Greeneville Receiver Stewart Cool Under Pressure of Icy Reception During Greene Devil Win at Science Hill
by TREY WILLIAMS
TriCitiesSports.com
September 15, 2019
JOHNSON CITY – The notion at Science Hill that quarterback A.J. Stewart’s transfer to Greeneville would be addition by subtraction didn’t add up when Stewart’s new team visited his old one at Kermit Tipton Stadium on Friday.
Stewart, now a receiver, caught a touchdown pass and moved the chains with several receptions, recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass while helping Greeneville overcome a 21-0 first quarter deficit in a 33-24 non-conference victory.
“Right now I can’t even focus,” a smiling Stewart said after his first game wearing a visitor’s uniform on Steve Spurrier Field. “I’m bouncing off the walls right now. I’m beyond happy at this point.
“This was the big step that I had to get over. Now, my goal is that ring, that state championship. I’m working harder and harder every day. But this game – this was big for me. It was the most important thing, like, I couldn’t think all day.”
Greeneville didn’t appear to be thinking early on. The Greene Devils botched a handoff on the first play from scrimmage, and Science Hill safety Nicholas Copenhaver recovered at the Greeneville 12-yard line. It started a flurry of penalties, dropped passes and a near muff of a one-hop punt into the end zone that revealed a Greeneville team without its collective game face.
Four plays after Copenhaver’s recovery, on third-and-goal, Connor Batchelder threw a 1-yard TD pass to Braden Anderson. It triggered an eruption for Science Hill, which along with seeing Stewart donning green, was still smarting from a 42-0 loss at Greeneville last season.
And on the ensuing Greene Devils’ series, Copenhaver made a good read and returned a Drew Gregg interception 12 yards to the Greeneville 29. The ‘Toppers cashed in that opportunity when Batchelder threw a 6-yard TD pass to Andrew Kanady. Kade Hensley’s PAT made it 14-0 with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
Science Hill got good field position again after a short Greeneville punt and drove 45 yards in four plays, a march capped by Batchelder’s 20-yard TD pass to Anderson.
Greeneville was trailing 21-0 with 2:25 left in the first quarter. It was a reminder of the 21-0 hole Greeneville fell in against Anderson County in the quarterfinals two years ago. The Devils, of course, rallied en route to the first of two straight state titles.
“That’s exactly what I thought of too,” said Greeneville running back Ty Youngblood, who rushed for 97 yards and two fourth quarter TDs. “We knew what we had to do.”
Indeed, on the first play from scrimmage after the Hilltoppers’ third score, Greeneville sophomore Mason Gudger bolted 80 yards for a score. He added a 17-yard TD in the third quarter, one that was capped by Blayne Ferguson’s two-point pass to Will Albright to cut Science Hill’s lead to 24-21 with 2:31 left in the third quarter. Gudger finished with 163 yards on 20 carries.
“He (Gudger) is just a sophomore,” first-year Greeneville coach Dan Hammonds said. “He’s gonna be special. We may be getting him special right now. He made some runs with nothing there. He squirted through and turned a minus one-yard play into a 5-yard play and he turned a 5-yard play into a touchdown, you know, a 20-yard play. He’s got something special about him.”
Science Hill has an exceptional running back of its own in senior Chris Thomas. He had 21 carries for 97 yards when he sustained a shoulder injury after a 5-yard run that’d given the ‘Toppers a second-and-goal at the 5 early in the third quarter.
Thomas had also hurt the same shoulder on the last play of the first half. He didn’t return after the recurrence. The Hilltoppers went backward in two plays without Thomas and settled for a 28-yard Hensley field goal that gave them a 24-13 lead with 7:37 left in the third quarter.
Thomas’ backup, Malik Bowman, fumbled after a 10-yard run in the Hilltoppers’ following possession, and Stewart recovered at the Science Hill 42 with 4:54 left in the third quarter. Four plays later, Stewart made an 8-yard catch on a fourth-and-five, and Gudger finished the drive with the 17-yard run.
Two plays in the fourth quarter spelled disaster for Science Hill. The ‘Toppers had third-and-one at the Greeneville 37 on the first play of the final quarter. Greeneville stuffed the run for a short loss, not that it had to.
Science Hill was flagged for an illegal shift, and then got a personal foul after the whistle. Suddenly, fourth-and-one was fourth-and-16.
“They stuffed us,” Science Hill coach Stacy Carter said, “and we have a penalty there, too.”
The other dagger was a Greeneville kickoff after Youngblood’s 8-yard TD had given it a 27-24 lead with 8:22 remaining.
Mindful of a breeze beginning to pick up steam, Hammonds didn’t want to risk kicking deep with a kicker that usually produces touchbacks. A long kick return for a TD worried him more than a 70-yard drive, so he said he instructed kicker CeJ Jones to launch a short sky kick that’d likely produce a fair catch.
But the kick went only 12-13 yards, stunning seemingly everyone, and a backward bounce aided Greeneville’s recovery. Hammonds missed an opportunity to take credit for a gutsy onside kick. Granted, it wouldn’t have been a smart strategy.
“I would love to take credit for that one,” a smiling Hammonds said, “but it was supposed to land about the 25- or 30-yard line, and it went about 12 yards.”
