KINGSPORT - A lightning-quick West Greene start was offset by a relentless Sullivan North ground attack on Friday at Benny Compton Field. By evening's end, the result was a bruising win for the Golden Raiders.

Sullivan North captured a 35-14 win over the Buffaloes, ending a fine WG season at 7-4. The Raiders advance in the TSSAA playoffs while moving to 9-2.

"Turnovers hurt us and we needed to finish what we started," said Buffaloes' head coach Joe Case. "They're a good, physical team and we made some mental mistakes. But I'm proud of this team and we had a good season."

A trio of Sullivan North running backs went over the century mark in the game. Alex Fields, Doug Cook and Eric Pearcy finished with 109, 104 and 103 yards, respectively.

Justin Evans was 11 of 16 through the air for the Buffaloes for 101 yards but was intercepted three times, all by Chris Gilliam. Tyler Kelley caught six of those balls for 58 yards. Heath Starnes led West Greene's rushing attack with 14 carries for 49 yards. A banged-up Dalton Boles was limited to five carries and 34 yards.

Sullivan North bulled for 427 yards in the contest, all coming on the ground. West Greene finished with 204 yards of total offense.

It took all of 10 seconds for the Buffaloes to stun North in grabbing the lead. Eric James followed a solid wall of blocking before bursting into the clear for an 86-yard kickoff return. Brandon Marsh boomed the extra-point kick, making it 7-0 for West Greene.

Sullivan North failed to move the ball on their first possession, which included a hit-for-a-loss by Adam Shepherd.

The Buffs immediately marched into SN territory with the big plays being a 13-yard run by Starnes and a 14-yarder from Evans to Kelley on fourth down. The payoff came on a six-yard run by Taylor McAmis at the 5:02 mark. Marsh again split the uprights to make it a 14-0 game. The drive went 71 yards in 10 plays.

It didn't take long for the Raiders to respond, however. The Raiders drove 69 yards in 10 plays with four runs going for double digits. Alex Fields plowed for 18 and 19, Nick Woodard for 22, and Doug Cook banged in from 15 yards away for the score at 1:26. Arrick Blevins knocked the point-after conversion through to cut the North deficit to 14-7.

After a quick hold, Sullivan North methodically covered 80 yards in 10 plays to tie the game at 14-14 in the second period. The drive was keyed by masterful work from their offensive line. Pearcy went for 10, Woodard for 12, Cook for 10, and Fields' second and third effort was then rewarded with a score at 8:08 of the second quarter. Blevins' PAT evened the contest.

The Buffs started a march of their own into SN territory before Gilliam intercepted a pass just inside the 10-yard line.

The Raiders' offensive line began to assert itself in a big way at that point in going 93 yards in just six plays. Fields had a 14-yard gallop to set up his 36-yard TD sprint for the go-ahead score. The extra-point kick was wide but Sullivan North was in the lead 20-14 with just 1:49 left in the half.

WG managed a drive into North territory in the final ticks of the half but an interception by Gilliam stymied the threat.

The Raiders did reach the WG side of the field just before intermission as Pearcy took off for runs of 15 and 29 before time expired.

The second half began in similar fashion to the way the first had ended. Following superb blocking, Pearcy went for 12 and 19 and Cook added a 17-yard run. The nine-play, 68-yard possession was capped off by Pearcy's six-yard run at 9:01. Woodard slashed in for 2-point conversion as the Raiders' advantage grew to 28-14.

A big kick return of 44 yards from Boles gave West Greene an opportunity to answer but the drive quickly stalled. After an exchange of possessions, Gilliam came up with his third pick of the contest and a 53-yard return to the Buffaloes 12. Woodward bulled in on the next play at the 4:01 mark of the third quarter. The Blevins conversion opened the spread to 35-14.

West Greene answered with a long drive as the period came to a close. Boles barreled for 16 and 9 and Evans connected on three passes, to Justin Lawson, Kelley and Shepherd. Another interception by Gilliam, his third of the evening, put a cap on the Raiders' victory.

Sullivan North then slammed the door by controlling clock for much of the final quarter.