MT. JULIET – It’s said that April showers bring May flowers, but for Green Hill’s Hawks, an early September downpour assisted in holding Summit without a score in a 20-0 win on Friday night.

A pleasant Friday evening that had a hint of fall in the air at kickoff took a sudden turn early in the second quarter when strong rain showers arrived and lingered throughout the rest of the game.

“I really felt like we handled the elements about as well as we could,” said Green Hill head coach Josh Crouch. “It was a torrential downpour for the majority of the game.”

An uneventful first quarter where both sides entered opponent territory but had drives eventually stall transitioned to the second quarter during a lengthy Green Hill possession.

A 15 play drive that took over five minutes off the clock resulted in the Hawks (3-0) getting on the scoreboard first with Caden Chandler’s 26-yard field goal with 7:56 left to play in the first half.

After a Summit punt, Green Hill established another productive drive that would lead to the home team doubling their advantage just before halftime. A career long 36-yard field goal by Chandler gave the Hawks a 6-0 lead with 1:19 remaining in the first half.

Attempting to find an offensive spark, Summit quarterback Mason McElhaney had a deep pass intercepted by Jason Grant with less than a minute to play before halftime. Green Hill’s try at a last second score before the break ended the half on a Kannon Burroughs 25-yard pass to Aaron Mattingly that reached the Spartans’ 11-yard line.

The struggles continued for both offenses in the second half as the rain continued to impact the contest.

Green Hill’s three-and-out to start the half was followed by another McElhaney interception that was picked off by Will Milner. Two minutes later, the Hawks turned the ball over on downs before getting it right back by forcing a Spartans three-and-out.

Still leading 6-0, Green Hill’s run heavy attack led to the game’s first touchdown early in the fourth quarter.

A 10 play drive that lasted nearly six minutes ended in the end zone on a two-yard run by Burroughs. Chandler’s extra point put the Hawks up 13-0 with 10:39 to play.

A bouncing, wet football on the ensuing kickoff was misplayed by the Spartans’ return team, which allowed Will Butler to slide on the soggy artificial turf and scoop up the loose ball at the Summit 18-yard line.

Five straight Green Hill rushing attempts led to a one-yard score for Burroughs’ second visit to the end zone in the game. The PAT by Chandler would be the last point scored on the night in the home victory for the Hawks.

With the shutout, the Green Hill defense has held opponents scoreless two weeks in a row while not having surrendered a point in their last nine quarters dating back to the first week of the season.

“I’ve been really excited about the defensive side of the ball because they have been playing so well all the way back through the summer,” said Crouch.

“They are a really close, tight-knit bunch and you are seeing it on Friday nights.”

Summit finished the night with 114 yards of total offense. McElhaney completed five of his 18 pass attempts for 84 yards while also leading the team in rushing with 31 yards on the ground.
Receiver Luke Oliver caught four passes for 70 yards.

The Green Hill offense produced 312 yards as a team. Burroughs went 14-of-31 passing for 133 yards and rushed for 125 yards on 18 carries. Mattingly led the Hawks in receiving with five catches for 51 yards.

Green Hill is scheduled to play at Wilson Central on Friday, Sept. 13 while Summit (1-2) travels to Murfreesboro to take on Blackman High.

The Tennessee Volunteers had a big win over the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Saturday night as the game concluded with a victory by 41 points. The offense found its true self in the second half as the majority of the scoring came in the third quarter as the Vols put up 17 points.

Some position groups are to be thanked more than others. So, let’s get into it with this week’s offensive grade report.

Quarterback: B-

Nico Iamaleava didn’t have exactly the game you’d hope for, as he did just a little over a week ago when he and the Vols took on the Chattanooga Mocs. However, it was good enough to get the job done. We saw tons of bright spots including a 31-yard TD run up the middle behind great blocking from the line up front. He had some solid passes as well including a 45-yard pass that was caught by Squirrel White, responding the possession after one of his two interceptions. Miles Kitselman and Holden Staes both had TD receptions from the talented QB placing a good ball in their hands.

The issue with Iamaleava felt like the jitters; at times, it seemed he was holding the ball a bit long. He also turned the ball over twice in this game one of which was not entirely his fault as he took a big hit in the backfield which resulted in the Wolfpack gaining six more points off of a defensive touchdown from Aydan White which went 87 yards to the end zone.

However, the other one you can discredit him for is that he was targeting Bru McCoy across the middle, and the ball was picked off by Bishop Fitzgerald early on in the game, resulting in a solid return of 29 yards. The mistakes made aren’t all that concerning as the good from Iamaleava still showed as he had three touchdowns on the day however the mistakes must be acknowledged.

