SCORES ON A 14-YARD RUN MIDWAY
THROUGH THE THIRD QUARTER.
GATORS COACH TONY ADAMS: ‘THAT’s A GOOD TEAM, THAT BEAT US …’
SCOTTSVILLE — It was a long night, for the Greenwood High School football team, in first-year head coach Tony Adams’ opening game in the Cole Lumber Bowl.
Allen County-Scottsville, in fact, wouldn’t take the field until about 9 o’clock, with the first game of the double-header going about three hours on Friday night.
The Gators ran into a big, strong physical team in the Station Camp Bison, the Gallatin, Tennessee, based squad that rolled to a 50-21 victory over Greenwood, sending Adams and his coaching staff back to work with an eye cast toward next week’s game against crosstown rival Warren East High School.
“I think we had ’em right where we wanted, in the third quarter,” Adams said when it was over. “Turnovers killed us. That’s a good team, that beat us … it’s a really good lesson, going into the Warren East game.”
The Gators trailed, 29-20, after junior GHS quarterback Tyson Howell scrambled into the open field and scored on a 60-yard run with 8:16 left in the third quarter. Greenwood’s Rudy Pardue added the extra point, and the Gatahs needed just a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie the score.
Senior quarterback Colton Overbey and the Bison had other ideas.
Station Camp running back Colin Gillespie, a three-sport standout for the visiting team, scored on a 14-yard run just three minutes later, putting the Bison in front, 36-21, at which point the Gators had to scramble to stay in contention.
Greenwood coach Tony Adams and his first-year offensive coordinator, Tanner Hall, even went for it on two fourth-and-short plays in the second half, turning the ball over on downs as Overbey and Company took control.
“I really didn’t want to give them the ball there,” Adams said, “but I think you’ve got to be able to get two yards, in those situations … We wanted to maintain possession, shorten the game, because that’s who we are.”
SPENT MUCH OF THE SECOND HALF
DEFENDING THEIR OWN END ZONE.
SCORES ON A 4-YARD TD RECEPTION IN
THE FINAL 90 SECONDS OF THE FIRST HALF.
DEFENDS AGAINST A STATION CAMP RECEIVER.
Overbey, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior left-hander, and the Bison stayed on the attack. Overbey found senior wideout Preston Farley for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 7:55 left in the game. And moments later, Station Camp linebacker Ocoee Ellis pounced on a Greenwood fumble in the open field, scoring from 20 yards out to account for the final margin.
Overbey, who has designs on joining the University of Tennessee as a walk-on player, was named the Cole Lumber Bowl Player of the Game.
“Personally, I don’t think I played very well, but our skill position guys were on top of their game,” Overbey said. “We have a big senior class, maybe 30 guys, and we’ve been looking forward to this year for a while … After (Greenwood’s) last touchdown, our defense was amazing. It’s a good momentum builder, for sure.
“On the bus ride home, we were watching (rival Sumner County high schools) the Beech and Gallatin (High School) games on our phones.”
Overbey found sophomore runnning back Sawyer Wyatt in the left flat for a 4-yard scoring pass in the final two minutes of the first half, extending the Station Camp lead to 29-14.
Overbey put up some strong numbers for the night, completing 17 of 25 passes for 293 yards and five touchdowns.
FOR A RECEIVER IN THE THIRD QUARTER.
IS IN HIS THIRD SEASON AS A
STARTING QUARTERBACK.
Greenwood quarterback Tyson Howell yielded to his backup QB, Eli Eubank, in the fourth quarter, after being sidelined with an injury. It was a typical Opening Night game, with cramps and other issues on the field, and Greenwood linebacker Trent Ross was treated for a possible head injury before leaving the field in an ambulance.
Greenwood coaches told the media that Ross had been released from the hospital, but it was that kind of night for the Gators.
It was an uphill battle all the way.
“I like how we responded, in the first half,” Greenwood coach Tony Adams said. “In the second half, (Station Camp) made some good adjustments, against our running game … Even in the first half, they killed us on third down (defensively).
“Kudos to them.”
DEBUT AS THE HEAD COACH
AT GREENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL.
SCORED ON AN 80-YARD RUN
IN THE FIRST QUARTER.
LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AGAINST WARREN EAST.
Station Camp received the game’s opening kickoff and quickly set the tone for the game.
Station Camp’s R.J. Jones burst through a gaping hole in the middle of the field, on his way to the end zone, before the apparent score was wiped out by a block in the back. Penalty flags were fairly commonplace in this game, including a couple for pass interference that hurt the Gators’ chances down the stretch.
Station Camp QB Colton Overbey got his team in the red zone midway through the first quarter, and he found Bison teammate Ryland Keefe for a 17-yard touchdown pass in the left corner of the end zone. The extra point made it 7-0.
Greenwood running back Cesar Ortega found some daylight himself, on a draw play, before scoring on an 80-yard touchdown run with 5:45 left in the first quarter. There was a fumbled exchange on the PAT try, however, and the Gators still trailed 7-6.
Overbey needed just seven plays to guide the Bison to their second touchdown of the game. Keefe made a spectacular catch at the goal line with 2:46 left in the first quarter, and the extra point extended Station Camp’s lead to 14-6.
Station Camp then opted for an onside kick attempt, at which point the aforementioned Trent Ross was injured. The Greenwood training staff stayed busy on a warm night, and so, too, did the Station Camp sideline.
An interception by Station Camp’s Gavin Pennington stopped one Greenwood scoring threat in the second quarter. Overbey would then find Station Camp teammate Colin Gillespie on a hitch pass to the left side of the field, and Gillespie weaved through traffic before scoring on a 67-yard reception with 9:08 left in the third quarter.
Gillespie’s two-point conversion run made it 22-6, but a good kickoff return by Greenwood’s Max Isenhower, and a personal foul against the Bison, put the Gatahs on Station Camp’s side of the field.
Greenwood’s Tyson Howell found Isenhower for completions of 14 and 10 yards before the Gators got in the end zone for the second time of the evening. He slipped a swing pass to Greenwood running back Cesar Ortega on the right side of the field, and Ortega scored on a 5-yard reception.
The two-point conversion try was successful, and the Gators trailed 22-14.
A SINGLE SCORE ON THIS
TWO-POINT CONVERSION.
LOOKS FOR A RECEIVER
FROM HIS OWN END ZONE.
Greenwood’s Beck Smith made a nifty play on a sideline pass for an interception with about five minutes left in the first half. The Station Camp defense, however, forced a three-and-out and a punting situation.
Station Camp moved into the red zone before a critical penalty for pass interference, on fourth down, helped the Bison get in the end zone one last time before halftime. Overbey found Station Camp teammate Preston Meyer for a 4-yard touchdown pass with 1:30 left in the first half, and the Bison were on their way to victory.
The Tennessee squads made it a two-game sweep in the Cole Lumber Bowl nightcap, with Westmoreland High School using 15 points in the third quarter to pull away from Allen County-Scottsville, 43-15. AC-S (0-1) is on the road next Friday against Monroe County.
Monroe County traveled to Bowling Green on Friday and defeated Warren Central High School, 21-0.
TO WARREN EAST NEXT WEEK.
— LIKE THIS ‘MONKEY ROLL,’ FOR INSTANCE —
WHEN WE GO TO THE DOG PARK.