Creek Wood, Greenbrier head into first region clash unbeaten

Andy Simmons
The Tennessean

Region football begins this week in the state of Tennessee, and it doesn’t get much bigger for Creek Wood than it’s first contest.

The Red Hawks, coming off a 27-20 comeback victory against Cheatham County, now have the daunting task of hosting Region 5-4A foe Greenbrier Friday. The Bobcats, like the Red Hawks, are 2-0, and will bring a stellar defense to Charlotte that has only allowed 22 points through two games.

“They are a very physical team,” said Creek Wood coach Houston Thiel.

“They’re well-coached offensively, and handle their responsibilities defensively. They do what they’ve been coached to do. Their offensive line is a unit that’s extremely well-coached.”

The battle in the trenches should be the most compelling part of this contest. The defensive line for Greenbrier will be a test for Creek Wood’s offensive line, who are no shrimp themselves.

“Their defensive linemen are really big,” said Creek Wood running back Sam Askins, who currently leads the team with five touchdowns to his name.

“But our offensive linemen are really good, so we’ll have them on lockdown all night.”

The Bobcats have a player similar to Askins in Micah Escue who can do a little bit of everything. Escue ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery last week against West Creek.

“They’ve got some players that definitely stand out,” said Thiel.

“Coach (Ryan) Sensing has done a good job with identifying formations they like to run. Our guys will be focused and have eyes on him. I know our guys will be in the right place. It’s just making the tackle and getting him on the ground.”

When looking over the region schedule, Thiel was certain the Bobcats would be one of the teams that could make some noise this year. Although he states it’s not the end of the world if the Red Hawks lose, he’d still like them to pick up their first region win of the year.

“When I sat down before the season, and looked at the region, I penciled Greenbrier in as one of the top-tier teams,” said Thiel.

“It’ll be a good test for us. Win or lose, there’s still plenty of region games after that. We don’t to put too much stock into it, but we have talked to the kids about it being the first region game, and how we want to start off right. I think they’re ready.”

Reach Andy Simmons by email jasimmons@gannett.com or on Twitter @AndyDHTN