Running Backs: A

The running game was rather efficient throughout the game as star back and third-year player Dylan Sampson was the headline back as expected as he finished the game with two touchdowns 132 yards and 20 carries on the day. His longest run was 34 yards, an electric touchdown that he bounced to the outside to inflict more misery on both Wolfpack players and fans. He was everything you’d hope for him to be as on average he was averaging 6.6 yards per carry which is very good considering his amount of carries due to Cameron Seldon not being available to go for this one.

This meant that the primary backup for the game would then be former “Mr. Football” winner in the state of Tennessee DeSean Bishop who had 42 yards on 10 carries. Not a bad night for Bishop who spent last season with a season-ending injury so to see him getting in the mix early on this season is huge and he stepped up big time with Seldon being absent.

Wide Receivers: C

The least impressive group from the contest was the wide receivers. This is due to the fact that a few players you’d expect more out of didn’t produce like you’d hoped. This starts with Dont’e Thornton Jr. who was coming off of his best Tennessee career game. Thornton didn’t get as many reps as some of the others. However, when he did he simply wasn’t producing. He didn’t have a catch on the day .

Next up would be arguably the most disappointing performance… with Bru McCoy. McCoy had the opportunity for a few big plays that didn’t his way. He could’ve had a two-touchdown day as on one he got behind a NC State defender but couldn’t connect with Iamleava. A second touchdown opportunity came in the form of a redzone opportunity when Iamaleava found McCoy and though he caught the ball, failed to keep his feet in bounds. McCoy ended the day with one catch for 10 yards.

Squirrel White was perhaps the bright spot in the unit on Saturday night, making a spectacular catch on a switch release down the sideline, diving to make the grab.

Offensive Line: A-

Overall it was a good day for the line despite Iamaleava taking a few hits in the backfield. NC State’s gameplan was clear from the start, they were going to pressure the quarterback, dedicating bodies to the box out of their 3-3-5 defense. It wasn’t a perfect game at all as Iamaleava throwing a pick 6 was in result of a bad snap from this offensive line unit. However, not allowing a sack is huge for this team against a top-25 team so you can’t rank it too low.

The offensive line’s best standout was former Miami transfer John Campbell who had plenty of pancakes that you’d think he was going to IHOP! It’s always good to see the Vols doing well against a solid defense up front because it used to be bad for years. The way this line has protected Iamaleava so far has been great. You just have to hope that continues.

The good news for this unit? You rush for 249 yards on 44 attemps, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, you’re offensive line doesn’t deserve too much scrutiny.

Tight Ends: A+

This group did an amazing job not only blocking and allowing the run game to open up but on receiving as well. Miles Kitselman was the biggest surprise here as he had a touchdown following a wide-open slip screen and a beautiful pass that landed in his hands from Iamaleava. This was one of if not the best play call of the night. Though Heupel designed and called another walk-in TD to new transfer addition from Notre Dame, Holden Staes.

This group is looking promising and this coaching staff as well as Iamaleava have done a great job getting them involved and it has worked early on this season.

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The inactive players for the Tennessee Titans and Chicago Bears have officially been revealed ahead of their season opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Soldier Field.

Among the inactive players for the Titans is safety Jamal Adams, who has been dealing with a hip injury and was ruled out earlier in the week. Adams was unable to practice throughout the week due to the injury.

For the Bears, receiver Tyler Scott and running back Roschon Johnson were both healthy scratches. Defensive end Montez Sweat and receiver Keenan Allen were both on the injury report but will play for Chicago.

Here is the list of inactive players for both teams.

Titans:
S Jamal Adams
LB Otis Reese IV
OL John Ojukwu
TE David Martin-Robinson
TE Thomas Odukoya
LB Ali Gaye

Bears:
WR Tyler Scott
LB Noah Sewell
OL Kiran Amegadjie
DL Zacch Pickens
RB Roschon Johnson
OL Bill Murray
DL Dominique Robinson

The matchup between the Titans and Bears is one of the more under-the-radar and intriguing matchups in Week 1. For Tennessee, it is the first game with Bill Callahan as head coach and quarterback Will Levis enters the second season of his NFL career with a chance to cement himself as the franchise quarterback. Levis threw for 1,808 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in nine starts as a rookie in 2023.

Tennessee also made a pair of big additions in the offseason, signing receiver Calvin Ridley to a four-year deal in free agency and acquiring cornerback L’Jarius Sneed via trade from the Kansas City Chiefs.

Chicago enters this season with much higher expectations than in recent years. Along with a strong finish to last season, the Bears added quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’ll make his NFL debut alongside Rome Odunze, who the Bears took with the No. 9 overall pick.

Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!