Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By C.Y. Peters

Unaka’s playoff hopes suffered a serious blow Friday night at Goddard Field, as the Rangers were overwhelmed by North Greene, 44-6. What began as a promising evening quickly turned disastrous, with the Huskies dominating after a competitive first quarter. Unaka’s first playoff game was in 1985, and they have appeared in 20 playoff seasons since then, making the last five in a row. They defeated Greenback 44-20 in 2022.

The game opened with both teams showing resolve. Unaka’s defense held its ground early, keeping North Greene at bay. However, disaster struck when a blocked punt led to North Greene’s Thomas Darnell scoring the first points with 7:31 left in the first quarter. Despite this early setback, Unaka stayed competitive through the rest of the quarter, with both teams battling hard and preventing further scoring.

“We had a great start defensively,” said Unaka head coach O’Brien Bennett. “But once the momentum shifted, it was hard to get back on track. We just have to learn how to respond better when things don’t go our way.”

Unaka’s quarterback, Conner McKinney, tried to spark some life into the offense. McKinney completed 5 of 12 passes for 58 yards but threw a costly interception that stifled a promising drive. His counterpart, Ben Shutko, went 2-for-3 for 37 yards, trying to assist the offense where he could. The Rangers’ run game struggled to find its rhythm, with McKinney rushing for 41 yards on 15 carries, while Brynin Repass added 2 yards on 2 carries.

In the passing game, Micah Gray was a bright spot, leading Unaka’s receivers with 49 yards on three catches. Ethan Henderson also contributed with a 27-yard reception, while Ashton Fuller, Brayden Otey, and Repass combined for the remainder of the yards through the air.

While Unaka showed fight early, by halftime, North Greene had seized full control. The Huskies built a 20-0 lead, capitalizing on turnovers and missed opportunities by the Rangers. The game’s pivotal moment came early in the second quarter when Unaka’s starting quarterback, Brynin Repass, was sidelined with an injury. With Repass out, Unaka’s offense faltered, struggling to move the ball and maintain possession.

“Lots of mental mistakes killed drives,” Coach Bennett said. “We started with poor field position most of the night, struggling to field kicks, and then got ourselves behind the chains with penalties. Defensively, we let them off the hook in long-yardage situations on three drives in man coverage, letting our man go. Mental mistakes killing offensive drives and extending defensive drives, a blocked punt that led to a touchdown, and a pick-six—it’s a recipe for a blowout. North Greene is a good team; we knew they would have to help us out for us to have a chance. Instead, we did the job for them on too many drives. We finish with three tough Carter County opponents, so we’ll have to be a lot better executing our base plays and more mentally disciplined in man coverage moving forward.”

The Rangers finally found a glimmer of hope late in the second quarter. After back-to-back 15-yard penalties on North Greene, McKinney powered his way into the end zone on a one-yard run, putting Unaka on the board. For a brief moment, the home crowd was re-energized, but this would be the only highlight for the Rangers.

North Greene’s defense continued to dominate in the second half, completely stifling any attempt by Unaka to gain momentum. With Unaka’s defense wearing down, North Greene’s offense took full advantage, adding to their lead and cruising to a 44-6 victory. Unaka’s defense fought valiantly, with Draedyn Freeman standing out with five tackles, three for loss, one sack, and a forced fumble. However, the relentless pressure from North Greene proved too much for the Rangers to handle.

With the loss, Unaka’s playoff dreams took a major hit, while North Greene solidified its undefeated status in conference play. The Rangers will need to regroup quickly to keep their postseason hopes alive, but the challenge ahead is steep, as injuries and offensive struggles continue to plague the team.