Wyatt Rutgerson and the Greenback Cherokees won 27-26 over the South Pittsburg Pirates in a TSSAA Class 1A state semifinal at Cooper Field in Greenback, Tennessee, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. (Photo By Danny Parker)
Wyatt Rutgerson’s emotions rode quite the roller coaster last Friday night.
But who could blame him?
The Greenback senior all-purpose back just watched his team rally past South Pittsburg with a touchdown in the final minute.
Elation.
Seconds later, he stood at the 50-yard line of his home field thinking the visiting Pirates had connected on a last-second desperation heave to win the game.
Disappointment?
Maybe just for a split second.
“We actually thought he caught it,” Rutgerson said Monday. “It slipped through his hands and fell to his feet. I was just overwhelmed. I felt tears running down my face.”
But he and the Cherokees will have to keep it together for one more game.
Greenback won, 27-26, over South Pittsburg in the Class 1A state semifinals last week to advance to their fourth state title game in five years.
Now they’re in a position to win a third championship in program history and second in a three-year span. An 0-2 start to the season seems like a distant memory for the Cherokees (12-2), who will face Lake County (14-0) at 11 a.m. Central time on Friday morning at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.
“It was just a new team,” Greenback receiver Duke Stinnett said of the rough start to the season. “We didn’t have a lot of chemistry yet. But through those two games, we built a lot of chemistry.”
Hard to argue that.
Greenback began the season with losses to 3A semifinalist Loudon (54-20) and 2A state finalist Meigs County (27-20). After the second loss, Greenback targeted some mental errors that were preventing them from winning.
Derrell Bailey Jr. and the Greenback Cherokees won 27-26 over the South Pittsburg Pirates in a TSSAA Class 1A state semifinal at Cooper Field in Greenback, Tennessee, on Friday, Nov. 29, 2019. (Photo By Danny Parker)
“We had three touchdowns called back (against Meigs County) because of mental errors,” said Greenback lineman Derrell Bailey Jr., a Virginia Tech commitment. “It was an easy fix. After that, we all recognized the potential we had.”
Greenback enters on the wave of a 12-game win streak and an offense that features wideout and Class 1A Mr. Football winner Holden Willis (72 catches, 1,722 yards, 28 TDs; 3 rush TDs) and senior quarterback Braden Carnes, who has thrown 52 touchdown passes and is just 17 yards shy of 4,000 on the season.
Carnes spent his first three varsity seasons at Maryville. So establishing chemistry with new receivers was a must — and a must in a hurry; he didn’t know a single player on the 2019 roster.
“I think it started back in summer with all the work we put in: showing up to practice hours early to throw routes and working on timing,” said Carnes. “And also hanging out outside of practice. Becoming friends. I consider them friends but really my brothers now.”
Greenback coach Greg Ryan put much on Carnes’ shoulders, including a heavy dose of trust. That took a while to adjust to, Carnes said.
“But as far as Maryville to Greenback, Greenback will line up in double-tight one play and five wide the next. It varies,” said Carnes. “I have a lot more opportunity to check (into other plays). That puts more pressure on me, and Coach Ryan puts a lot of trust in me. That’s the things I didn’t have a chance to do a lot of at Maryville.”
Carnes has also had a chance to play some defense this season.
That’s a major difference dropping from 6A football to 1A.
Just how much he will play on the defensive side of the ball this week is still up in the air. He’s listed as a reserve safety on the two-deep heading into the title game; nevertheless, Greenback’s defense must get back into run-stop mode like it was a week ago against South Pittsburg.
South Pittsburg ran for 326 yards last week against Greenback.
Lake County averages 297 yards rushing and 4.7 rushing touchdowns per game.
The Falcons boast two 1,000-yard backs, who each average more than 10 yards per carry: Larry Tubbs (189 carries, 1954 yards, 26 TDs) and Tanner Snyder (131 carries, 1,457 yards, 26 TDs).
Tubbs is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior, Snyder (6-3, 235) is the team’s senior quarterback, and he’s also thrown for 1,252 yards with 22 TDs — and only one interception in 126 attempts.
“They didn’t just get here easy. They’re obviously a good football team, so we can’t overlook them,” said Bailey. “We have to go in with our game plan and hopefully have success and win.”