Cyclones fall short against Greeneville
Published 9:21 am Tuesday, October 31, 2023
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The Elizabethton defense led by Eli Guess (left) and Ben Adams (right) stops Carson Quillen in the backfield for a loss.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton running back Kaleb Holzer is tripped up after a modest gain on the run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Greeneville quarterback Corbin Cannon is brought down by Cyclone defensive back Kaleb Holzer.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone running back Zeth Mullins stretches for the end zone as Greene Devil defender Carson Quillen does his best to prevent the score.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The Elizabethton student body came decked out in their Halloween finest for the big showdown between their Cyclones and the Greeneville Greene Devils.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton's Kyron Smalls holds onto the jersey tail of Greeneville's Anthony Peterson after a kickoff by Elizabethton.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Zeth Mullins of Elizabethton works to the outside against the Greeneville defense.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Despite the loss to Greeneville, the EHS student body still found a way to have a good time at Friday's game.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The Elizabethton cheer team breaks through the smoke prior to Friday's kickoff between Elizabethton and Greeneville.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
With a Region 1-4A title showdown, the Elizabethton Cyclones were hanging their hopes on winning over their arch nemesis in the Greeneville Greene Devils to secure home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
Unfortunately, the Greene Devils came in with the same desire and after grabbing a quick 13-3 lead in the first quarter managed to stave off a late fourth-quarter rally by the Cyclones to secure a 23-13 victory over the home-standing Cyclones..
It was a disappointing end to Senior Night where 19 Cyclone football players were recognized with their families prior to the contest.
An interception by the Greene Devils set up the first score in the opening quarter as Cyclone quarterback Rhett Slagle was under a ton of pressure threw a pass directly into the numbers of Drew Armbrister to set the Greene Devil offense up in great field position.
Carson Quillen bulled the football over the goal line from four yards out for the game’s first score at the 8:22 mark of the quarter. The point-after was blocked and the visitors led 6-0.
Greeneville tacked onto that lead 1:11 later when Quillen found teammate Zac Chrisman on a five-yard pass and Quinton Brandon’s PAT was good to push the lead to 13-0.
Elizabethton’s Will Bowers managed to get some points on the board for Elizabethton when the freshman converted on a 31-yard field goal with 3:57 remaining in the opening 12 minutes of play to flip the scoreboard to 13-3 Greeneville.
The Cyclones got their only touchdown of the contest in the second quarter after effectively moving the football down the field on the running of Zeth Mullins who covered the final eight yards to pay dirt 9:46 before halftime. Bowers PAT was straight down the middle to make the score 13-10 at intermission.
Both defenses were stingy in the third quarter as no points were added by either team’s offense.
With the title hanging in the balance heading into the fourth quarter, the Cyclones finally managed to pull even for the first time since the score was 0-0 as Bowers blasted a 42-yard field goal from the right hash mark to even the score at 13-13.
Greeneville, however, wasted little time in seizing the momentum back as on the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Quillen took the football and bounced to the outside along the Greeneville sideline and raced almost untouched for a 79-yard touchdown run that seemed to deflate the air out of the Cyclones.
Brandon’s kick made it 20-13 with 8:45 still to play in the game.
After the Cyclones were unable to match the score, the Greene Devils added a Brandon 42-yard field goal to make it a 10-point contest, 23-13, with 4:17 remaining in the game.
Elizabethton was unable to respond as the Greene Devils wrapped up another regional title.
The Cyclones host the Knox Carter Hornets who finished 6-4 on the season and in third place behind Anderson Co. and Knox Gibbs for the regular season in Region 2 – 4A play.
Greeneville, 23-13
GREENEVILLE 13 0 0 10 — 23
ELIZABETHTON 3 7 0 3 — 13
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
G — Quillen 4 run (kick blocked), 8:22
G — Chrisman 5 pass from Quillen (Brandon kick), 7:11
E — Bowers 31 field goal, 3:57
Second Quarter
E — Mullins 8 run (Bowers kick), 9:46
Fourth Quarter
E — Bowers 42 field goal, 9:06
G — Quillen 79 run (Brandon kick), 8:45
G— Bowers 42 field goal, 4:17
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Game Statistics
G E
FIRST DOWNS 10 12
PASSING (C-A-I) 7-9-1 12-24-3
PASSING YARDS 91 94
RUSHES-YARDS 38-218 31-152
TOTAL YARDS 309 246
FUMBLES-LOST 1-1 0-0
PUNTS-AVG. 2-33 3-21.3
PENALTIES-YARDS 8-65 4-48
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Individual Statistics
PASSING — GHS: Cannon 6-8-1 86 yds, Quillen 1-1-0 5 yds TD; EHS: Slagle 12-24-3 94 yds.
RUSHING — GHS: Carson Quillen 23-160 2 TD, Cannon 8-17, Myers 5-31, Dickson 2-10; EHS: Mullins 16-101 TD, Holzer 10-30, Slagle 5-21.
RECEIVING — GHS: Quillen 3-29, Chrisman 2-8, Anderson 1-55, Goad 1-(-)1; EHS: Griffin 5-41, Baker 2-31, Mullins 2-19, Holzer 2-3.
INTERCEPTIONS — GHS: Armbrister, Lollar, Samples; EHS: Griffin.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES — EHS: Ben Adams.
