person on the team has a role – whether or not you are on the field, DO YOUR JOB. Play and practice like you will never do it again because you never know when that final whistle will blow, but I promise if you go out with a win at Tucker Stadium, it will be much sweeter …

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 19

2017 TSSAA CLASS 4A STATE QUARTERFINALS | Greeneville vs. ANDERSON COUNTY Friday, November 17, 2017 • Burley Stadium • Greeneville, Tenn.

Devils Rally From 21-Point Deficit In 1-2 Showdown

BY TATE RUSSELL Sun Sports Writer

Greeneville didn’t have any quit in it Friday night.

As a result, the Greene Devils are headed to the state semifi nals for the first time since 2011.

In a showdown that lived up to its billing featuring the top two teams in Class 4A, No. 1 Greeneville rallied from a 21-0 deficit against second-ranked Anderson County, clawing its way back to claim a 35-31 victory at Burley Stadium.

“Down 21-0, our guys are gutsy,” Greeneville coach Caine Ballard said. “Typically this time of year when teams get down, they are ready for it to be over. They don’t want to run anymore on Monday and wor through the week.”

“This bunch is special. What an awesome game. I told them we were going to win this thing. It may be in the fi rst quarter, it may be in the second quarter or the third or fourth, but we were going to fi nd a way to win this game.”

Greeneville (13-0) now moves on to host Marshall

County next week for a spot in the state championship game. Marshall County beat Maplewood 29-22 on Friday.

“This is like nothing I’ve ever felt,” Greeneville quarterback Cade Ballard said. “I’ve never been in the semis. We always say we are a different team and that we don’t have quit in us, and we showed that tonight.”

The game could not have started much worse for Greeneville as the Mavericks marched down the field in 12 plays on the night’s opening drive before Mason Phillips ran across the goal line from the one.

The Devils then fumbled away their opening possession and quarterback Stanton Martin made it hurt when he rushed for a four-yard score.

A three-and-out that included a 12-yard loss on a sack forced a punt that the Mavericks’ Trey Noe stuffed. Marquis Gallihar jumped on the ball and Greeneville was looking at a 21-0 deficit before it even had a chance to catch its breath.

That did not seem to matter to Mr. Football finalist quarterback Cade Ballard, who found Dorien Goddard

Congratulations Greene Devils on Your Amazing Victory!

running open on a slot seam on the fi rst play of the next drive. Goddard made a move on Mavs’ safety Michael Carroll and then followed a block by Cameron Hite into the end zone for a 77-yard touchdown.

The big play gave some life to the Devils, and some hope which was much needed.

“That throw to Dorien was a huge play,” Caine Ballard said. “We had to have some life right there. It got us settled down, it got our crowd in it and it probably shocked them a little bit.”

Greeneville got the ball back with six seconds left in the second quarter. It looked like Ballard had scored on a 46yard run on first down, but it was called back on a hold.

On an untimed down, Jaevon Gillespie got into the second level with quickness and scampered for a 27-yard touchdown to make the score 21-14.

Just 1:25 of game time elapsed between Greenville’s fi rst two scores. With 1:53 left in the first half, Martin – Anderson County’s Mr. Football finalist – hit Ryan Moog Continued on next page

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Page 20 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON Continued from previous page

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS GREENEVILLE Passing Cmp Att Yds TD INT Ballard 17 21 304 2 1 Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Ballard 23 126 5.5 29 1 Youngblood 14 80 5.7 21 1 Gillespie 9 52 5.8 27 1 Receiving C Yds Lg TD Goddard 9 119 77 1 Hite 3 60 22 0 Thompson 2 104 89 1 Crawford 2 24 13 0 Defense Tck TFL Sack INT FF FR Hite 11 0 0 0 0 0 Youngblood 11 0 0 0 0 0 Shuffler 8 0 0 0 0 0 Thompson 5 0 0 0 0 0 Knight 3 2 0 0 0 0 Crawford 3 0 0 4 0 0

streaking down the right boundary for a 59-yard score that quieted the Greeneville faithful.

Ballard came up big again after Anderson County called timeout on third-and-15 with hopes of getting the ball back.

Greeneville’s junior quarterback had other ideas when he scrambled from the pocket and drew the secondary to him.

That left Jamian Thompson open and the speedster darted up the home sideline for an 89-yard touchdown with 43 seconds left in the fi rst half.

