Meigs County's Will Meadows (34) breaks a tackle by South Greene's Presley Gilliam during their TSSAA Class 2A state quarterfinal Friday night in Decatur, Tenn.DECATUR, Tenn. - While several things resembled last season's trip to the TSSAA Class 2A quarterfinals for Meigs County's football program, one thing was drastically different Friday night: the end result.
No. 1-ranked Meigs moved to 13-0 and into the state semifinals by bouncing South Greene 42-13 at home one year after being upset in the same round to end what had been another unblemished season.
The Tigers roared early behind a raucous crowd and an energized senior class that has gone 35-3 since a 4-6 freshman season.
"This was the last time the seniors were stepping on this field, so we wanted to do it for them," junior quarterback Aaron Swafford said. "We were really prepared mentally and physically."
Meigs forced a fumble on the opening kickoff deep in South Greene territory and recovered it. Three plays later, Swafford scored on a 10-yard run just 1:23 into the game.
The Tigers followed that up by recovering another fumble on the Rebels' next possession and again scoring in three plays. This time, though, Swafford threw a 44-yard pass to Jon Jon Beeler.
"It was great to get that turnover from the start," Meigs coach Jason Fitzgerald said. "We've struggled a bit on kickoffs this year, so that was a good start for us. These kids are just hungry. They really are."
Swafford added a 5-yard touchdown pass to Trace Corne in the second quarter to make it a 21-0 lead at halftime. South Greene (8-5) tried to jump back into the game with a successful onside kick to start the second half.
The Rebels took advantage by working down the field and scoring on a 25-yard pass from Levi Myers to Tristan Biddy to trim the gap. They tried another onside kick, but the Tigers recovered and then had a short field.
They responded with a clinical and efficient drive to march right down it. Swafford capped it with a 3-yard run.
"These guys have played a lot of football," Fitzgerald said. "They don't get shook. Nothing shakes them. We knew we had to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and we did that."
The defense then shut South Greene down to put the ball right back in the offense's hands, and Swafford walked in for a 2-yard score after another quick drive. The Mr. Football finalist finished with 97 yards to go with his six total touchdowns.
His final score came on a 39-yard strike to a wide-open Jackson Fritts to stretch the lead to 42-7 in the fourth quarter.
"I have to give it up to my receivers," Swafford said. "They made great plays, and the protection from the line was great."
South Greene mustered a good drive with 2:47 to play, punctuated by a 2-yard run by Myers.
Meigs will face Trousdale County (10-3) next week, with Peabody (12-1) taking on Waverly (10-3) in the other semifinal for a spot in the Nov. 29 title game at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville.
Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.
