Our game of the week this week takes us to Mount Juliet for “The Mayor’s Cup” between Mount Juliet and Green Hill for what will be the 5-5A championship game. This is a budding rivalry, and this is the exact type of game that builds history and disdain between two schools. After 20 years of this matchup, we may be looking back at this one and reminiscing about the time The Bears or The Hawks clinched the district against the other in the final regular season game of the 2022 season.
Mount Juliet Golden Bears
MaxPreps Tennessee Rank: 62
Head Coach: Trey Perry (73-39 in tenth season at Mount Juliet)
2022 Record: 7-2
District Record: 5-0
2021 Record: 6-5, lost to Columbia in the first round
This team exudes a personality that I think comes directly from their head coach. They play a relaxed but confident game that allows them to be loose and make plays. However, with this play style, in the two times I’ve seen them this season, they lacked discipline. Whether it be penalties against Wilson Central, or the combination of a fumbled reverse handoff, a blocked PAT, and failure to cover a wide-open double pass against Lebanon, this team’s looseness is a double-edged sword. Obviously, with a 7-2 record and currently sitting in first place in the region this hasn’t held them down, but in a big rivalry and de-facto region championship game, you don’t have room for mistakes.
Green Hill Hawks
MaxPreps Tennessee Rank: 85
Head Coach: Josh Crouch (21-11 in third season at Green Hill)
2022 Record: 6-3
District Record: 4-1
2021 Record: 11-2, lost to Page in the Quarterfinals
It is impressive what Green Hill has been able to accomplish in such a short time of existence. This year their strength is on the defensive side of the ball as they returned seven starters from a team that made it to the quarterfinals last season and are allowing an average of 14 points per game. If they can be the more disciplined team and contain the Mount Juliet offensive attack and keep this a low-scoring defensive type game, Green Hill could find an edge as the home team.
Final Thoughts
With Mount Juliet being my home city, I have been looking forward to this one all season. I cannot wait to watch these two great programs represent the city in what will hopefully become a longstanding rivalry with a rich history. We’re not there yet, but games like this one are huge in that process. I think when we look back on this one we will be talking about an early lead built by Green Hill after some early mistakes from MJ that the Bears were able to overcome and win the district with a final score of 34-28
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