ADDRESSES HIS TEAM WEDNESDAY EVENING.
RYAN HUFF SETTLING INTO ROLE AS GATORS QB
Greenwood High School’s football team has come a long way since Opening Night.
The Gators gave up a 41-yard touchdown pass as time expired, with Bardstown’s Tyleeq Williams getting behind the Greenwood secondary to haul in Bryden Clark’s deep pass, in dropping a 20-15 decision to the Tigers on August 20 at The Swamp.
“That game has really motivated us,” Greenwood junior receiver/cornerback Tel Tel Long said.
The results speak for themselves.
AND RYAN HUFF. THE GATORS HAVE WON FOUR STRAIGHT.
Greenwood bounced back from the Bardstown game with decisive victories over Franklin-Simpson (36-13), Allen County-Scottsville (42-24) and Warren Central (49-8). Then, last week, the Gators scored the game’s final 14 points to knock off previously unbeaten Logan County 28-21 at The Swamp.
Greenwood’s Gray Price scored on a 30-yard run to tie the score, and the Gators went ahead for good on Lofton Howard’s 1-yard quarterback sneak with 5:48 left in the game.
“To come away with a win over a team like Logan County was substantial,” fifth-year Greenwood coach William Howard said after Wednesday’s practice.
Now the Gators are looking to prove themselves on the road.
Greenwood (4-1) travels to face the Glasgow Scotties, a KHSAA Class 3A semifinalist last year, in a non-district game on Friday night. Glasgow (4-1) is looking to bounce back from its first loss of the season, a 38-30 defeat at the hands of Hart County.
“Glasgow runs the ball extremely well,” William Howard said. “(Senior running back Keiran) Stockton is a good running back, as good as we’ll face this year. We’ve just got to execute and minimize our mistakes. Keep moving forward.”
The Gators’ players also are hoping to avenge last year’s 38-16 loss to Glasgow, when senior quarterback James Salchi was sidelined under the KHSAA’s COVID-19 protocol. Lofton Howard, the son of the Gators’ head coach and their short-yardage quarterback, had to fill in under center for the entire game.
TAKES SOME EQUIPMENT TO THE PRACTICE SHED.
On Friday night, he’ll have his more traditional role.
Lofton Howard, the WKU commit, is an outside linebacker who moonlights at tight end, quarterback and sometimes in the kicking game. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Huff has made significant improvement and people seem to be taking notice.
Greenwood moved into the Associated Press’ Top 10 for Class 5A teams after its victory over Logan County, and the Gators’ players believe the best is yet to come.
“We’ve got to win games like this,” Greenwood junior Tel Tel Long said, “if we want to be respected.”
“I think we’ve come a long way since our first game,” Lofton Howard added. “There’s a chemistry, on the field and in the locker room. We’ve put the Logan game behind us. Glasgow is very good.”
RUNS THE SCOUT-TEAM OFFENSE WEDNESDAY …
Derek Johnson, Greenwood’s running backs coach, ran the scout team offense for much of Wednesday’s practice. Sophomore quarterback Easton Jessie has succeeded John Carter Myers as the Scotties’ quarterback, and he’s had plenty of success guiding the Glasgow Wing-T offense.
Jessie has thrown the ball sparingly, completing 17 of 30 passes for 359 yards and seven touchdowns. He has not been intercepted.
Greenwood quarterback Ryan Huff is off to an impressive start, too. He’s completed 41 of 65 passes for 718 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has not been intercepted, either.
The Scotties make it happen on the ground.
Keiran Stockton, the Scotties’ 6-foot-2, 230-pound senior running back, is averaging about 13 yards per carry. He’s rushed for 754 yards and 12 touchdowns. Junior running back Gavin Neal has added 304 yards rushing, and Jessie has 138 yards on the ground while scoring four touchdowns.
Glasgow likes to control the clock with its Wing-T attack, and the Scotties did just that in storming past the Gators 37-16 last year at The Swamp.
It was a stinging defeat, as Tel Tel Long admitted after Wednesday’s practice.
TO DERAIL GREENWOOD 37-16 LAST SEASON.
“We’d like to avenge that loss,” Long said. “(Glasgow) scored way too many points in that game.”
Senior offensive tackle Brayden Rider believes the Gators are putting in more quality work in the film room, and on the practice field, and that it’s paying off on Friday nights.
“That’s the thing I see,” Rider said. “We’re more locked in. We’ve studied film better. We’ve put more work in, with the program.”
Kickoff for Friday’s game at Glasgow’s Hank Royse Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
AND THE GATORS HAVE WON FOUR STRAIGHT.