Greenville defense rises up after first-half shootout to down Westside

ANDERSON — Greenville and Westside, the two favorites to win the Region 1-AAAA, collided Monday in a delayed region football game that had more than 90 total points, and Greenville headed back home with a 63-33 road win.

The first half was a shootout. There was only one punt and five touchdowns through the first quarter.

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Greenville (3-3, 1-0 Region 1-AAAA) had an answer for everything in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 35-27 lead. It felt like the second half would be part-two of a classic shootout, but Greenville's defense had other plans.

“We knew Cutter Woods was a real precise quarterback so we knew we couldn’t give him too much time, which we gave him time in the first half," said Greenville coach Greg Porter. "We thought in the second half, let's put a little more pressure on him to see how he responds. And it worked out in our favor.”

Westside (4-2, 0-1) was held scoreless until 33 seconds remained in the third quarter.

Greenville applied constant pressure on Woods, and that kept Westside's offensive playmakers quiet after Jimmar Boston, Joshua Williams and Dequirous Robertson each scored a touchdown in the first half.

Greenville knew it would have its hands full coming into this game, but never shied away.

In the fourth quarter, after losing a fumble on offense, the Red Raiders intercepted a pass the very next play to set up a scoring drive to extend the lead to 56-33, following a Mazeo Bennett touchdown.

This game tested the Red Raiders, and they showed how well they can matchup against multiple threats.

“I’m proud of them, I’m responsible for it so I take the good with the bad with it," Porter said of the defense. "We still got some work we need to do. We’re still young on the back end a little bit but I’m very proud of them for the victory, you know. We don’t take it for granted, we’re proud of them. I always tell them to stay hungry and stay humble.”

While the defense rose to the occasion, Greenville's playmakers showed again why they're so lethal.

Minnesota commit Tyler Brown and running back Jayden Peppers, who stepped in for a hurt Jayvion Sherman, each had three touchdowns and Bennett hauled in two.

Westside hurt itself with empty possessions, and the defense simply didn't have an answer after the halftime break. In the second half, the Rams were outscored 28-6.

"It was a tit for tat game and we flinched first," said Westside coach Scott Earley. "Once we did that it's kind of hard to rein it back in."

Westside and Greenville will have a quick turnaround with another region game on Friday. Greenville will be up against Berea (1-5), but the Red Raiders have prepared for times like this.

"I never have (played twice in one week) but we work out at 6 in the mornings all summer," Porter said. "So, this is what we train for, you know. We're just fortunate we don't have too many major injuries tonight so we have an opportunity to turn it around.

"It's going to be a little busy the next couple of days ... The goal is to get two wins in one week which probably has never been done in school history, so I think we're intrigued about that."

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville football survives first-half shootout to beat Westside