Indians use late defensive score to upset Oz
Plus: Highlanders are off to best start in 11 years with win at Union County
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Another road upset
OLIVER SPRINGS, Tenn. | If you’re “expected” to beat Oneida and are hosting the Indians as they’re coming off a loss, be afraid.
For the second time this season, Oneida responded to a loss at home by springing an upset on the road Friday night. This time, the Indians did it to a state-ranked Oliver Springs team, knocking off the Bobcats 21-14 in a defensive classic in Roane County.
Maddox Hutcherson forced a fumble in the end zone that Brady Burke recovered with 4:25 to play in Friday’s game, breaking a tie and lifting the Indians to a 21-14 win over the Bobcats.
Oliver Springs (5-2) had come up with a big defensive play of its own just one snap earlier, preventing the Indians from taking the lead with a Cooper Jones fumble recovery at the 1-yard-line to keep the game tied.
But Oneida (4-3) saw its defense come through time and again throughout the game, and this instance was no exception. The Bobcats had recovered a big fumble, but were pinned on their own goal line, setting up Hutcherson’s second sack of the night and the third of three forced fumbles by the Indian defense.
Oneida recovered all three of the forced fumbles — Waylon Hill recovered two of them — to help its cause against a Bobcat team that was ranked in the top five in the state entering the game.
After that final turnover, the Indians still needed two more stops to preserve the win. They got the first when three straight passes by Liam Boeke fell incomplete — Waylon Hill broke up two of them — then they got the second one when Jesse Zachary broke up a fourth down pass near midfield with less than a minute remaining.
Offensively, Ben Gilbert had another 100-yard rushing performance, finishing with 104 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Brock Ryon completed 10 of 15 passes for 129 yards and a score to William Hill. Grady Keeton caught five passes for 73 yards.
Oliver Springs wasn’t far off on the stat sheet, finishing with 258 yards of total offense to Oneida’s 296. But the turnovers were key. The Indians were +2 in that category, none bigger than the one that came late in the fourth quarter.
Oneida also dominated time of possession, holding the ball for more than 31 minutes, while limiting Oliver Springs to less than 17 minutes.
The win was Oneida’s seventh straight against the Bobcats, a streak that dates to a quarterfinal playoff game in 2011.
Game Capsule
First National Bank Player of the Game: Waylon Hill had two fumble recoveries and broke up four passes. He also had a 42-yard reception on offense.
Trophy Masters Lineman of the Game: Brady Burke recovered a fumble in the end zone to score what proved to be the winning touchdown.
Scott Morgan Farmers Co-Op Play of the Game: With 4:25 remaining, Maddox Hutcherson got a sack-fumble, Brady Burke recovered, and Oneida took a 21-14 lead that it would hold until the final horn.
The Game Was Over When: Jesse Zachary broke up a pass on fourth and four from the Oneida 48-yard-line with 45 seconds remaining to force the ball over on downs with the Indians up 21-14.
Scoring Summary: Jaxon Jett 13-yard run (Bryson Goodman kick) … Brock Ryon 6-yard pass to William Hill (Amauren Kidd kick) … Liam Boeke 67-yard pass to Jett (Goodman kick) … Ben Gilbert 3-yard run (Kidd kick) … Brady Burke fumble recovery (Kidd kick).
Stats That Stood Out: Waylon Hill’s four passes broken up were a single-game career high … At 31:01 to 16:57, Oneida nearly doubled Oliver Springs’ time of possession.
What the Analysts Said: “Our defense was lights out in the second half. What more can you say other than a tremendous game by Oneida. Great response after the loss last week.” — John L. Strunk.
What the Coach Said: “We were hanging around in the game. We had some things happen. We seem to like adversity a lot sometimes, but we stayed together tonight. We kept fighting. We’re getting better. I told them, the key is, we just gotta get better every week. The wins and losses will take care of themselves … we gave a great effort, the kids played hard, and we were able to get the win there at the end.” — Jimmy May.
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Highlanders down Union County, 28-6, to run record to 5-1
MAYNARDVILLE, Tenn. | When a team has beaten you in back-to-back years in the most excruciating fashion possible, a win over that team isn’t going to feel disappointing, no matter how you get it. And for Scott High, a 28-6 win over Union County on Friday was not one to apologize for, although most would’ve likely expected the game to be a bit more lopsided against a Patriots team that had already been mercy-ruled four times this season.
The Highlanders were not nearly as crisp on either side of the ball as they were a week earlier when they exploded to a 50-0 halftime lead over Cumberland Gap. Still, the game was never at all in doubt, and Scott led 28-0 before Union County broke through for a touchdown in the second half.
With the win, Scott High (5-1) is guaranteed at least a .500 finish to the season for the first time since 2016, which ended at 8-4. That 2016 season also marked the last time the Highlanders made the playoffs, a task they will turn their attention to next, with back-to-back games at home against Kingston and Meigs County that will go a long way toward determining their postseason fate.
Neither of those games will be easy — Kingston is coming off a win over a McMinn Central team that the Highlanders fell to last month, and Meigs County is one of the top Class 3A teams in the state. Nevertheless, Scott is in a place it has not been in a long time. The 2016 team won six straight games after a 2-3 start to the season. The last time a Highlander team started a season 5-1, was 2014 — when, ironically, they also started the season with a win over McCreary Central and then defeated Union County for their fifth win.
Friday’s game was a bit of an anomaly in this year’s 5-1 start in that, for the first time all season, the Highlander passing game was basically halted by Union County’s defense. On the flip side, however, the Patriots (1-6) were unable to stop Scott High’s running game. Michael Bond had nearly 100 yards by halftime (finishing with 98 and a touchdown) before setting out the second half as a precaution after being slightly banged up. The Highlanders then turned to Desmond Bowling, who had 96 yards and two scores. Lucas Newport finished with 53 yards despite having a 78-yard touchdown run called back by a penalty.
