By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

EATON — The Greenville High School football team started off their 2024 underneath the Thursday Night Lights going up against the Eaton Eagles at Eaton.

The Green Wave fought back from an early deficit to stay within one score of the Eagles, but couldn’t contain the Eaton rushing attack in the fourth quarter as Eaton pulled away late for a 23-7 win.

Head coach Sean Ford said he is proud of the team’s efforts in this game. The team didn’t give up after going down early. Greenville continued to fight until the clock struck zeros.

“I mentioned this all week. Football is an up and down game. Sometimes, the other team has a great plan and they take it to you. It’s all about how you respond,” Ford said. “I thought the boys responded extremely well. There’s a mentality switching. We got to find a way to put all four quarters together.”

On the game’s opening possession, Eaton drove down the field as junior Brycen Simpson scored a one-yard touchdown to put Eaton up 7-0. Senior Brandon Couch set up the score with a one-handed catch and got down to the one-yard line.

Just before the first quarter ended, junior Jon Hewitt kicked a 40-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Greenville slowly started to get comfortable in the game and the offense started to make some plays. Junior Aiden Manix was firing the ball down field and picking up yards with his arm. Soon after, junior Gabe Rammel started to make chunk plays running the ball.

Ford said this offense is a ground and pound offense that will strike with a big play through the air when the time is right.

“We got some big offensive linemen that we believe we can run the football behind. With Rammel behind them, we think that’s the best pathway to success for us,” Ford said.

Greenville couldn’t string together a scoring drive in the second quarter and gave Eaton the ball with about 25 seconds left in the first half.

Down at their own 15-yard line, Eaton picked up a few first downs to give Hewitt a chance at a longer field goal attempt. He missed the kick and Greenville went into halftime down 10-0.

The Green Wave carried the moment they gained from making some big plays offensively into the second half. Junior Lukas Thorp took a screen pass from Manix 83-yards for a touchdown within the first minute of the second half.

Just like that, Greenville made it a 10-7 game.

Greenville followed up that score with a fourth down stop at midfield to give their offense a shorter field to work with. But some key injuries struck the team.

In back to back plays in the middle of the third quarter, Rammel and Thorp exited the game with injuries. Ford said injuries are a part of the game, but it did hurt to lose their two best offensive weapons.

Greenville couldn’t score and gave the ball back to Eaton. Just like last time, Greenville got the fourth down stop at midfield to get the ball back.

Multiple players for Greenville stepped up with Rammel and Thorp out to help move the ball. Sophomore Titus Eberwein came in at running back and was able to keep the ball moving. Ford said they had guys ready for when their number was called and they did not disappoint.

Again, the Green Wave couldn’t score. This time, they were stopped on fourth down and Eaton got the ball back.

The Eagles took advantage of the stop as senior Cordis Berard scored a four-yard touchdown run to give Eaton a 17-7 game. It was Eaton’s first points since the first quarter.

The Green Wave defense did a great job in the second and third quarter containing Berard. They didn’t allow him much space in those middle quarters. Ford said the front seven did a great job filling the gaps as they loaded the box against the Eaton offense.

Eventually, Berard broke through and made his imprint on the game.

The Green Wave offense was marching down the field, looking like they were going to respond to the Eaton score. Down at the 26-yard line, Manix made his first and only mistake of the game by throwing an interception.

Ford said in a high pressure situation, Manix did a great job managing the game and making plays. He takes responsibility for the turnover.

“This is his first year being a starting quarterback. In the first game in the state of Ohio on television, the pressure was on him. He made some big time throws in some big time moments. Mistakes are going to happen. I’ll take responsibility for that one. We’ll fix them,” Ford said.

The Eagles drained just over four minutes of game time as Berard scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give Eaton the 23-7 win.

Greenville bounced back from the rough start, but couldn’t get that one score in the middle of the game to take a lead.

The Green Wave may have started the season 0-1, but there’s still a lot of good things the team can build on. They will have their next game of the season at Troy on August 30 at 7 p.m.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].