The season is still alive for the Greeneville High Greene Devils and the West Greene Buffs, who will carry Greene County's banner into the post-season playoffs which begin Friday night around the state.

Greeneville is in the friendly confines of Burley Stadium where they will take on the Purple Pounders of Chattanooga Central. West Greene must go on the road where they will face off against the Golden Raiders of Sullivan North High in Kingsport.

All Friday night playoff games around the state begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $8. The time and admission is mandated by the TSSAA.

Greeneville Coach Caine Ballard's Devils rolled through the Blue Ridge Athletic Conference schedule, not being tested for the past several weeks. The opponent Friday night comes somewhat as a surprise, as when the brackets were first released last Saturday morning the Devils were initially scheduled to play Knox Gibbs.

But after the TSSAA received much feedback from coaches and administrators across the state, the brackets were taken down and reworked, and suddenly all four Chattanooga teams in Class 4A were moved to the East Tennessee quadrant.

That left the Devils taking on the Purple Pounders, and Ballard knows his Greene Devils are in for a battle.

"They are very good; big, strong ... their front six on defense looks like ours," he said. "They have one great linebacker and another one that's good. They are very athletic, as are all the teams in the Chattanooga region."

The Devils are 7-3 on the year with all three of the losses coming against some of the state's best in Sullivan South, Tennessee High and Elizabethton. Central comes into the game at 5-5.

The Purple Pounders started the year with four straight wins, but then lost five straight against some solid competition (South Pittsburg, Red Bank, Brainerd, Tyler and East Ridge). They closed out their season with a 35-0 shutout of East Hamilton.

"They had Red Bank tied 0-0 at the half, then things fell apart for them," Ballard said. "They took Brainerd and East Ridge to the limit, and those are good teams."

The scouting report on the Purple Pounders is that they like to run the ball, but their quarterback is a "slinger" who can throw it if needed.

"Their quarterback loves to run it," Ballard said. "They run a lot of misdirection stuff out of their shotgun."

The Greene Devils' attack is a more versatile one as they've shown the ability to run and pass the football this season. The running game was aided with the return of B.J. Spradlin last week. Quarterback Wes Quarles and wide receiver Rob Wright have proven to be a deadly duo through the airways.

West Greene has made the playoffs with a 7-3 record, their second straight year in the post-season and the most wins by a Buff team since 1981. It's the first time West Greene has made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

"We set some goals at the first of the year and making the playoffs was one of them," Coach Joe Case said. "It's the first time our school has been two straight years. We'ver never won a playoff game, so that's the goal that's currently within reach."

The Buffs and Raiders scrimmaged in preseason, and Case remembers that North (8-2) was very physical.

"I think they are a typical Sullivan North team in that they play physical football and will come right at you," he said. "They get after you on defense, too. They have a good football team. Their only losses this year were to Elizabethton and Daniel Boone, so that should tell you something."

The game will likely be decided in the trenches, with good blocking and tackling the key, and Case said turnovers are a "no-no."

The Buffs had last week off, which helped some players heal up some bumps and bruises, but Case said top rusher Dalton Boles is still a big banged up.

"The week off has its good things and bad things," Case said. "In years past it would have been better because we would probably have known who we were going to be facing in the playoffs. This year we never had a clue. You worry a bit about timing and losing a step (with a week off), but we've had a good week of practice and I think the boys will be ready."