Jim Mashek

While working the Greenwood Gators over.

South Warren left nothing to chance on a sweltering Friday night, crushing crosstown rival Greenwood, 42-7, in a game in which ninth-year South coach Brandon Smith could empty his bench after halftime.

Page’s 72-yard touchdown pass to South Warren wideout Tucker Sears, a fellow SWHS senior, in the final 90 seconds of the first half meant they’d be going to a running clock, for the third quarter. It was Sears’ second TD reception of the night.

From there, it was simply taking care of business, for the Spartans (2-1 overall), who are on the road next week to face Bowling Green High School (1-2), in a game that will help shape the landscape for the rest of the KHSAA’s regular season.

Tony Adams, Greenwood’s first-year head coach, was duly impressed. The Gators (1-2 overall) will play their first home game of the season — finally, over at The Swamp — next Friday against a top-flight Logan County squad. The Cougars improved to 2-1 on the year by storming past crosstown rival Russellville High School, 54-0, at historic Rhea Stadium.

South Warren’s Camden Page completed 13 of 14 passes for 214 yards and FOUR touchdowns, all in a half’s work, before yielding to freshman backup QB Hunter Holloway.

“Cam did a great job,” Adams said. “You know he’s got the big arm, but he was very patient. He spread the ball around, to his playmakers … he’s a good one.”

The Spartans missed a field-goal attempt — junior placekicker Kale Phelps was true on all his PATs — before South started to take control on Page’s first touchdown pass of the night.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Page hit South Warren running back Jamir Boards on the right sideline, before Boards made two decisive cuts on his way to the end zone, completing a 20-yard touchdown pass with 5:04 left in the first quarter.

South Warren’s defense was nothing short of relentless. The Spartans didn’t allow a first down until the game was out of hand, and Greenwood was limited to 72 yards total offense. Junior QB Tyson Howell found Greenwood wideout Max Isenhower on an 8-yard touchdown pass, midway through the third quarter, but the Gators did next to nothing on the ground.

South Warren coach Brandon Smith and his Dad, Chuck Smith, the Spartans’ defensive coordinator, unleashed a fierce defense one week removed from a disastrous showing in a 42-21 loss to Louisville’s Dupont Manual High School.

“Manual didn’t do us any favors,” Greenwood coach Tony Adams said with a wry grin. “We’re still finding the pieces. The kids have a good mindset … It’s a work in progress. We’re still establishing some roles here.”

Manual fell to 2-1 overall on Friday night, dropping a 27-7 decision to Lexington’s Frederick Douglass High School.

“We needed that. We got lit up, defensively (last week),” South’s Brandon Smith said when it was over. “I think everybody over there (on South’s defense) took it personal, but they also took accountability, too. They locked in, on discipline, and keys, and trying to take a step forward.”

South Warren running back Jamir Boards, a powerfully built 200-pound junior, extended the Spartans’ lead to 14-0 on a draw play. Boards took a handoff from Page and quickly found the right sideline, scoring from 26 yards out to put the wheels in motion for an impressive all-around performance.

“It was a good step for our team,” Page said. “We really focused on discipline, this week, in practice … Being mentally tough, that kind of thing. We left (the Manual game) behind us tonight, but we know it happened.

“We took it hard. We all did.”

Page used air-tight protection to find his receivers, and he moved the chains, himself, several times on the ground. Page hit South Warren wideout Coltyn Lyons on a hitch route, before Lyons found the end zone on a 17-yard scoring reception in the opening moments on the second quarter.

“Coltyn’s a dog. He can run, and he’s just a sophomore,” South Warren wideout Tucker Sears said. “He breaks tackles, makes plays … We came out on fire tonight. We wanted to put (Greenwood) in the dirt …”

Page got the ball to senior South wideout Tucker Sears — his football and baseball teammate since the 2022-23 school year — for the Spartans’ fourth touchdown of the night.

Sears weaved in and out of traffic — the Gators were without one of their key defenders, injured corner Ryder Lambert — on his way to a 43-yard touchdown reception with 4:50 left in the opening half.

“I think tonight was kind of a ‘re-set’ for our team, a regroup,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “You’ve got to look in the mirror, everybody does … and figure out what the problems are. Come out, practice better, and then execute on the field.”

That kind of execution set into motion the KHSAA mandated running clock for the second half.

Page took a quick three-step drop and unleashed a spiral of 60-plus yards, to teammate Tucker Sears, who got past the coverage on a post pattern before making the catch on his way to a 68-yard touchdown reception.

“I almost dropped it,” Sears said with a grin. “I got under the ball, caught it, and as I started to tuck it, I bobbled it a little bit … It happened really quickly …”

The Gators would get on the scoreboard with about four minutes left in the third quarter — again, it was a running clock, after the half — when junior quarterback Tyson Howell fired an 8-yard TD pass to Greenwood teammate Max Isenhower. Then, in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, South Warren’s Coltyn Lyons sliced through the defense, taking a quick slant from freshman quarterback Hunter Holloway for a 74-yard touchdown reception.

That made it 42-7, for the home team, and Holloway and his young South Warren teammates got a few more valuable snaps before it was over.

“Offense is a lot easier when you have big plays,” South Warren coach Brandon Smith said. “You want ‘explosive,’ you want big plays … We’ll come back in a couple days and start preparations for Bowling Green.”

Tucker Sears was able to put it into context, after scrapping with the Purples FIVE TIMES since the 2022-23 school year.

“Obviously, Bowling Green is gonna be a tough game,” Sears said. “The big thing is we’ve got to come back to work. Play with intensity. Good discipline. And then we’ll see where we’re at …”