Jim Mashek

GATORS TAILBACK DAVIS CHANEY: ‘I’LL LITERALLY BE PLAYING EVERY GAME LIKE IT’s MY LAST …’

Greenwood tailback Davis Chaney may have had the game of his life last week, in the Gators’ resounding 45-23 victory over visiting Union County last week at The Swamp.

Perhaps he was just getting warmed up.

The Gators will open the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs with another home game, but this time they’re playing for keeps.

And this time, eighth-year Greenwood head coach William Howard seems to have a more complete team, using two 11-man platoons on both offense and defense instead of counting on a handful of players to log snaps on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Madisonville-North Hopkins will take the two-hour journey to scrap with Howard’s squad under the lights on Friday night, with the winner likely to advance to a second-round game against Owensboro High School, in the band box known as Rash Stadium.

“We know what it’s like to play at that place,”Howard said.

Not that the Gators are putting the cart ahead of the horse, or anything along those lines. Greenwood improved to 6-4 last week, with the decisive victory over Union County, as the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Chaney carried the ball 16 times for 166 yards and three second-half touchdowns, giving the Gatahs some momentum heading into the playoffs.

Howard’s squad looked like with a team with a sense of purpose on Wednesday evening, as they moved closer to Friday’s showdown against Madisonville-North Hopkins (8-2), a team similar to the Gators in that the Maroons like to control the clock, and thus the game, with a strong running game.

That’s where Chaney comes in.

The hard-charging Greenwood back is known for his high motor, and he joins forces with Gators teammates Nathan Self, Cesar Ortega and veteran quarterback Levi Wyatt, an adept runner himself who scored two touchdowns in last week’s victory over Union County.

Chaney, Self and Wyatt are seniors. This will be their last chance to compete with the KHSAA Championship Weekend in Lexington glimmering in the distance, a week and change after the traditional Thanksgiving holiday.

You might say Greenwood and Madisonville-North Hopkins are traditional teams themselves, as their quarterbacks operate out of a wing-T offense with SOME elements of the attack from the spread formation.

An intriguing matchup, with plenty on the line.

“I’ll literally be playing every game like it’s my last,” Chaney said.

That’s how it works in the KHSAA playoffs, of course, and that’s fine with Greenwood senior Blaine Haynes, a powerful 6-foot-5, 250-pound offensive tackle who can seal the edge with a block, or quickly drop back into protection.

Haynes and his teammates on the offensive line can give the Gators a significant edge, like they had in last week’s victory over Union County. Greenwood amassed 341 yards on the ground, and six rushing touchdowns against a Union County squad that reached the KHSAA Class 3A championship game last season.

Haynes embraces the challenge against Madisonville-North Hopkins, which struck for a 25-22 upset over defending KHSAA Class 4A state champion on September 11 in Madisonville. The Maroons have scored 40 or more points in seven of their 10 games this season, which includes a 49-40 loss to Owensboro’s Apollo High School on October 24 at Madisonville’s Maroon Stadium.

“To beat Madisonville, I think everyone will have to bring their best game,” Haynes said. “Our offense needs to have control of the ball, and march it down the field. We need to keep our missed assignments to a minimum; that’s definitely a key for us. I think we’ve had a lot of games this season where we were one block short of breaking a long touchdown run loose.”

Madisonville-North Hopkins is equally committed to the running game, and the Maroons have “Mr. Football” candidate Markezz Hightower, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound senior, commanding most of the headlines this season.

Hightower has rushed for a team-high 1,554 yards and TWENTY-FIVE TOUCHDOWNS, which helped the Maroons open the season with seven consecutive victories, including the Paducah Tilghman game, along with Union County (49-13), Hopkinsville (42-19) and Graves County (23-20).

Greenwood’s crosstown rival, the Bowling Green High School Purples, will play host to Graves County in first-round KHSAA Class 5A play on Friday night. It’s possible Greenwood could get another shot at Bowling Green — the Purples are 37-0, lifetime, against the Gators — but GHS coach William Howard’s squad would have to win at least two games to get that opportunity.

And even then, the KHSAA will use the Ratings Percentage Index to determine regional final opponents.

“Madisonville’s really good up front, on offense and defense,” Howard said. “They play extremely hard, they’re well coached, and No. 6 (the Maroons’ Markezz Hightower) is very impressive.

“(Hightower) hits it up in the hole, and if you give him a little crease, he can break off a long run.”

That’s what Greenwood’s Davis Chaney provided in the Gators’ victory over Union County. Chaney had touchdown runs of 66 and 20 yards before slamming into the end zone from one yard out in the Wildcat formation. Greenwood will go to an unbalanced line, at times, in the Wildcat, and they have a converted offensive lineman, senior tight end Griffin Howard, poised to keep the Gators ground game on the attack.

“Yeah, Griff’s played on the O-Line all his life, so having him (at tight end) definitely feels like having an extra (offensive) tackle,” senior GHS lineman Blaine Haynes said.

Haynes is one of 19 seniors on the Greenwood roster, one reason GHS coach William Howard was able to establish distinctive offensive and defensive units, as opposed to mixing and matching to get the 11 best players on the field at the same time.

“Having 19 kids in your senior class helps,” Howard said. “I think (the two-platoon system) has paid some dividends for us, when you get to the fourth quarter.”

Haynes is quick to agree with that notion.

“I definitely think we’re fresher than some other teams in the fourth quarter,” Haynes said.

Greenwood won nine games in 2022, before dropping a tough 27-21 decision to Owensboro High School in the second round of the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs.

The Gators could get another shot at the Red Devils, but the Greenwood defense will have to find a way to keep Madisonville-North Hopkins star Markezz Hightower in check. Greenwood gave up one touchdown or less in victories over Westmoreland (Tennessee), Warren East and Warren Central, and two games against Tennessee opponents obviously don’t help the Gators’ RPI in November.

On October 24, Greenwood traveled to Cross Plains, Tennessee, where the Gators dropped a 32-16 decision to unbeaten East Robertson County.

“We know Madisonville is going to load up the box and try to make us throw the ball,” Howard said. “We’ve got to be able to run the ball, but Levi (Wyatt, the Gators’ quarterback) will get his shots to throw downfield, too.”

COMING FRIDAY: AN OVERVIEW OF AREA TEAMS IN THE FIRST WEEK OF THE KHSAA PLAYOFFS.