Week 5 Recap: FRIDAY NIGHT FEVER

By Brandon Hurley 

Sports Editor

sports@beeherald.com

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Greene County’s Xavier Hayes was in a giving mood in week 5. 

The senior defensive back wasted little time kick-starting his birthday celebrations, returning a pair of interceptions for a touchdown, springing the fourth-ranked Rams to their fifth straight victory. 

Greene County, a perfect 5-0 and off to a 1-0 start in district play, held Shenandoah to just a single total yard en route to a dominant 49-7 road triumphant Friday, Sept. 27. The entire defensive unit had Hayes’ back and gave him one hell of a birthday present as the Rams began their trek toward a Class 2A, District 9 title, sending the Mustangs back for a school-record low, negative 27 rushing yards. 

Hayes big night was more than a month in the making. The three-year starter had sat out the first two games of 2019. He was itching to explode back on the scene and he did just that, powering the Rams to their 13th victory in their last 14 regular season games. It’s a remarkable streak which includes a string of eight straight triumphs dating back to Sept. 28, 2018. 

For a bit of perspective, in the two years prior, Greene County endured a stretch of 16 regular season losses in 18 games from 2016 to 2017. 

That’s quite a turnaround. 

Greene County head coach Caden Duncan was waiting to unleash Hayes’ potential last week prior to the start of district play. The senior’s versatility is what excited the first year coach most. 

“He’s a very physical and very gifted corner,” the coach said last week. “He can move and and he can play safety if I asked him to. He can play man, he can play zone. We know that he’s going to be more physical than 99 percent of the receivers that we are going to see. 

He’s going to match up with them, speed wise. He’s a weapon that (we) have in our back pocket on defense and it’s good to have him back.” 

Hayes now has five career interceptions after snagging three picks in 2017.

Fellow senior Tyler Miller, who is a star offensive tackle but also wreaks havoc as a defensive end, was ecstatic after Hayes’ two house calls. 

“It’s awesome. He’s worked his butt off the entire season,” the ISU commit said. “For him to come back and have a game like that, good for him because of the work he put in. He earned it.” 

The Rams have now held Shenandoah to a spectacular total of 32 yards in their last two meetings, including a ridiculous sum of negative 38 rushing yards across eight quarters. To say Greene County has dominated the Mustangs would be a bit of an understatement. 

The incredible week five performance was no doubt sparked by Hayes’ two scores. 

“(Scoring two defensive touchdowns) definitely sends a message that they are going to have a hard time,” Duncan said. “And it lightens things up on offense. We don’t have to press as much when in a blink of an eye we’ve scored 14 points on defense. It allows our offense to play more loose.”

Greene County held the Mustangs without an offensive touchdown, the second straight week the Rams have accomplished such a feat. SHS scored their only TD on a 95-yard kickoff return midway through the first quarter. 

The Ram defense held the Mustangs off the scoreboard the rest of the way, sprinting out to a 21-7 first quarter lead before essentially securing the win late in the third, entering the fourth with an insurmountable 42-7 advantage. 

The Greene County varsity defense has not allowed an offensive point since their week two matchup with Nevada, a span of 11 quarters across three weeks. 

Miller believes that nail-biting, 42-41 victory over Nevada is what ignited the defensive re-birth. 

“We’ve had a good defense before and I think coach puts it in our heads if we don’t (let them score) any points, then we have a really good shot at winning games because our offense is so explosive,” Miller said. “We focus on defense that way we can get the offense the ball and score points for us.” 

Riley continued his recent tear of late, completing 17 of 28 passes for 225 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers in Shenandoah. The senior is currently ranked fifth in 2A with 14 touchdown passes. Fellow District 9 foe Cooper Dejean leads the state with 19 scores. Riley has tallied the ninth most passing yards in 2A with 949 yards, extending his Greene County all-time record. Benton’s Clay Krousie is tops in 2A with 1,318 passing yards. 

The second-year starter has been incredible the last three games, completing 44 of his last 61 passes (72 percent) for 566 yards and 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Colby Kafer is now tied for second in 2A with 805 rushing yards on 88 carries, a staggering 9.1 yards per carry average. He’s also punched in nine scores after a 94-yard, one touchdown performance in week 5. 

“(Brent) threw four touchdowns to four different receivers with Carter Morton being out. That was cool to see,” Duncan said. “We had some other guys step up. Colby still found the end zone. I thought we executed well on both sides of the ball and we had fewer penalties.” 

Greene County looks to improve to a perfect 6-0 for the first time in school history and the first time since Jefferson-Scranton began the 2007 season with a 7-0 start as they take on Kuemper Catholic (1-4) Friday, Oct. 4 at home.