2002 Greenbrier Football · First TSSAA Playoff Victory

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2002 playoff season

Home Sweet HomeFirst home playoff game · first playoff victory Six Inches ShortCrockett County · Round 2 · 21–20 From the BoardsContemporary regional context from CoachT

← The Breakthrough Begins

THE GAMES · THE PEOPLE · THE MEMORIES

Follow the 2002 playoff run.

Begin with the first playoff victory, then follow the trip to Crockett County. The game pages bring together fan memories, film and clippings.

2002

First TSSAA Playoff Victory

Eight wins. Region 5-3A runner-up. The first home playoff game in program history. The first TSSAA playoff victory. And six inches from another.

Head Coach: Kirk WilliamsRegion 5-3A Runner-UpFirst Home TSSAA Playoff GameFirst TSSAA Playoff Win

8-4240 PF · 195 PA

Season opening. The clipping collection begins with a team that had been young in 2001 but no longer lacked varsity experience. Greenbrier immediately changed one old pattern: the 24–14 win over Donelson Christian Academy was its first season-opening victory since the 1994 David Lipscomb game. A 40-minute lightning delay interrupted the night, but not the result.

Act II · A region contender. Curt Williams ran for 186 yards in a 34–10 win over Sycamore, Greenbrier survived Springfield 16–14, and the Bobcats beat Page 18–13 to start 2–0 in Region 5-3A. A loss at Marshall County checked the momentum, but the season did not unravel.

Home playoff game. The 24–7 Cheatham County win clinched a playoff berth. Then Greenbrier beat Giles County 29–26 to secure a top-two region finish and guarantee the first home playoff game in program history. The regular season closed 7–3 with a 28–3 win over Montgomery Central; the contemporary report called it Greenbrier’s first undefeated home season.

First playoff victory. The pressure was real. Greenbrier entered the Lexington game 0–9 all-time in TSSAA playoff competition, including eight straight first-round exits from 1994–2001. The Bobcats answered with a 27–0 shutout. Curt Williams rushed for 111 yards, Josh Birdwell scored twice, and the program finally had its first playoff victory.

Second round. At Crockett County, Greenbrier fell behind 21–0 and then scored 20 unanswered points. With 2:30 remaining, Curt Williams scored from seven yards out. The Bobcats went for two and the tie; the contemporary account says the conversion was stopped six inches short. The 21–20 loss ended Greenbrier's 8–4 season.

7–3Regular season

27–0First playoff win

1,234Curt Williams rush yds

1,121Josh Birdwell rush yds

Two 1,000-Yard Backs

Curt Williams — season-ending contemporary recap: 1,234 yards on 211 carries. The clippings lists 100-yard games of 186 vs. Sycamore, 106 vs. Springfield, 173 vs. Giles County, 111 vs. Lexington and 110 vs. Crockett County. The later Greenbrier records also lists 115 vs. Page and 107 vs. Montgomery Central.
Josh Birdwell — season-ending contemporary recap: 1,121 yards on 172 carries. Primary-source 100-yard games include 169 vs. DCA, 115 vs. Cheatham County, 195 vs. Giles County and 124 vs. Crockett County. The later record also lists 155 vs. Montgomery Central.

Game film

Select any opponent to open that game's permanent page.

Game film is available for 10 of 12 games

Full-game film is available for 10 games and is linked from the individual game pages.

#	Opponent	Score	Result	Note
1	DCA▶ Film	24–14	W
2	David Lipscomb▶ Film	0–21	L
3	Sycamore▶ Film	34–10	W
4	Springfield▶ Film	16–14	W
5	White House▶ Film	6–31	L
6	Page▶ Film	18–13	W
7	Marshall Co.▶ Film	14–35	L
8	Cheatham Co.▶ Film	24–7	W
9	Giles Co.▶ Film	29–26	W
10	Montgomery Central▶ Film	28–3	W
11	Lexington	27–0	W	1st Round TSSAA State Playoffs
12	Crockett Co.	20–21	L	2nd Round TSSAA State Playoffs

2002 in the Clippings

The 2002 collection contains 49 items. The selections below cover the regular season, the first home playoff game and the first playoff victory.

**Older but wiser**The preseason story framed 2002 as a young roster that was no longer inexperienced after the difficult 2001 campaign.

**An opener drought ends**The contemporary clippings used “Streak stoppers” for the 24–14 DCA win. Josh Birdwell’s stat box shows 169 rushing yards; Curt Williams scored three touchdowns.

**Greenbrier 16, Springfield 14**Curt Williams scored twice, Luke White kicked a 34-yard field goal and Greenbrier forced five turnovers to improve to 3–1.

**A home playoff game becomes real**The 29–26 win over Giles County guaranteed a top-two region finish and the program’s first home TSSAA playoff game.

**Home sweet home**The clippings captures the celebration around a 7–3 regular season and Greenbrier’s first undefeated home slate, according to the contemporary report.

**0-for-playoff**Before Lexington, a local column laid out the weight of the moment: Greenbrier entered November 0–9 all-time in TSSAA playoff games.

**Making history**The newspaper headline reads: “Bobcats shut out Tigers for first playoff win.” Greenbrier beat Lexington 27–0.