Ballard finished the night with 304 yards passing with two touchdowns, and added 126 yards rushing with a score.

As a team, Greeneville put up 556 yards of offense.

Martin finished the night with 368 yards passing with one touchdown, and also a score rushing. The difference was that Martin threw four interceptions – all to Seth Crawford – with two coming in the end zone.

“Seth is ecstatic, and he should be,

TEAM STATISTICS

GHS AC First Downs 25 21 Rushing Attempts 48 23 Rushing Yards 252 55 Yards Per Rush 5.3 2.4 Passing Yards 304 368 Comp-Att-TD-Int 17-21-2-1 21-40-1-4 Yards Per Completion 17.9 17.5 Total Offensive Plays 69 63 Total Offensive Yards 556 423 Yards Per Play 8.1 6.7 Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0 Penalties/Yards 11/98 5/40 Punts/Avg. 2/17.0 2/32.5 Punt Returns/Average 0/0 1/0 Kick Returns/Average 5/16.4 3/22.3 Int/Return Yards 4/37 1/0 Time Of Possession 28:06 19:54 3rd Down Conversions 7/13 7/12 4th Down Conversions 1/1 0-1

The Greeneville Sun

and I’m so happy for him,” Caine Ballard said. “We had our guts ripped out at the end of last year, him especially. For him to step up and make that last pick was so great, not to mention the other three.”

Anderson County put together a good drive before the buzzer and Clayton Utley hit a 30-yard fi eld goal to make the score 31-21 at the break The second half started with a handful of fruitless drives that ended on a missed field goal, two interceptions and then a punt.

With 7:25 left in the third quarter, Greeneville took possession on its own seven-yard line and moved down the field in 18 plays, largely on runs by Ballard and Ty Youngblood with a couple of passes to Goddard mixed in.

On first and goal from the 10-yard line, Youngblood got the Devils a huge momentum-building touchdown when he sprinted straight up the middle unimpeded for a touchdown that made the score 31-28 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter.

Crawford followed with what may have been the biggest play of the night. The senior went into the air on a deep ball with Mavs’ receiver

Dalton Wilson. Crawford wrestled the ball from Wilson to give his side a chance to put together a go-ahead drive.

Ballard marched the ball 62 yards, helped by a 16-yard reception by Thompson and a 23-yard reception

by Cameron Hite, before he took it in from 21 yards away to give the Devils their fi rst lead at 35-31 with 9:26 left.

Over the remainder of the fourth quarter, Greeneville’s stout defense continued its stellar second half to preserve the win.

Greeneville’s defense only allowed 113 yards in the second half, compared to 310 in the first half.

Anderson County had one last scoring opportunity late in the fourth quarter, but Garrin Shuffler broke up a Martin pass on a 4th-and-3 play from the 10.

Greeneville then marched down the field but came away with no points on its ensuing possession due to a blocked field goal.

The Mavericks took over at their own four-yard line with just over a minute remaining, but Crawford’s fourth pick of the game sealed the victory.

SENIOR STATEMENT

ELI SHEPHERD

G

etting up in the morning wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t a morning person at all, but I knew this year, something felt different. I knew this team was special from the start, and it was all going to be worth it – all the kicking camps, training, and practice.

It was really incredible to experience something like this and win the state title with my best friends. I will never forget touching the state trophy that we worked so hard for. This win was particularly special for all the seniors

who finally got to see what we had been dreaming about for the past four years (some even a lifetime) become a reality.

I am thankful to have such great teammates and coaches and the support of the community. It has been such a privilege to be even a small part of the tremendous Greene Devil tradition. #DFL

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 21

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THE PERFECT SEASON

Page 22 Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Greeneville Sun

SENIOR STATEMENT

BEN CHRISTIAN

T

his 2017 season, as everyone knows, was one for the books.

A year ago I was still finding my role on the team and I felt like something was missing. There was not a single point I did not love being a Green Devil though, especially my senior year.

This offseason the missing piece was made obvious through our summer workouts, preseason and regular season. We were a TEAM, our dream was to win the state title but we were not about to do it with individuals. I would say it is safe to

say not one of us did not love the chance to go out there every Friday night and give it our all for each other. It was FUN, coach told us to have fun and we did.

My senior season was the best thing I could have ever asked for. The schedule was tough because we had to be tested and we were. I remember the Dobyns-Bennett game in the opener, how hard we fought for four quarters. When that game ended I knew we were special.