The Highlanders finished with 395 yards of offense, of which 284 came on the ground.
Gage Privett finished 9 of 16 through the air for 111 yards.
The Highlanders were up 21-0 at the half, after touchdown runs by Privett, Bond and Bowling. Union County opened the second half by putting together their best drive of the game. But the drive ended when Brett Hall intercepted a pass on the goal line, setting up a 99-yard scoring drive by the Highlander offense that coach Billy Hall would later call one of the team’s best of the season. It finished with a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Bowling to cap the scoring.
Union County responded to Scott’s 99-yard drive with an excellent kickoff return, setting up a fourth down touchdown pass from Braden Beasley to Brandon Reed.
Game Capsule
First National Bank Player of the Game: Desmond Bowling finished with 96 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries on offense, and was also among the team leaders on defense.
Trophy Masters Lineman of the Game: Mason Lewallen had an excellent game on both sides of the ball, and delivered several punishing blows on defense.
Scott Morgan Farmers Co-Op Play of the Game: In the third quarter, Lucas Newport broke multiple tackles on a run to the 1-yard-line. He was ruled down just short of the goal line, but the run set up a touchdown by Desmond Bowling.
The Game Was Over When: Brett Hall intercepted a Union County pass at the 1-yard-line in the third quarter, ending a scoring threat by the Patriots and giving the ball to the Highlander offense, which drove 99 yards for a score to put the game away.
Scoring Summary: Gage Privett 2-yard run (Justyn Lynch kick) … Michael Bond 18-yard run (Lynch kick) … Desmond Bowling 7-yard run (Lynch kick) … Bowling 1-yard run (Lynch kick) … Braden Beasley 8-yard pass to Brandon Reed (kick failed).
Stats That Stood Out: Scott High finished with a season-high 284 yards on the ground, averaging 8.9 yards per carry.
What the Coach Said: “We challenged them all week, let’s have a game where we just dominate up front from start to finish. I think they accepted the challenge and they just went out and stepped up and played … We tried to just take what they gave us underneath, manage the game and keep the clock rolling, and get out of here as healthy as we could with the win … It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.” — Billy Hall.
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Playoff Outlook: The postseason begins to take shape
More than halfway through the Tennessee high school football season, the postseason outlook is starting to take shape as a pecking order becomes clear among the state’s football programs.
At 4-3 and 5-1, Oneida and Scott High are firmly in the race for the postseason, though there’s still much to be sorted out. The Indians are off this week, while Scott High will begin a crucial stretch of region games with a visit from rival Kingston.
ONEIDA, CLASS 2A
For Oneida, the postseason heading into the bye week is the same as it was entering the season back in August: with only four teams in their region, the Indians know they’re in the playoffs; the battle is for the right to host a playoff game in the first round.
Oneida has taken a big step in that direction with a 24-14 win at Tellico Plains back on Sept. 14. Many viewed the Bears as the team to beat in Region 2-2A coming into the season, but they’ve taken a beating after a 3-0 start, losing three consecutive games.
The most recent loss by Tellico Plains was a 33-7 loss to Eagleton on Friday — a loss that comes awfully close to ending their hopes of hosting a postseason game. The Royals, certainly not overlooked by most as the season began, would now be considered by many as the Region 2 favorite, and a Thursday night, regular season finale against Oneida in Maryville looms especially large.
However, while that Oct. 30 game could very well be for the regular season region championship, it might not matter much in the race for a home playoff game. The Indians can lock that down with a win against visiting Polk County on Oct. 24. It’s been an up-and-down season for the Wildcats, who defeated the Indians last season and will be hoping to spoil Oneida’s hopes of a home playoff game this year. They started the season 0-2 but have rebounded to 3-4 with wins over Sequoyah, Sweetwater and Pigeon Forge.
SCOTT, CLASS 3A
Things are decidedly more complicated in Region 2-3A, in part because there are six teams jockying for four playoff spots with not a lot of noticeable separation between them.
Meigs County appears to be the clear-cut frontrunner in the region, after jumping out to a 2-0 start in league plays with wins over McMinn Central (29-8) and Sweetwater (44-14). That’s exactly the way most folks would’ve pegged it coming into the season.
Behind Meigs County, though, things get complicated quickly. Kingston, Sweetwater and Scott each have one region loss, as things stand now, with McMinn Central and Austin-East behind them.
Sweetwater has a leg up among those three teams, owning a 21-19 win over Kingston on Sept. 19. But McMinn Central, which would be on the outside looking in if the regular season ended today, has a win over Scott High (41-14) that could wind up acting as a spoiler, depending on how everything shakes out.
This week’s rivalry game at Highlander Stadium will go a long way toward helping decide the pecking order in Region 2, as Scott hosts Kingston. Both the Highlanders and the Yellow Jackets are still in the running to not only host a postseason game but to win the region championship.
It’s a bit ironic that Scott lost Alcoa as a region foe and saw its league get tougher, but that is exactly what happened, when the new Region 2-3A is examined top to bottom. Last year, wins over Union County and Austin-East would have gotten the Highlanders into the playoffs. This year, Scott has beaten those teams by combined scores of 70-12 and has nothing guaranteed. That’s partly because Union County is no longer in the region, of course, but it just goes to show that things are more competitive in Region 2 this year.
For Scott High, the simplest math is to win out and be region champions. On the other hand, if the Highlanders drop games to Kingston and Meigs County the next two weeks, they could find themselves facing an Oct. 30 trip to Sweetwater with a playoff berth hanging in the balance.
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