Jim Mashek

GATORS LINEMAN BLAINE HAYNES: ‘I THINK WE’RE STARTING TO FIND OUR GROOVE, OFFENSIVELY …’

Davis Chaney, Greenwood High School’s do-it-all, durable tailback, spent the second half of Friday night’s regular-season finale in perpetual motion.

In the first half, the Gators chose to mix it up a little bit.

Greenwood’s ground game was too much, way too much, for Union County’s defense in this game. Greenwood quarterback Levi Wyatt scored the game’s first two touchdowns, cutting right through the teeth of the Braves’ defense, and Cesar Ortega, the Gators’ change-of-pace junior tailback, found the end zone to open the scoring in the second half.

Then it was Chaney Time.

Up the middle, off tackle and especially on the perimeter.

Davis Chaney put the game out of reach with three second-half touchdowns — count ’em, THREE — and the Gators survived some late defensive lapses to throttle visiting Union County, 45-23, before a Halloween Night crowd at The Swamp.

The Gators gained a measure of confidence, heading into the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs, and they might have gained a little measure of revenge, too. Union County drubbed veteran Greenwood coach William Howard’s team last year in Morganfield, cruising to a 49-20 victory on its way to finishing as the KHSAA’s Class 3A runner-up.

This time, the Braves got a nice glimpse of Chaney’s back, as he motored into the end zone.

“We knew Union County was a good team,” Chaney said when it was over. “Last year, they kind of embarrassed us, at their place. We wanted a little bit of ‘get-back’ … At times, I think we really played up to our potential.”

Greenwood improved to 6-4 overall, while snapping a two-game losing streak. The Gators battled Bowling Green High School, tooth and nail, in a memorable mid-October game before the Purples’ Oscar Gonzales drilled a 26-yard field goal as time expired, sending the Gators to a crushing 17-14 defeat. Greenwood is still looking for its breakthrough victory over Bowling Green, a crosstown rival the Gators have yet to defeat in 37 tries.

The Gators might get that chance in this year’s KHSAA Class 5A Tournament.

Greenwood plays host to a talented Madisonville-North Hopkins squad, a team that takes an 8-2 overall record to next Friday’s game on the Gatahs’ home turf. Bowling Green, meanwhile, figures to be the regional favorite, in Southwest Kentucky, even though the Purples fell to 4-6 overall after Friday night’s 28-18 loss to Franklin County in Frankfort.

The Purples will square off with Graves County (4-6 overall) in next week’s first-round playoff game at the BGHS stadium.

Blaine Haynes, the Gators’ strapping offensive tackle, is careful not to put the cart in front of the horse.

“I think we’re starting to find our groove, offensively,” Haynes said. “We know what’s in front of us. We just want to be able to piece it all together.”

That’s where Greenwood quarterback Levi Wyatt, an undersized but gritty senior quarterback, comes in.

Wyatt operates an offense primarily built around the tried-and-true, Wing-T concept, and Greenwood has plenty of options once he takes a snap and hands the ball to a teammate.

Greenwood has senior tailback Nathan Self, a tough runner who didn’t return after being treated for an injury in the second quarter. Self took a swing pass before a Union County defender delivered a big hit in the open field, bringing the proceedings to a brief halt.

No problem for the Gators.

After Self walked off to the sideline, Wyatt hit Davis Chaney on a wheel route, a 22-yard reception that put the Gators in the red zone. Two plays later, Wyatt scored on a quarterback draw, and after Graham Smothers added the extra point, it was 17-0, Greenwood.

That lead stood until halftime.

And then, whoa, baby, here comes the Braves’ running game.

Union County’s Willem McPeake and Abreyn Fletcher took turns gashing the Gators’ defense, and after falling behind, 25-0, the Braves started to make their move.

McPeake scored on a 4-yard run with 7:37 left in the third quarter, and the Braves added a successful two-point conversion.

Davis Chaney would then leave the Union County defense in the dusk, beating the pursuit to the edge before hitting the left sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run just 27 seconds after the Braves’ first TD.

But Union County kept fighting back.

Fletcher scored from a yard out, on a fourth-down play, and after McPeake stormed into the end zone for another two-point conversion, suddenly the Gators’ lead had been trimmed to 31-16 with plenty of time on the clock.

Greenwood head coach William Howard and his longtime offensive coordinator, Jason Jaggers, then just went with the hot hand.

Chaney scored on a 20-yard run, on a sweep to the right side, in the opening moments of the fourth quarter. A few minutes later, McPeake sliced into the end zone once more, and the Braves got back to within two touchdowns.

Then Greenwood’s Levi Wyatt, behind hard-working linemen such as Blaine Haynes, Griffin Howard and Ben Warwick, would work on the clock, while turning out the lights on the Braves’ defense. Chaney went into the Wildcat formation and scored on a 1-yard run, his third touchdown of the night, to account for the final margin.

The Gators needed some time to strike for the fatal blow, as senior linebacker Stuart Scott said afterward.

“We need to finish better,” Scott said.

Greenwood coach William Howard seemed a lot more concerned about the road ahead, as opposed to the obstacle the Gators left behind.

“We gave up a few big plays on defense, and let them back in the game,” Howard said. “We were able to get back on track. I thought our offensive line did an excellent job.

“We know what we’re up against, with Madisonville coming to our place. I’ve already watched some film on them, and they’ve got a real good running back …”

Greenwood’s Davis Chaney finished the night with 166 yards rushing, and three touchdowns, on just 16 carries. Cesar Ortega added 90 yards on the ground, while Gators QB Levi Wyatt finished with 51 and the two scores in the first half.

Madisonville-North Hopkins senior tailback Markezz Hightower has rushed for 1,554 yards and TWENTY-FIVE TOUCHDOWNS this season, and the Maroons powered their way into the postseasonHi with a 52-12 thrashing of Warren Central on Thursday night at Joe Hood Field.

So the running backs should take center stage, next week at The Swamp, but Gators offensive coordinator Jason Jaggers likes what Davis Chaney brings to the table when the game is on the line.

“Davis is tough, he’s got great vision,” Jaggers said. “He’s humble, talented, a hard worker. Very coachable. If you could start a team with 22 Davis Chaneys, on both sides of the ball …”

The Gators will be back on the practice field Monday afternoon.