That was when we got our trademark… that no team was going to play with us for four quarters because we are different.

That is what I loved most about Greeneville Football…. Being different.

It booked us a win in the state championship. I have memories I will never forget and structure and discipline that will last me my lifetime.

Life goes on past football and I am not going to waste it. My coaches impacted my life more than they know and I will end with this – thank you Greene devil nation for four years of support and to God be the glory.

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The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 23

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THE PERFECT SEASON

Page 24 Saturday, December 30, 2017

The Greeneville Sun

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ack early in the year, after an extremely rough summer practice, I had thought to myself that I am not gonna let all this hard work go to waste.

During the season opener versus Dobyns-Bennett, about halfway, through the 4th quarter, I knew that the condition I had trained for was paying off. That was the

theme for every game we played as well, and I believe our conditioning and strength is what let us go 15-0.

As far as the most memorable game I played this season, I would have to say Marshall County. That game I felt was one of the best I’ve played, and it was against players the same size as me, which I definitely enjoyed. In accordance with this, my favorite part of the season was how we could run the ball and pass protect so well this season as an offensive line.

We all had really gelled together this season, thanks to Coach Bentley, and it was some of the greatest guys I could’ve asked for to play with.

I will definitely remember all the memories I made during this state championship year, but more importantly I’m going to miss the guys that made my senior year so special.

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 25

2017 TSSAA CLASS 4A STATE PLAYOFFS SECOND ROUND | Greeneville vs. CHATTANOOGA CENTRAL Friday, November 10, 2017 • Burley Stadium • Greeneville, Tenn.

Devils Use 495 Yards Of Offense To Pull Away From Pounders

BY TATE RUSSELL Sun Sports Writer

GREENEVILLE – After letting Chattanooga Central hang around far longer than was to the liking of Greeneville coach Caine Ballard Friday night, the Greene Devils came out on fire in the second half for another runaway win at Burley Stadium.

The Pounders were just the latest victim of Greeneville’s high-octane offense and aggressive defense, as the Devils ran away to a 49-12 win to advance to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A State Playoffs.

“We had a sluggish start and we just missed a couple of things early,” Ballard said. “We couldn’t seem to put them away and gave them too much hope. That happens sometimes, but it certainly can’t happen next week. We challenged the guys at halftime and nobody in the locker room was happy. We did some things better and we found a way to win big despite not play-

ing well.”

Greeneville is now two wins away from a trip to Cookeville and an appearance in the state championship game, but it has a big test coming up next week as Anderson County comes to town.

The Mavericks and Greene Devils both come into the game undefeated with Greeneville ranked first in the state and Anderson County second. Anderson County beat Elizabethton 38-21 on Friday.

Both teams have high scoring offenses with Anderson County outscoring opponents by 39.6 points per game compared to the Devils’ 37.8 point average margin of victory.

“I don’t know much about them at this point, but obviously they have had a heck of a year,” Ballard said. “It sounds like they are beating Elizabethton big and that says a lot about them. They have put up a ton of points and they have a great quarterback.

It’s what everybody wants to see, and here

it comes.”

Greeneville started the second half leading the Pounders 28-12, and got a spark on Central’s first possession of the half when Garrin Shuffler picked off a pass from quarterback Jaheim Jones.

On the first play of Greeneville’s ensuing drive, Cade Ballard hit Dorien Goddard on a quick swing pass and Goddard raced up the sideline for a 71-yard gain. Ballard finished off the three-play drive with a oneyard touchdown run, and from there the Devils were off and running.

Ballard finished the night 14-of-17 passing for 238 yards and he ran the ball 13 times for 112 yard with four touchdowns.

Goddard had 122 receiving yards and Ty Youngblood ran for 77 yards and two scores.

As a team, Greeneville ran for 257 yards and produced 495 yards of offense.

“I thought we were good in the run game again,” Caine Ballard said. “People are re-

ally playing our pass game. We ran it well last week and I thought that would get their attention, but they seemed to give the run to us more again tonight.”

Greeneville followed with its best defensive series of the night. Jacques Gillespie-Taylor picked up two sacks that pushed the Pounders back 13 yards. A six-yard punt capped the series and the Devils were in position to put the game out of reach.

