Standing-room-only crowds are common at ETSU games at Greene Stadium, and don’t be surprised to see it happen when Dobyns-Bennett faces Science Hill there this fall.
Science Hill and Dobyns-Bennett will meet at ETSU’s William B. Greene Jr. Stadium this fall.
Dakota Hamilton
Standing-room-only crowds are common at ETSU games at Greene Stadium, and don’t be surprised to see it happen when Dobyns-Bennett faces Science Hill there this fall.
As if the century-old football rivalry between Dobyns-Bennett and Science Hill needed more luster, this year’s edition has a new wrinkle already.
On Friday, Nov. 1, the Indians and Hilltoppers meet at East Tennessee State's William B. Greene Jr. Stadium, a fitting finale for the 2024 regular season.
With Science Hill designated to be the home team this year, and the Hilltoppers already playing five other games at Kermit Tipton Stadium, driving 2½ miles to Buccaneer Country shouldn’t hurt attendance at all. In fact, with a seating capacity of nearly 7,700 plus standing room for another 3,000, it should boost crowd numbers if anything.
It won’t be Science Hill’s first home game at Greene Stadium. The Hilltoppers played their 2021 home opener against two-time defending 4A state champion Elizabethton there.
“You can get a lot of people in there, and the kids like that atmosphere,” Science Hill coach Stacy Carter said. “It’s a different deal. They really enjoyed doing it last time.”
Granted, Science Hill is seeking redemption on ETSU’s home turf, having lost that game to the Cyclones 34-15. Elizabethton finished runner-up in Class 4A that season.
Dobyns-Bennett, meanwhile, hasn’t played a game on ETSU's campus in 32 years. The 1992 Indians defeated Greeneville 27-13 in the Region 1 Officials’ Scholarship Endowment Bowl at the Mini-Dome.
You could theoretically say D-B has played at ETSU’s home stadium once since then: the Indians’ 2016 visit to Kermit Stadium. Science Hill and ETSU shared the facility at the time, until Greene Stadium opened the next year.
“I think we can fill it like we did last time,” Carter said. “It’s a benefit to the whole athletic program. Anytime you can help that, you can help everyone.”
Science Hill has won five straight and 11 of the last 12 in the series dating back to 2013, including a 2014 playoff win over the Indians. D-B had won 19 straight before that, between 1995-2012.
TWO YELLOWS, ONE MATCH
At its April 9 meeting, the TSSAA Legislative Council approved multiple changes to bylaws, among them punishment for ejections.
In soccer, players disqualified for receiving their second yellow card will now serve a one-match suspension.
The council also increased the fine for any coach ejected from a game from to $500, with a second offense costing $1,000.
For girls and boys basketball teams struggling to find non-conference games, the TSSAA passed a measure which could help. Starting in 2024-25, girls and boys basketball teams will now be allowed to play in three regular-season tournaments per year.
Next spring, the TSSAA will now sanction girls flag football as an emerging sport — with 15% of TSSAA members now either participating in the sport or having committed to it.
Rather than offering a state championship, the TSSAA said it would work to classify participating schools into district, regions and/or sections for a postseason invitational. Per bylaws, all emerging sports must go through a one-year trial period before a state championship is added.
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