Greenbrier in playoff hunt
Tyler Dent stood on the 50-yard line after Greenbrier's homecoming game Friday night.
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Greenbrier's Eugene Rogers almost intercepts a ball intended for Wayne County's Michael Jones in the first half of Friday's game in Evans.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
With sweat and grass on his face, he smiled and said, "We're a pretty good team after all."
Dent had much to smile about after the Wolfpack moved into a tie for second in Region 2-AAAA with a 15-9 win over Wayne County on Friday night. The Wolfpack is now in the thick of the playoff hunt after starting the season 0-4.
For the second consecutive week, Greenbrier coach Mickey Derrick watched his team play a dismal first half and trail at the break.
But for the second straight week, the Wolfpack recovered and rallied to a victory.
The Greenbrier defense pitched a second-half shutout for the second week in a row after shutting down Lakeside this past week.
"I don't know what we are doing in the first half," Derrick said. "But if we win, it doesn't matter."
The Wolfpack received a 100-yard effort for the second week in a row from Dent.
Dent and the rest of the Greenbrier backfield played keep-away from Wayne County, allowing the Yellow Jackets only three possessions and 15 plays in the second half.
Wayne County's David Ryals trots into the end zone for his team's first score against Greenbrier.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
"When we are picking up huge chunks of yards like we did tonight, we are pretty tough," Dent said. "The other team can't score if they don't have the ball."
The Wolfpack, trailing 9-0 at the half, charged down the field on their first possession of the second half on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 6:42 and resulted in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Sean Gray to Eugene Rogers.
Greenbrier ate up another five minutes of the clock on a 13-play, 83-yard drive on its second possession of the half.
Gray scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak and threw a two-point conversion pass to Rogers to give the Wolfpack a 15-9 advantage.
Wayne County (2-4, 1-2) got a lift after a 52-yard run by Armand Jordan on the first play after Greenbrier took the lead. But Wolfpack linebacker Erik Smith stripped fullback Bryan Wallace in the red zone on the next play.
"I saw the ball out there and I just reached in and grabbed it," Smith said. "We all played great in the second half and that just happened to be a huge play."
Wayne County got into Wolfpack territory after a Greenbrier punt but couldn't convert a 4th-and-2 on the Wolfpack 16-yard line.
Greenbrier's Reggie Rice bulls past Wayne County's Demarian Attical for a gain in Friday's game in Evans.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Dent picked up two first downs and Gray took a knee three times to run out the clock. Greenbrier yielded only three first downs to the Jackets in the second half, returning the favor after getting only three first downs itself in the first half.
"We have a chance to be a special team," Greenbrier receiver Eugene Rogers said. "If we stay focused and play a complete game, we can play with anyone."