Jaevon Gillespie needed just one play to pound the final nail in Chattanooga Central’s coffin when he scampered 16 yards to give Greeneville a 42-12 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.

Ballard finished the night’s scoring with a strong 12-yard run in which he overpowered a defender across the goal line with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.

Greeneville started the night’s scoring with a 13-play drive in the first quarter that Continued on next page

2017 TSSAA CLASS 4A STATE PLAYOFFS OPENING ROUND | Greeneville vs. EAST RIDGE Friday, November 3, 2017 • Burley Stadium • Greeneville, Tenn.

Gillespie Has Career Night, Devils Thump East Ridge

BY DARREN REESE Sun Sports Editor

GREENEVILLE – After a pair of cakewalk victories to end the regular season, Greeneville head coach Caine Ballard was eager to see how his team would begin its postseason run Friday night.

Meeting with his players after a 56-7 drubbing of visiting East Ridge, Ballard said he saw exactly what he had hoped to.

No. 1 Greeneville rolled into the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs by racking up 456 yards of offense and allowing just 123 in a game in which the starters were pulled at halftime.

The Greene Devils (11-0) advance to host Chattanooga Central next Friday at 7 p.m.

“It’s that time of year that we’ve all be waiting on,” Ballard said. “I was very pleased to see that they rose to the occasion and played at a very high level.”

“I just wanted to see if we could get over that lull we had been in. We had been sleep walking a little bit through those past few games, but tonight they were awesome.”

Greeneville won its final two games of the regular season – over Grainger and Sullivan East – by a combined 104-7 margin.

Ballard told his players after Friday night’s contest that it only gets tougher from this point on, but that it also gets more fun.

The Greene Devils were having plenty of fun in the first half against the Pioneers – particularly in a second quarter in which they scored 36 points to take a 49-0 advantage into intermission.

East Ridge (7-4) tried to limit the pass, though Greeneville quarterback Cade Ballard managed to complete 7-of-8 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns.

Earlier Friday, Cade Ballard learned he was one of five semifinalists for the TSSAA/Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award in Class 4A. “It’s very cool to be considered for it, but it’s a team award for me,” the younger Ballard said. “The guys around me make it easy. That’s what so special about it.”

“You can put my name on any trophy you want to, but it’s the Greene Devils’ trophy.

The only one that matters is the one they give out in Cookeville in five games. That’s the big one to me. That’s the one our eyes are on and that’s the one we are going to try and go get.”

With passing opportunities limited against the Pioneers, Greeneville turned to the ground and junior back Jaevon Gillespie responded in a big way.

Gillespie rushed for a career high 159 yards on just 11 carries and found the end

zone twice. Ballard also rushed for two touchdowns and 39 yards.

“I thought Jaevon for sure had the best night of his career,” coach Ballard said.

“He’s continued to grow and we’ve gained trust in him and confidence in him. He helped his cause tonight, for sure.”

Cameron Hite caught three passes for a team-high 62 receiving yards and a touchdown. Seth Crawford only had one reception but it was a 60 yard touchdown.

The majority of East Ridge’s offensive output came through the air as quarterback Eric Bennett completed 8-of-14 passes for 92 yards The Pioneers tallied 80 of their 123 yards of offense on their final possession of the game against Greeneville’s reserves.

Continued on next page

Page 26 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON SECOND ROUND

GHS LEADERS VS CHATT. CENTRAL GREENEVILLE Passing Cmp Att Yds TD INT Ballard 14 17 238 0 0 Ferguson 0 2 0 0 1 Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Ballard 13 112 8.6 30 4 Youngblood 9 77 8.6 24 2 Gillespie 6 47 7.8 18 1 Moore 3 21 7.0 21 0 Receiving C Yds Lg TD Thompson 4 44 21 0 Goddard 3 122 71 0 Crawford 3 7 2.3 4 Hite 2 36 28 18.0 Defense Tck TFL Sack INT FF FR Albright 14 0 0 0 0 0 Youngblood 13 0 0 0 0 0 Kershaw 11 1 0 0 0 0 Gil.-Taylor 5 3 2 0 0 0 Shuffler 5 1 0 1 0 0 Hite 9 1 0 0 0 0

