An explosive first quarter carried Greeneville to a 35-0 victory over Dobyns-Bennett on Friday at Burley Stadium in Greeneville. It was helped in turn by the Devils’ defense giving up just 204 yards and pitching the first shutout of the year.
“Great effort by our guys,” Greeneville coach Eddie Spradlen said. “We needed Carson (Quillen) to step up and run the ball. He didn’t get as many carries as he wanted to last week, but it’s a big play game. (Linebacker) Drew Armbrister stepped up after we had an inside linebacker go down early and he steps in there and plays a heck of a game. I’d love to know how many tackles he had tonight because he was flying around all night.”
Armbrister and the defense prevented the Indians from scoring on fourth-and-goal on two separate occasions to preserve the shutout.
“They were just flying to the football,” Spradlen said of his defense. “Those guys did a great job of film study and they just played hard. Any time you can shutout a team like Dobyns-Bennett, that says a lot about your football team.”
Offensively, Quillen rushed the ball 21 times for 241 yards and three TDs, not including a 75-yarder that was called back for a hold. But why was Quillen so effective? Well, because Spradlen has his star tailback playing strictly offense now.
“He’s not playing any on defense,” Spralden said. “In the past three years, he’s played every down on offense and every down on defense. I just want him to be a freaking dog like he was on offense tonight, so we’ve not been playing him on defense. Maddox Bishop’s stepped up and played well in that safety role.”
Sixty-five of Quillen’s yards came on one of the first plays of the Devils’ opening drive. After starting at their own 9, the Devils churned out a pair of first downs, with quarterback Caden Baugh gaining 8 on a third-and-4 to keep the dive alive. After a few short yard rushes, Quillen made his first big play of the night, bursting through a hole and taking it 65 yards for six. Sam Gourley’s PAT made it 7-0 with 9:57 in the first quarter.
After Greeneville’s defense forced a three-and-out, the Devils got another big play on their next drive. Starting at their own 25, an illegal shift and holding penalty sent them backwards. After getting five yards back, Baugh fielded a low snap but made a quick throw to receiver Zaydyn Anderson on an in route. Anderson shook one tackle, and zoomed 75 yards for the team’s second big play touchdown. Another Gourley PAT put the Devils up 14-0.
“We’re a big play offense,” Spradlen said. “And against a really good, physical defensive line. When we get a chance to get the ball in those guys’ hands, something special is going to happen every time they touch it.”
Baugh agreed, saying, “6A Dobyns-Bennett is a good team, we had a good week of practice and came in and got the dub. Big plays can be killer on big teams like Dobyns-Bennett. And that’s how you gotta win.”
Greeneville’s offense added another touchdown in the second quarter, but it wasn’t on a huge chunk play. Beginning on their own 37, they marched down the field. Baugh kept the ball on a 31-yard rush up the middle to put the Devils inside the Indians’ 20.
A 15-yard touchdown run from Baugh was called back for holding, so Baugh decided to use his arm instead. He completed a 12-yard pass to Quillen to put his team at the 10, then handed it off to his tailback who bullied his way for his second TD of the night. Gourley’s PAT made it 21-0 with 6:28 left in the half.
The Indians tried to build some momentum before the half, and nearly did. Starting at their own 30, running back Caden Moore took a handoff up the middle for 17 yards, then quarterback Austin Sykes completed a 13-yard pass to Peyton Franklin, swiftly moving his team into Devils’ territory.
A few plays later, Sykes kept the ball, taking it 24 yards down to the Greeneville 8 yard line. On third-and-goal from the 6, Sykes tried for another keeper heading for the left pylon, but met a wall named Armbrister who stuffed him for a gain of two. Fourth-and goal from the 4 with 1:30 left in the half, the Indians decided to try their luck through the air. Sykes took the snap and rolled right, finding Franklin at the 3, but a combination of Jack Lister and Isaac McGill downed him half a football length shy of the goal, forcing a turnover on downs.
From then on, it was all Greeneville.
The Devils forced a three-and-out in the Indians’ opening drive in the second half and went 90 yards in their first drive, capped by a 1-yard rush by Quillen to make it 28-0 after a Gourley PAT.
On Greeneville’s next drive, Quillen burst for a 75-yard score, but was brought back by a hold, only for Baugh to score a 61-yarder on the very next play.
A running fourth quarter clock quickly ended the game with the Devils’ offense finishing with 501 total yards.
Baugh completed 5-of-10 passes for 106 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He churned out 140 yards on 10 carries as well. Anderson hauled in two passes for 81 yards and a 75-yard touchdown. Taren Claridy caught two passes for 13 yards.
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