Blue Devils pick off four passes en route to Senior Night victory

By Luke Williams

Connection Sports

White House has played 65 games against the Greenbrier Bobcats, winning more (42) than against any other school and losing more (23) than against any other school.

But never before had the Blue Devils scored more than 50 points in the rivalry – until Friday night. White House ended the season with a dominating 52-14 triumph over the Bobcats on Senior Night at Dewey H. Whitson Stadium.

White House ends the regular season at 9-1 (6-0) and will host Chattanooga East Ridge in the opening round of the Class 3-A state playoffs, while Greenbrier’s campaign comes to a close at 5-5 (2-4).

Junior Bryan Dixon rushed nine times for 131 yards and two touchdowns, and junior quarterback Trox Greenwade was 6-of-8 passing for 134 yards and three touchdowns, as the Blue Devils were efficient and effective on offense. White House was perfect in the red zone, remaining that way for the entire season – and also did not turn over the football.

“We were very efficient tonight and there was a lot of emotion from this senior class and they came out and played well,” said White House head coach Jeff Porter. “To go 9-1 is a great year, but now our record is 0-0 and we are one of 32 teams and everyone has the same goal next week to make it to the round of 16.

“Now we begin the stretch run that everyone dreams about.”

Greenbrier quarterback Mason Head was picked off four times in his 15 passing attempts, by seniors Chad Neal, Chase Neal, DeMarrius Payne and Matt Parker. Parker also caught a 50-yard touchdown, tackled Zack Ziegler for a safety and had five tackles on defense.

Head was intercepted on the first play of the game by Chase Neal and two plays later DeMarqus Payne ran in from 11 yards with Matthew Gossett’s kick for a 7-0 lead. Dixon then scored on a 22-yard run minutes later after a Greenbrier punt, and Head was intercepted by Parker. Chad Neal then caught a 13-yard touchdown pass and Aussie Light hit Parker for a 22-0 lead in the first quarter.

Parker caught a 50-yard pass for a touchdown and DeMarqus Payne broke a pass at the line of scrimmage for 42 yards and the lead was 36-0. Ziegler broke a 61-yard run for the Bobcats to cut the margin to 36-7 at the intermission.

“They made a commitment to the pass and you can’t fault them for that, they felt it like it was their best shot to win the football game,” Porter explained. “They took a couple of shots down the field and we were fortunate enough to come away with the first one of the game, and it was like getting an extra possession. But the biggest thing it did was kick the momentum to our side and that’s what it did.”

With 5:46 remaining in the third period, Greenwade pinned Greenbrier inside the five yard line with an excellent punt and on the second play, Ziegler swept right and was corralled by Parker in the endzone for a safety. After a long free kick, Dixon broke his longest run of the season with a 78-yard burst down the home sideline for a 45-7 edge.

Greenbrier drove 82 yards and slimmed the score to 45-14 on Ziegler’s second touchdown run of the night, and the Bobcats star was held to 116 yards on 15 carries and caught two passes for 17 yards. Greenbrier ran 45 plays for 321 yards and White House had 453 yards on 41 plays.

The final touchdown of the night was the most emotional of the evening, as sophomore Brandon Nichols returned to the field after what appeared to be a career-ending heart ailment which took him off the roster and working as a manager.

But Nichols returned a kickoff 30 yards, and then on his first career varsity carry, darted 57 yards through the line of scrimmage and down the right side for a touchdown. After the celebration and a PAT kick by Tyler Pitt, the Blue Devils finished off a 52-14 night.

“It was exciting to see our kids come in and play hard and great to see Brandon Nichols back on the field,” Porter said. “Oscar (Callejas) got to kick off and Tyler has made all his extra points, and it was great to see Jacob Knight come in and made a big tackle for a loss on defense.

“I looked out tonight and we had 80 kids dressed and many of them got to play including some freshmen. This was a great night for those kids.”