TEAM STATISTICS

GHS CC First Downs 23 14 Rushing Attempts 34 40 Rushing Yards 257 141 Yards Per Rush 7.6 3.5 Passing Yards 238 110 Comp-Att-TD-Int 14-19-0-1 11-20-1-1 Yards Per Completion 17.0 10.0 Total Offensive Plays 53 60 Total Offensive Yards 495 251 Yards Per Play 9.3 4.2 Fumbles/Lost 1/1 0/0 Penalties/Yards 5/48 5/45 Punts/Avg. 0/0 6/24.7 Punt Returns/Average 2/5.0 1/0 Kick Returns/Average 1/-9 1/10 Int/Return Yards 1/0 1/48 Time Of Possession 19:17 28:43 3rd Down Conversions 2/6 4/14 4th Down Conversions 2/3 1/3

Continued from previous page

traveled 76 yards and finished with Ballard sneaking in from the two-yard line.

Later in the frame, Youngblood put Greeneville in front 14-0 with a oneyard run.

Central got on the board with 7:10 left in the first half when Rashun Evans took a jet sweep around the right corner and across the goal line. Kenny Kershaw blocked the extra point attempt to keep the score at 14-6.

Ballard came up with a 30-yard touchdown run OPENING ROUND Continued from previous page

The Devils didn’t allow a single East Ridge rusher to accumulate over 10 yards on the night. The Pioneers finished with 31 rushing yards on 25 carries.

Of Greeneville’s eight scoring drives on the night, only two of them took more than two minutes of clock time. Both of them occurred in the opening quarter.

The Devils first possession lasted four minutes and 44 seconds, and was highlighted when Ballard hit Hite for a 48-yard gain over the middle to cap a 10play, 83-yard journey.

A bad snap on the extra point left the score at 6-0.

After a quick three-andout, the Devils marched 56 yards in eight plays and 3:07 of clock time before Ballard went over the top from one yard out on fourth down.

Greeneville had five scoring drives in the second quarter, lasting 47 seconds, 97 seconds, 74 seconds, 33 seconds and 12 seconds.

Ballard broke loose for a 23-yard score to get the touchdown party started.

Garren Shuffler scored on a two-yard run and Gillespie

and Youngblood followed with an easy 18-yard burst up the middle to make the score 28-6.

On fourth down with 11 second left in the first half, Chattanooga Central narrowed the gap when Jones hit Andrew Bingham on a slant that barely crossed the goal line.

Chattanooga Central came into the game led by a Mr. Football semifinalist in running back Michael McGhee and the Devils did a good job of keeping him contained. McGhee ran for 78 yards on 20 carries and Greeneville kept him out of the end zone. found the end zone from seven yards out with 5:35 left in the half.

Greeneville got the missing extra point back when Ballard connected with Dorien Goddard for a twopoint conversion to make it 35-0.

The Devils added two more scores before the half was over. Ballard connected with Crawford on a 60yard bomb with 3:27 left.

Gillespie later rumbled through the East Ridge defense on his way to a 53yard score with 43 seconds left on the clock.

Michael Moore scored Greeneville’s final touchdown of the night on a fiveyard run early in the fourth quarter. CeJ Jones kicked the extra point.

Eli Shepherd nailed the extra point on all of Greeneville’s other touchdowns.

East Ridge’s lone touchdown came with 2:47 left in the game as a one-yard run by Bennett capped an 80-yard, 10-play drive that lasted over seven minutes.

Keyontae Harrison recovered a fumble for Greeneville, the only turnover by either team in the contest.

The Greeneville Sun GHS LEADERS VS EAST RIDGE GREENEVILLE Passing Cmp Att Ballard 7 8

Yds TD INT 162 2 0

Rushing Att Yds Avg Lg TD Gillespie 11 159 14.5 53 2 Mayes 7 26 3.7 6 0 Ballard 6 39 6.5 23 2 Montgomery 6 19 3.2 8 0 Receiving C Yds Lg TD Hite 3 62 48 1 Goddard 2 27 16 0 Crawford 1 60 60 1 Thompson 1 13 13 0 Defense Tck TFL Sack INT FF FR Youngblood 5 0 0 0 0 0 Hite 3 3 0 0 0 0 Gil.-Taylor 3 2 1 0 0 0 Marsh 1 1 0 0 0 0 Crawford 1 1 0 0 0 0

