Decatur's Greenwell looking forward to final River City Rivalry game
Aug. 29—When it comes to the Decatur vs. Austin rivalry or Decatur football in general, family history can run deep.
Trey Greenwell is a senior at Decatur High School and one of the football team's most valuable players.
This week, Greenwell will play in his final River City Rivalry game, hoping to bring at least one more win vs. Austin.
"It's a big deal. Everyone that's ever played at Decatur wants to win this game," Greenwell said.
For Greenwell, playing in this game brings special meaning. Greenwell comes from a long line of Red Raiders — his grandfather, father and uncles have all put on the red and black jerseys.
"There's definitely always been a standard in my family, one that's always pushed me to play my best," Greenwell said. "But I've never felt pressure from it. Knowing my dad, my grandad and the rest of my family are in the stands watching just makes it more fun."
Greenwell says he has plenty of memories of the Decatur and Austin rivalry, going all the way back to his childhood.
"I remember playing them in first grade in tackle football," Greenwell said. "Even then, it was a big deal."
While Decatur leads the series all-time 37-24, in recent years Austin has taken control, winning eight of the previous nine meetings.
After longtime coach Jere Adcock retired from public school teaching and coaching following the 2022 season, and after one year under Aairon Savage, John Ritter is the new head coach and he's inherited a youthful roster that's experienced a lot of change.
That makes players like Greenwell even more important.
"That guy is just an old-school throwback player, a warrior," Ritter said. "He's one of the most athletic guys we have on our team and a hard worker, I think he played 75% of the snaps in last week's game. He's a guy that we want to get the ball in his hands and also a guy that we're really relying on with so many young guys."
Decatur fell in the season opener last week to Buckhorn 33-19, but Greenwell was a bright spot. The senior led the team in tackles with 15 and had a 60-yard pick-six as well as a 65-yard punt return for a touchdown.
"Having a guy like Trey that can do all those things takes pressure off the rest of the guys," Ritter said. "We know that if we want to achieve our goals this season, we're going to need some of these young guys to step up. But at the same time, Trey can make life easier."
In order to defeat Austin this week, Decatur will need great performances from Greenwell and others. Luckily for the Red Raiders, Greenwell knows what it takes to win, having been a part of the 2022 Decatur team that ended Austin's seven-game winning streak in the rivalry.
"We have to fix the problems we had last week and take that to get better this week so we're prepared," Greenwell said. "This game means a lot, it's for bragging rights, so I think you'll see us give it our best shot."
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