**The first playoff win, by the numbers**Greenbrier rushed for 266 yards. Curt Williams had 111; Josh Birdwell had 83. The defense posted the shutout.

**Six inches**Down 21–0 at Crockett County, Greenbrier scored 20 unanswered. The late two-point run was stopped six inches short.

**Two 1,000-yard rushers**The season-ending recap gives Curt Williams 1,234 rushing yards and Josh Birdwell 1,121 — a pair of 1,000-yard backs on the same team.

“Making history.”

That is the clipping collection’s own headline for Lexington 27–0. Thirty-one selections are shown in the 2002 collection. The full 49-item record also includes duplicates, homecoming material, fragments and scan that belongs to 2001.

Browse the 2002 clippings collection →

From the BoardsCoachT Era · 2002

A 2002 Page–Marshall County thread adds Region 5-3A opponent context from the middle of the season.

Open the 2002–09 CoachT Era →

2002 COLLECTION

31 featured varsity items

Additional football material is collected here when it is not already displayed elsewhere on the page.

**Greenbrier Seniors Win Opener**DCA opener story; first opening win since 1994.

**Sycamore First Region Win**Sycamore 34–10; Curt Williams 186 rushing.

**Page Staying Perfect**Page 18–13 / 2–0 in Region 5-3A.

**Page Herndon Leads Win**Herndon leads late Page win.

**Cheatham Clinches Playoff Spot**Cheatham 24–7 clinches playoff berth.

**Montgomery Central Regular Season Finish**Montgomery Central 28–3 closes 7–3 regular season.

**First Home Playoff Team Photo**First home playoff week team photo.

**First Home Playoff Team**Senior reflection during first home playoff week.

**Lexington Playoff Preview**Lexington first-home-playoff preview/history.

**First Playoff Victory**Lexington 27–0 first playoff victory story.

**Playoff Celebration Coach**First playoff win celebration / Kirk Williams.

**New Era Column**Post-Lexington “new era” column.

**Playoff Bracket**Class 3A playoff bracket.

**Remember The Alamo**Crockett County second-round preview.

**Crockett Playoff Action**Crockett County playoff action.

**Two Point Conversion Fragment**Failed two-point conversion fragment.

**Crockett Action**Crockett County action photos.

**Curt Williams No Holding Back**Curt Williams senior feature.

**Dca Sidelines Column**DCA opener sideline column.

**Season Preview Team Photo**2002 season preview and team photo.

**Postseason Gathering Dec 11**Postseason team gathering photo dated 12/11/02.

INSIDE THE PROGRAM · 2002–05

From the coaching room

Staff play sheets from the 2002–05 run show the terminology and weekly preparation behind four straight landmark years.

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BOBCATS FOR LIFE · 2002

Names behind the season

Meet the players and coaches identified in 2002 season coverage.

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CONTEMPORARY COVERAGE

2002 in print

9 source scans from the season's newspaper file. Open any clipping at full size, or continue into its game page when one is linked.

Aug. 24, 2002

Seniors win the opener

Curt Williams scores three touchdowns as Greenbrier beats Donelson Christian Academy 24–14.

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Sept. 14, 2002

Greenbrier 16, Springfield 14

Roger Herndon's late interception seals Greenbrier's third win over Springfield in four seasons.

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Sept. 28, 2002

White House 31, Greenbrier 6

The Cat Classic report follows Gordon Keene's three-touchdown night.

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Oct. 4, 2002

Page at Greenbrier preview

The Patriots arrive for their first region test against one of Greenbrier's strongest teams in recent years.

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Oct. 5, 2002

Herndon leads comeback over Page

Roger Herndon returns after a hard hit and helps Curt Williams finish the 18–13 comeback.

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Oct. 11, 2002

Page follow-up

A second report records Curt Williams' 111 yards and three touchdowns in the region win.

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Nov. 2, 2002

Greenbrier 28, Montgomery Central 3

Curt Williams passes 1,000 rushing yards, and the win secures Greenbrier's first home TSSAA playoff game.

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Nov. 9, 2002

Greenbrier captures first playoff victory

The Bobcats shut out Lexington 27–0 as former players and the community celebrate the program's first TSSAA playoff win.

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Nov. 16, 2002

Six inches short at Crockett County

Greenbrier rallies from 21 points down, but the winning two-point try ends six inches short in a 21–20 quarterfinal loss.

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From the Boards · 2002

Only a small number of 2002 CoachT posts are available, but they show how Region 5-3A opponents were discussed in real time.

From the BoardsCoachT · 2002

NoDoubt·Oct. 2002·Contemporary context

A Page–Marshall County discussion references both teams after seeing them against Greenbrier and adds region-era opponent context.

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Open the full 2002–09 CoachT Era →

Season statistics · 2002

The numbers we can account for

Reported season totals and sums from recovered games appear separately. A game without a stat line is unknown, not zero.

Reported season totals

Player or team	Stat	Total	Source
Curt Williams	rushing · season yards	1,234 yards	View source
Josh Birdwell	rushing · season yards	1,121 yards	View source
Curt Williams	rushing · season carries	211 carries	View source
Josh Birdwell	rushing · season carries	172 carries	View source