TEAM STATISTICS

GHS ER First Downs 22 7 Rushing Attempts 41 25 Rushing Yards 294 31 Yards Per Rush 7.2 1.2 Passing Yards 162 92 Comp-Att-TD-Int 7-8-2-0 8-14-0-0 Yards Per Completion 23.1 11.5 Total Offensive Plays 49 39 Total Offensive Yards 456 123 Yards Per Play 9.3 3.2 Fumbles/Lost 2/0 1/1 Penalties/Yards 2/30 6/28 Punts/Avg. 1/34 7/35.4 Punt Returns/Average 2/17.5 0/0 Kick Returns/Average 2/5 2/19.5 Int/Return Yards 0/0 0/0 Time Of Possession 22:13 25:47 3rd Down Conversions 4/7 2/10 4th Down Conversions 2/2 0/0

28 THE GREENEVILLE SUN GHS FOOTBALL EDITION

Saturday, December 30, 2017

www.greenevillesun.com

Congratulations

www.greenevillesun.com

to the

THE GREENEVILLE SUN GHS FOOTBALL EDITION

Saturday, December 30, 2017 29

Greene Devils!

2017 TSSAA State Football Champions — You’re the Best!

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The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

REGULAR SEASON | Game-BY-GAME Aug. 18 | Greeneville 35, Dobyns-Bennett 21 (HOME) Greeneville rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Class 6A foe Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett in its season-opener at Burley Stadium. Cade Ballard rushed for three second-half touchdowns and finished with four total touchdowns on the night.

He was 13-of-16 passing for 201 yards and one score. Cameron Hite and Ty Youngblood recorded interceptions, while Dalton McLain recovered a fumble.

Aug. 25 | Greeneville 38, Morristown West 14 (AWAY) Playing its second Class 6A foe in as many weeks, Greeneville raced out to a 38-0 lead and got the continuous clock running in the second half at rival Morristown West. Cade Ballard was 11-of-15 passing for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Seth Crawford caught five passes for 166 yards and two scores, while adding a pair of interceptions on defense. Kenny Kershaw forced a fumble that Dalton McLain recovered.

Sept. 1 | Greeneville 62, Union County 7 (HOME) Despite three first-half fumbles, Greeneville lit up the scoreboard plenty against visiting Union County. Cade Ballard was a perfect 11-of-11 passing for 216 yards and five touchdowns. The Greeneville offense amassed 353 yards on 26 first-half plays in building a 48-0 lead. Seth Crawford caught three touchdown passes, while Dorien Goddard, Nathaniel Moon and Cameron Hite had one score apiece. Morgan Montgomery rushed for a team-high 47 yards. Kenny Kershaw and A.J. Greenway recovered fumbles, while Dalton McLain picked off a pass.

Sept. 8 | Greeneville 42, Science Hill 26 (AWAY) The Devils defeated their third Class 6A opponent in four weeks as they went on the road and dominated Science Hill. Greeneville led by as many as three touchdowns.

Cade Ballard rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown, while also throwing for two scores. Sophomore Ty Youngblood had the best offensive game of his young career as he totaled 137 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

Sept. 15 | Greeneville 38, Pisgah (N.C.) 8 (HOME) Despite an early injury scare, junior quarterback Cade Ballard returned to the field to have a career night, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-25 passing. He also rushed for 59 yards and another score. Seth Crawford caught nine passes for 125 yards and also had an interception on defense. Nathaniel Moon had a career-high seven catches for 105 yards, while Dorien Goddard tallied six receptions.

Greeneville out-gained the Bears 530-243.

Sept. 29 | Greeneville 69, Sullivan Central 0 (AWAY) Greeneville’s starters needed less than one quarter to build a 35-0 lead before taking a seat the rest of the night. The GHS defense allowed just 43 yards on 39 plays the entire night. Will Albright forced a fumble and Leyton Mitchell recovered it. Keyontae Harrison and Matthew Wagner both recorded interceptions. Cade Ballard threw for two touchdowns and rushed for another. His replacement, Blayne Ferguson, was 7-of-10 for 97 yards and also rushed for two touchdowns. Jaevon Gillespie rushed for two touchdowns. Nick Iezzi returned a kick for a touchdown.

Oct. 6 | Greeneville 56, Sullivan South 7 (HOME)

Cade Ballard completed 15-of-19 passes for 272 yards and five touchdowns. Dorien Goddard caught three of the scores and tallied 101 receiving yards. Cameron Hite and Seth Crawford each had a touchdown reception. Jaevon Gillespie, Michael Moore and Ty Youngblood each rushed for a score. Sydni Lollar was crowned homecoming queen prior to the game.

