Running game proves too much for Evans

Greenbrier's situation couldn't have looked more bleak.

Trailing by four points with 80 seconds left in the game, Greenbrier quarterback Nick Richards threw a pass that was picked off by Evans' Brandon McCladdie. The turnover gave the Knights the ball and sent the Greenbrier fans, including the entire student section, toward the exits.

But the game wasn't over.

Greenbrier head coach Scott Chadwick, in his first game at the Brierpatch, used all three of his timeouts during Evans' next possession, and the Wolfpack defense forced the Knights to go three-and-out.

"What worried me was that after the interception, I thought our defense might let down a little bit, but they didn't," Chadwick said. "The defense did a phenomenal job on that series."

Greenbrier got the ball back with 52 seconds left on its 44-yard line. Nine plays and 55 yards later, the Wolfpack stood one yard away from the goal line with a first down and 1.4 seconds remaining on the clock. A 35-yard catch and run by senior tailback Freddie Jones and a 12-yard reception from wide receiver Tyrone Bonds on fourth-and-three did most of the damage.

The 10th play of the drive, a Nick Richards dive into the end zone, gave Greenbrier a 21-19 win over Evans and sent the Wolfpack fans into a frenzy - including the Greenbrier student section, which watched from the small hillside just short of the exit.

"I can't describe it," Richards said. "It's the most emotional feeling I've ever had on a football field. This is how football is supposed to be played."

The Knights, who held the lead for 40 of the game's 48 minutes, had a 10-point advantage over Greenbrier two times in the game.

Junior Coley, Kevin Millward and David Smith all ran for touchdowns and highlighted an Evans ground game that tallied 166 yards.

Greenbrier, however, scored two touchdowns in the game's final seven minutes. Wolfpack starting tailback Freddie Jones tallied 183 rushing yards and 112 receiving yards, and his fourth quarter touchdown brought Greenbrier to within four points of Evans and set up the game-winning score.

"He's a good back, and he hurt us," Evans coach Marty Jackson said. "They did a good job of spreading us out. We only had six in the box trying to cover the long pass. They ran the ball on us. We didn't think they'd have the success like they did up front."

Chadwick, who holds wins over Evans and Lakeside, said he intended to use the running game Friday night but was surprised at how well things went.

"I thought we had the kind of rushing offense that could complement our passing game, but I didn't really know we had the kind of rushing offense that could win the ball game for us the way it did tonight," Chadwick said.

The region win gave Greenbrier sole possession of third place in the Region 3-AAAA standings with a 2-1 region record.