Science Hill’s offense was sputtering, especially without Thomas. So everyone was wondering why Greeneville would attempt such a gamble while leading midway through the fourth quarter.
“I was too,” Hammonds said. “I just walked over (to the kicker) and said, ‘That’s not really where we’re supposed to put it.’”
On the third play after recovering the kick, Blayne Ferguson completed a 5-yard pass to Albright to convert a third-and-five, and Science Hill appeared to wilt. Two plays later, Youngblood, a physical, downhill wrecking ball, ran through some half-hearted wouldn’t-be tacklers for the 37-yard TD to conclude the game’s scoring with 6:02 left.
Hammonds noted strength and conditioning when Youngblood’s knack for finishing games emphatically was mentioned.
“And people get tired of hitting him, I think, by the time four quarters are over,” Hammonds said, “because he doesn’t relent whatsoever. And before it is over with, he’s banged and banged and banged until they get tired of tackling him.”
Youngblood is one of few Devils that is a third-year starter. Greeneville was hit hard by graduation last year, and Youngblood was all smiles after seeing a number of teammates thrive in new roles in adverse conditions and a hostile environment.
Ferguson came in after starting quarterback Drew Gregg committed turnovers on each of the first two series. Ferguson was 14-of-23 passing for a 172 yards and a TD – and no turnovers.
“There at first I think we tried to pull the ball there and it was open if we could get it out, but the ball’s on the ground,” Hammonds said. “And then we come back out and the safety makes a great read on that pick right there. We went to Blayne and he did great. We’ve got confidence in the way he’s played the last couple of weeks. We’ve talked all week about being ready no matter what, and I think it’s the classic example of just being ready whenever your number is called. He did a great job of taking care of the offense for us.”
Albright, a Tennessee commitment as a long-snapper, had five catches for 85 yards, and an interception he returned some 11 yards to the Science Hill 19 with Greeneville leading 33-24 with six minutes to go.
“The pick was big at that time,” Hammonds said, “because we were debating on what front to go on defense and what kind of coverages we want to go and how ‘prevent’ or how aggressive we wanted to be, and the first play right there off the bat in that series he picks it off. A huge play at the time. He made a couple of big catches down the stretch.
“That’s what we want. He’s a captain. He’s a senior. That’s what you want out of those guys. Everything didn’t go our way early, and we had some drops and different things, just plays we felt like we should make. And they just kept playing. The tide turned and he made a couple of great plays at the end.”
Stewart put the icing on the cake with an interception that he returned for what would’ve been a long TD if not for a penalty on the return. The Greeneville fans responded with a “We love A.J.” chant – a storybook ending on a night that began with the Science Hill students chanting “A.J. sucks” when their ‘Toppers led, 21-0.
“It’s a tough situation for him going against his guys,” Hammonds said. “He wanted to perform. Made a great play there on that interception, and to get in the end zone was special. I know we had a holding call, but I told him don’t worry about that. We’ll get some stickers up for that. It was great play by him. He played really hard all night.”
Youngblood didn’t appear surprised to see Stewart up to the challenging circumstances.
“That was his former teammates,” Youngblood said. “He knew everyone on that team. But he just wanted to be a Greene Devil. And I’m so, so happy that he’s our teammate, he’s my teammate.”
Hilltoppers coach Stacy Carter was left looking drained while lamenting another frustrating outing from a young team.
“We had some breaks early and we capitalized on those breaks,” Carter said. “And then we made some mistakes late there. And their onside kick and all that stuff, I mean, that’s what got us. And we had some short-yardage things that we didn’t convert that really hurt us about three times when we were moving the ball well. And then, of course, the fumble.”
For Youngblood, the victory was as simple as not being denied.
“I’m so proud of our team,” he said. “I’m so proud of our offensive line and our toughness. Our coach – everybody – just did their job, and it was consistent.
“Great atmosphere. A great fan base that we brought from Greeneville.”
Greeneville will host Austin-East for homecoming. Science Hill will host Jefferson County on Friday.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
Greeneville | 7 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 33 |
Science Hill | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
SCIENCE HILL — Anderson 1 pass from Batchelder (Hensley kick)
SCIENCE HILL — Kanady 6 pass from Batchelder (Hensley kick)
SCIENCE HILL — Anderson 20 pass from Batchelder (Hensley kick)
GREENEVILLE — Gutcher 80 run (Jones kick)
GREENEVILLE — Stewart 7 pass from Ferguson (kick failed)
SCIENCE HILL — Hensley 28 FG
GREENEVILLE — Gudger 17 run (Albright pass from Ferguson)
GREENEVILLE — Youngblood 8 run (kick failed)
GREENEVILLE — Youngblood 37 run (kick failed)
Greeneville | Science Hill | |
First Downs | 19 | 15 |
Rushing Att-Yards | 43-271 | 36-125 |
Passes Comp-Att-Int | 15-25-1 | 11-20-2 |
Passing Yards | 180 | 104 |
Total Offense | 451 | 229 |
Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 2-2 |
Penalties/Yards | 16-155 | 6-60 |
Punts-Average | 4-31.3 | 3-42.7 |