DECATUR, Tenn. - South Greene didn't have much for Region 2-2A champion Meigs County on Friday night. The Tigers had plenty for their visitors, and they showed it quickly.
Meigs took care of business in the first half on the way to a 46-7 win in the first round of the Class 2A football state playoffs. The Tigers pushed their season record to 11-0 and set up a second-round meeting with Happy Valley, a 22-0 winner against Oneida on Friday.
All 53 points came before halftime, and a running clock made the final two quarters evaporate quickly as South Greene finished its season 3-8. For the top-ranked Tigers, it was an ideal start to the postseason.
"Once you've gone 10-0, you hope to come out and get off to a good start in the playoffs, and we were able to do that," Meigs coach Jason Fitzgerald said. "I was proud of our effort, and our offense played a great game in the first half.
"We just want to keep winning. That doesn't get old. When you work as hard as we do, you want to win that game on Fridays because you have so much invested in it. We have a lot of guys that want to be the best."
The offensive outburst was led by quarterback Aaron Swafford and running back Martin Smith. The pair had a hand in every point scored, and while Swafford took over in the first quarter, Smith made his mark in the second.
An 80-yard return on the opening kickoff set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Swafford on fourth-and-goal, and Eli Loden intercepted the ball deep in South Greene territory to set up Swafford's 11-yard score on the next drive.
Swafford, named a Mr. Football semifinalist earlier Friday, completed two passes for 2-point conversions to make it 16-0 less than four minutes in.
South Greene followed up with Levi Myers' 26-yard touchdown toss to Tristan Bitty to cut the deficit. The Rebels' scoring drive was aided by some penalties, but the Tigers were able to clean up their mistakes and take over again.
"We've been able to refocus all year," Fitzgerald said. "We're a young team, but we have some good leaders on defense. We don't start any seniors on offense, but two on defense - Jawan (Martin) and Dalton (Baker) - and they do a good job. Every game is just (the next one), and we try and take that attitude onto the field.
"Every play is just next, whether you make a mistake or not."
Swafford closed the first-quarter scoring with an 11-yard pass to Jackson Fritts and a run for two points.
Smith dominated the second quarter on the ground, breaking off runs of 24 and 61 yards for touchdowns. In between, Swafford tossed Smith a screen pass he took 65 yards into the end zone.
"Our linemen did a great job against their big men," Swafford said. "They had good size, and that's something we're going to keep seeing in the playoffs. We dominated the run game, and our big men did what they had to do and bullied people."
Smith finished with 108 yards on just eight carries, while Swafford rushed for 95 on 10. Swafford didn't need to throw much but added 89 yards through the air.