Devils air out pesky Cyclones

By Allen LaMountain
ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
awlamountain@starhq.com

   GREENEVILLE--Monty Python's Flying Circus couldn't hold a candle to the aerial display put on by the duo of Cody Baugh and Chase Greenway on Friday night at Burley Stadium. The pair struck for third quarter touchdowns of 64 and 78 yards through the air to snap a 14-14 tie and give the Greene Devils a 27-14 win over the Elizabethton Cyclones.
   "Chase is a great weapon for me," said Baugh, Greeneville High's senior quarterback. "He really went up and got that last throw I made to him. I didn't mean for it to be so high, but the ball was wet. He's just a great receiver, and the offensive line did a great job of giving me time to throw and keeping me safe."
   Baugh completed 16-of-24 passes for 284 yards and three scores, while EHS QB Ryan Curtis had a good game himself with nine-of-16 passing for 117 yards. Greenway hauled in five passes for 220 yards and two scores for Greeneville.
   Drizzly conditions prevailed throughout the contest, but didn't seem to affect either teams' ability to move the football, as Betsy battled the Devils to a scoreless halftime in which the Cyclones twice held on downs showing tough defensive effort.
   "The scoreless first half surprised me a bit," said Greeneville head coach Mike Zeller. "EHS really showed that they came to play, and we responded defensively. That tailback they have is a prospect no doubt about it. We knew we had to contain him because if he gets rolling on you it means trouble, especially if he gets to the outside. My linebacker corps did a good job of turning everything to the inside."
   EHS senior tailback Walter Brown was held in check by a swarming Greene Devil defense that held him to his lowest output of the season. Brown rushed 17 times for 69 yards and was kept out of the end zone for the first time this season.
   "Walter was a marked man tonight, no question," said EHS head coach Tommy Jenkins. "They knew they had to concentrate on Brown, so we tried to spread the ball around a bit more. I was tickled that the score was 0-0 at the half. I thought the defense played well and displayed great effort."
   After the break the third period was like a fireworks display on the scoreboard, with all the points in the game scored in that stanza.
   'Betsy took the kick and began at the Greene Devils 31-yard line, from where the Cyclones tried a bit of trickery that backfired when Lester Bailey took a reverse handoff from Brown but found himself surrounded by Devil defenders.
   Bailey was hit by Greeneville LB Daniel Crosby, who ripped the ball from Bailey's grasp. The loose pigskin popped into the air to where Matt Smith caught it and rumbled 28 yards to the game's first score as the Devils grabbed a 7-0 lead with the successful PAT by Garren Parkins.
   'Betsy responded with a nine-play, 62-yard drive that gave Bailey some redemption as he latched on to a deep pass from Curtis and scored from 37 yards out to make it a 7-6 contest. Craig Estep's PAT was blocked.
   Greeneville then fired back with a three-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a four-yard touchdown run by fullback Thomas Lister to stake the Greene Devils to a 14-6 advantage.
   Lister accounted for 148 yards on 21 carries on the night and Baugh knows what a weapon he is as well, saying: "Thomas did his usual good job tonight. One thing we have to have is him running strong to open the passing game, and he never lets us down."
   The Devils had been squibb kicking their kickoffs to avoid the speed of Brown and Bailey, who are 'Betsy's deep backs, but they didn't count on the speed and power of Vince Redd.
   Redd picked up the squibb kick at the EHS, and after bobbling it for a second took off right back up the middle, broke free at the Greene Devil 45-yard line, and cruised to a 69-yard touchdown.
   Curtis then found Brown for the two-point conversion that knotted the game at 14-14, but that's when Baugh unleashed his top weapon for the night.
   Greenway found himself completely alone as a blown coverage in the Cyclone secondary didn't account for Greenway, and he took a 10-yard toss by Baugh 64 yards down the visiting sideline for the touchdown that gave Greeneville a 21-14 lead.
   "We had Nathan Bishop in there and he thought we were in zone coverage," said Jenkins. "He's just a sophomore and those things happen sometimes. He'll learn from it. We found a good fit in the secondary in freshman Charles Peters. He did a nice job late in the game and he will see more playing time."
   After forcing a Cyclone punt, the Greene Devils struck again in the waning moments of the third quarter as Baugh found Greenway on a deep pattern to the home sidelines. Greenway outleaped 'Betsy CB Phillip Garland for the ball and raced the remaining 35 yards to the score that gave Greeneville an insurmountable 27-14 advantage.
   In the Cyclone series, Curtis seemed to have struck for a score when Bailey outbattled Greeneville CB Charlie Wilcox for the ball at the Devils 25-yard line, but Bailey was flagged for a pass interference penalty that killed the drive.
   "Sometimes calls happen that you really hate, especially on the road," said Curtis. "The thing is you have to do is put it behind you and keep your focus. I think we did that, but Greeneville just did an awesome job tonight. Baugh is a great quarterback, but I was always told that the point of playing Greeneville is the regular season was to prepare for them in the playoffs."
   'Betsy returns home next Friday night for a Mountain Lakes Conference clash with Sullivan East.