Green Hill carries a share of the Region 4-6A lead into its Friday, Oct. 23, home game against Wilson Central at 7 p.m.
The Hawks (6-2, 2-1 Region 4-6A) are one of four teams knotted at 2-1 in region play after their 22-19 comeback win at Lebanon on Oct. 16, according to the Lebanon Democrat. Lebanon, Mt. Juliet and Gallatin also sit at 2-1 with two region games remaining.
Every matchup matters. A Green Hill win Friday would put the Hawks at 3-1 in region heading into their regular-season finale against Mt. Juliet on Friday, Oct. 30.
The Wildcats (0-3 region) have not won a game this season. Mt. Juliet beat Wilson Central 37-7 in a Week 9 region contest, according to Yahoo Sports.
Green Hill head coach Josh Crouch has leaned heavily on senior Will Butler, a Marshall commit who plays both sides of the ball. Butler scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 5-yard run with 3:14 left against Lebanon, then added the two-point conversion to put the Hawks up 22-19, the Lebanon Democrat reported. When Lebanon fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Butler recovered it.
"If we didn't have Will Butler, I don't know how competitive we'd be … Best player I've ever coached for sure," Crouch said after the Lebanon win.
Butler also threw a jump pass to Isaac Huitz for a two-point conversion earlier in the game and helped anchor a defense that held Lebanon running back Gyan Ezeta to 65 yards on 21 carries. The Hawks trailed 19-8 before scoring 14 unanswered points in the second half, according to Main Street Media of Tennessee.
Green Hill entered the season after losing 18 of 22 starters from last year's region championship team. Butler told the Lebanon Democrat that the team's doubters motivated the Hawks, who graduated 37 seniors.
Crouch signaled the importance of the final stretch back on Oct. 1, after a 48-0 win over Glencliff. "Now it's just focusing on Wilson County," he told the Lebanon Democrat at the time.
Two other Region 4-6A games are scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23: Gallatin travels to Lebanon, and Mt. Juliet visits Cookeville.