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 31

Oct. 13 | Greeneville 24, Elizabethton 10 (AWAY) In a battle of state top-five teams, No. 1 Greeneville used three second-half touchdowns to rally for a road victory at No. 4 Elizabethton. The Devils’ potent offense managed just 53 yards and an Eli Shepherd field goal in the opening half. Ty Youngblood rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns, while Jaevon Gillespie ran for a 21-yard touchdown with 4:57 left that iced the game. The decision marked the 100th victory in the career of head coach Caine Ballard.

Oct. 20 | Greeneville 42, Grainger 0 (HOME) Greeneville scored three touchdowns in the first 3:18 of the game and used a victory over the visiting Grizzlies to clinch the top seed out of Region 1-4A for the state playoffs. Cade Ballard was 17-of-19 for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Dorien Goddard caught nine passes for 159 yards and three scores. Will Albright recorded an interception.

Oct. 27 | Greeneville 62, Sullivan East 7 (AWAY) Greeneville scored 35 points in the opening quarter and rolled in its regular season finale. Cade Ballard threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns on just 8-of-9 passing. Greeneville forced five turnovers, as Will Albright, Seth Crawford, Cameron Hite, Jonathan Freshour, and Bransen O’Dell each recorded an interception.

Page 32 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

TEAM SEASON STATISTICS

GHS

OPPONENT

GHS OPPONENT

Points Scored

711 187

Yards Per Play

8.4 4.5

Points Per Game

47.4 12.5

Fumbles/Lost

12/9 11/9

First Downs

300 197

Penalties/Yards

91/768 69/638

Rushing Attempts

498 532

Punts/Avg.

17/29.4 70/29.4

Rushing Yards

3,046 1,948

Punt Returns/Average

21/14.5 2/0

Yards Per Rush

6.1 3.8

Kick Returns/Average

31/16.7 31/22.1

Rushing Yards Per Game 203.1 129.9

Int/Return Yards

24/182 6/84

Passing Yards

Time Of Possession

323:45 396:15

Comp-Att-TD-Int 213-265-39-6 145-266-7-24

3rd Down Conversions

59/116 63/177

Yards Per Completion

15.8 11.2

4th Down Conversions

18/25 15/28

Total Offensive Plays

763 798

Red Zone

62/70 19/26

Total Offensive Yards

6,412 3,574

3,366 1,626

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 33

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THE PERFECT SEASON

Congratulations Green Devils on Winning the Gold!

The Greeneville Sun

Congratulations, GREENE DEVILS

for bringing home the win!

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The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 35

Congratulations, 2017 GHS Greene Devils!

Tyler Marsh

CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONS

Page 36 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Congratulations, Greene Devils, for bringing home the gold!

CENTURY 21 Legacy ®

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THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

SENIOR STATEMENT

Jonathan Freshour It’s still so hard to believe my football career is over, but this past year was just so incredible.

As a senior, it feels like it all just goes so fast. Practices, games, even just the little moments you share with your teammates in the locker room, everything flies by.

I’ve made so many memories this season and it’s crazy to believe, but one of them was actually in the off-season.

Something I’ll remember most was waking up about 5:30 a.m. nearly every morning before school in the dead of winter to head over to the high school to get some work in. Just me, a few other dudes, and coach Hansel.

We were the 6:30 squad and in many ways I feel like something as little as get-

ting some work in before school is what defined this team. I’ve played many years of football for as long as I can remember really, and I’ve never been a part of a group so tight. Everything we did was for each other. The work we put in on the field and in the weight room was for each other. We all had one common goal. That goal was of course to lift that gold ball in Cookeville, and the fact that we actually accomplished that is just crazy.

It means so much to me to say that our class of 11 (I think) seniors can say that we went out on top, and ended our high school careers the way only so few get to.

Sure our comeback wins against both D-B and Anderson County were memorable, and sure homecoming and senior

Greeneville High School Greene Devils

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 37 night was great, but nothing and I mean nothing, when I look back on my high school life, will I remember more than standing at the 50 yard line of Tucker Stadium with my brothers experiencing something we had all worked so, so hard for.

It was truly a fantastic ride and I can’t imagine having done anything that we did with a different team, or with a different senior group of guys. We’ve been through it all together, and I can sit here and confidently say that the bond that was formed between us is something that will never be broken, and that bond is something that just means so much to me and will never be forgotten.

