JAMESTOWN — It was not just the temperature bringing the heat Thursday night in a week two game for Greeneview.

Alex Horney was the hot hand Greeneview needed at key moments. Rushing for a career-high 232 yards and scoring four touchdowns, he helped propel the Rams to a 40-28 win against Waynesville at Don Nock Field.

Horney ran for the game’s first three touchdowns, including a 96-yard burst following a goal line stand by his defense that set the tone early on and allowed Greeneview to build a 19-point lead.

“It’s all on my O-Line,” Horney said. “They hardly get any breaks, they’re sweating … and it’s hot. And they’re doing their job. I got to give credit to them.”

When Greeneview needed to make plays early in the game, Horney was the answer. He began the game making a big play on defense by tipping a third pass for an interception to set up the Rams’ opening score which he snuck in at the goal line.

His length of the field run in the second quarter was an impact play that followed an impact series by the Rams’ defense which had just made a four-play goal line stand to keep Waynesville off the scoreboard. Before halftime arrived, Horney increased Greeneview’s lead by throwing a 45-yard bomb to Joey Giannoible before later scrambling out of the pocket by spinning off of a defender and reversing field to find the open lane into the end zone.

“A big thing we’ve always noticed with Alex is his high level of poise,” head coach Ryan Haines said. “He’s not a kid who tends to get rattled. He’s not trying to do too much out there.”

Horney continued to pick up big yards as needed in the second half in what played out as an offensive shootout after halftime. The Spartans scored on three of its first four possessions after the break, but never were able to get closer than six on the scoreboard as the Rams answered seemingly each time.

Chase Walker displayed his speed by breaking off a 60-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter to put Greeneview ahead 26-14. Early in the fourth, it was determination which shined.

On a fourth-and-two play with just over nine minutes to play, Walker received a misdirection handoff and took a lane through the middle of the field. Avoiding being tripped by his own lineman, he shrugged off two defenders grasping at him from behind before powering his way into and through a pile of five others unable to bring him down in what turned into an unlikely a 28-yard touchdown run.

Waynesville’s passing game quickly responded, though, to bring their deficit back to 34-28 with 7:25 to play after Alex Amburgy connected with Garrett Lundy for the second time as the duo which carried the Spartans to the regional title game last season attempted to lead them to a comeback win.

Greeneview attempted to chew out yards and run down time as the fourth quarter wore on. Facing fourth-and-two near midfield, Haines and his staff opted to go for it and keep the ball away from Wayneville. There was one choice they wanted to put the ball in the hands of, and Horney delivered with a tough three-yard run. He then did what he did best on Thursday, keeping the ball again on the next snap and racing 45 yards way from the defense to score again and put the game away.

“Huge game, really good win,” Horney said. “Not just the players, not just the team, but the whole town knew it was a big game. I love the support, I loved the atmosphere, it was all awesome.”

Haines said he was proud of his team for their mentality and the way they finished the game to hold off Waynesville. The Rams saw its defense only allow 75 total yards in the first half as the only score for Waynesville came after a 70-plus yard kickoff return that set them up at Greeneview’s two. The Spartans found success in the passing game to stay close in the second half until Jamarious Vinson’s interception in the endzone forced the game’s only turnover to secure the win.

Despite Greeneview’s 2-0 start and Wayneville’s 0-2 record, it would not be a surprise if the two teams wound up meeting again in the postseason depending on how the bracket would be set up. The Rams have now won five of the last seven meetings against the Spartans.

Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.