JAMESTOWN — There’s 10 seniors on Greeneview High School’s football team who will be doubly motivated to get a win Saturday night, Nov. 10 when the Rams take on Wheelersburg in the Division V Regional semifinals down in Chillicothe.
That’s because seniors Devan Hendricks, Collin Wilson, Jon Brakeall, Nick Clevenger, Ian Tamplin, Taylor Stinson, Kristopher Phillips, Clay Payton, Bryce Seigfried, Jaron Stoneburner and Chase Jordan have a chance to become Greeneview’s winningest senior class with a win.
“Our senior class, last week they tied last year’s senior class as the winningest class in team history with 37 wins, so they’re looking to get that one more to notch another record under their belt,” Rams Coach Ryan Haines said on Nov. 7. “Our 10 wins this season ties last year and the 1996 season for most wins in a season. So our seniors have a couple things that they’re playing for on Saturday. … They want to win the most games, and want to have the most wins in a season.
“They know it’s not going to come easy, by any stretch of the imagination, but that’s why we play the game.”
Top-seeded Wheelersburg will be a tough test, regardless of whether the Rams seniors are gunning for any records or not. It’s Week 12 of the season, and everybody’s won at least once to get this far into the post season. Couple that with the fact that the orange and black Pirates are the 2017 defending Division V state champions, and this season’s no. 1 seed from Greeneview’s region, and it just makes the task at hand all the more challenging.
Haines sees Wheelersburg as “fast with a lot of depth.”
“They’re coming off a 9-1 regular season and they won their (Southern Ohio Conference, Division II), a lot like we did. There’s a lot of similarities there. Their roster is extremely deep. They’ve got 77 players on their roster, and they’re talented across the board,” Haines said. “… Really, the thing that stands out to me the most is just how fast they play. That’s just a testament to their coaches and the kids not only being well coached, but they’re well schooled on what they’re expected to do. As a coach, I can tell you that knowledge breeds aggression. So all that stuff that they get to do on their defensive line — the shifts, twists and stunts — they do it seemlessly, because of how well coached they are.”
Haines said Wheelersburg quarterback Trent Salyers is adept at staying in the pocket and constantly looking downfield for his wide receivers. Area fans might have mixed feelings about one of those receivers. Six-foot-6 wide receiver Tanner Holden has verbally committed to play for the Wright State University men’s basketball team next season after graduation.
“Defensively, they play a 4-2-5 defensive scheme, that can move around and shift a lot. They don’t blitz a lot, because they don’t have to. Their safeties are a threat in the box, and they play the ball very well,” Haines said.
Greeneview, the no. 5 seed, will take on defending champ Wheelersburg at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 at Hernstein Field in Chillicothe. The winner will take on the winner between second-seeded Middletown Madison (11-0) or no. 6 seed Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (8-2) on Nov. 17 at a yet-to-be-determined neutral site.