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Page 38 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

CAMERON & THE 2017 GHS GREENE DEVILS!!!

We are so proud of you!!!!

Love, Mom & Dad

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 39

PERFECTION! Few achieve it and you did it with class.

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Page 40 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 41

42 THE GREENEVILLE SUN GHS FOOTBALL EDITION

www.greenevillesun.com

Saturday, December 30, 2017

2017 Greeneville High School Football Team 1

Nick Iezzi

Fr.

24

Jaden Pruitt

So.

55

Tristan McDonald

Fr.

2

Cade Ballard

Jr.

25

Eli Shepherd

Sr.

57

Clayton Odom

Fr.

3

Nathaniel Moon

Sr.

26 Will Albright

So.

59

Devin Dye

So.

4

Blayne Ferguson

So.

27

Michael Moore

So.

60

Tommy Taylor

Jr.

5

Garrin Shuffler

Jr.

28

Tristan Casebrier

Jr.

61

Jackson Metcalfe

Jr.

6

Jacques Gillespie

Jr.

29

Tyler Marsh

Jr.

62

A.J. Greenway

So

7

Branson Odell

Jr.

30

Keyontae Harrison

So.

63

Spencer Schofield

Fr.

8

Johnathan Freshour Sr.

31

Ethan Zook

Sr.

64

Miseal Arellanes

Fr.

9

Will Lowery

Jr.

32

Ben Christian

Sr.

66

Trevor Belcher

Jr.

10

Logan Shipley

Jr.

33

Kenny Kershaw

Jr.

67

Grayson Jennings

Sr.

11

Dorien Goddard

Jr.

35

C.J. Henley

Fr.

70

Nick Rideout

Sr.

12

Josh Wallin

Jr.

36

Stephen Myers

Fr.

71

Austin Saylor

Jr.

13

Raymond Knuckles

So.

41

Parker Burns

So.

73

Thomas Carter

Jr.

14

Dalton McLain

Jr.

42

Robert Freeman

Jr.

75

Grant Busler

So.

15

Matthew Wagner

Jr.

44

Cade Miles

Sr.

76

Gabriel Seaton

Jr.

16

Layton Mitchell

So.

45

Lane Doane

Jr.

77

Flint Carter

So.

17

Jake Goodwin

Sr.

46

Jordan Batson

So.

78

Jake Hartman

Fr.

18

Jamian Thompson

Sr.

47

Ty Youngblood

So.

80

Cej Jones

So.

19

Garrison Brooks

Jr.

48

Trey Mayes

Fr.

83

Matt Wallin

So.

20

Jaevon Gillespie

Jr.

50

Sam Allen

Fr.

87

Todd Wallin

Fr.

21

Cameron Hite

Jr.

52

Trent Knight

Jr.

88

Reid Cannon

Fr.

22

Morgan Montgomery Jr.

53

Alec Crum

Jr.

23

Seth Crawford

54

Chris Everhart

So.

Sr.

Head coach: Caine Ballard Assistant coaches: Danny Bentley, David Crawford, Broderick Gillespie, Dan Hammonds, Adam Hansel, Scott Harris, Koryei Jefferson, Casey Jones, Andy McCall, Josh Quillen, Eddie Spradlen, Alex Taylor

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 43

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Greeneville linebackers Ty Youngblood and Kenny Kershaw celebrate following the Greene Devils’ win over Springfield in the TSSAA Class 4A state championship game in Cookeville marking the third state title in school history.

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Page 44 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

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Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 45

Page 46 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 47

Congrats Greene Devils 2017 4A Football State Champs!!!

Way to go!

By remaining focused until you nished, your season could not have been more perfect...nor us more proud. Yes, GHS...you ARE the best!!!

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Page 48 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

Congratulations!

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Congratulations Greene Devils on your 2017 TSSAA State Championship.

You worked hard for it and are well deserving.

Jostens is proud to have designed your championship ring.

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 49

Page 50 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

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The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 53

Page 54 Saturday, December 30, 2017

THE PERFECT SEASON

The Greeneville Sun

The Greeneville Sun

THE PERFECT SEASON

Saturday, December 30, 2017 Page 55

56 THE GREENEVILLE SUN GHS FOOTBALL EDITION

Saturday, December 30, 2017

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