Thrilling comebacks mark the first week of the high school football season
Scott storms back in the fourth quarter, Oneida beats Rockwood on last-second field goal
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A magical fourth quarter for Scott High
HUNTSVILLE | For a few perilous seconds with 1:22 showing on the fourth quarter clock, everyone inside Highlander Stadium held their breath.
Scott High quarterback Gage Privett — the junior from McCreary County who once seemed destined to wear the Raiders’ maroon and gold colors before his father was unceremoniously dismissed as their head coach — had just bolted for the goal line, stretching the ball towards the plane as he was being tackled.
The line judge trailing the play hesitated as he rushed to catch up, then signaled touchback. The ball had popped loose from Privett’s hands as he hit the turf, bouncing out of bounds in the end zone.
McCreary Central players celebrated. Scott High players waited. The officials conferred.
And then they changed the call.
Highlander Stadium erupted, and the only things standing between that pivotal moment and postgame light-flashes and fireworks were a Justyn Lynch extra point, a Carter Slaven interception, and a Privett kneel-down, as the Highlanders won their season opener for the first time in five seasons.
The end-of-game dramatics culminated a fourth quarter reversal of fortunes for Scott High, which entered the final period trailing 14-3. But back-to-back sacks by sophomore Braxton Potter — one to end the third quarter, one to start the fourth quarter — had flipped the script and the momentum. The second of the two sacks off the left edge resulted in a safety, sparking the comeback.
Despite being down 14-3 to begin the fourth, the Highlanders had played well. The offense had moved the ball with success — Scott finished the night with 306 yards of offense — but had been bitten by inopportune plays at inopportune times.
The first half had been all about ball control for the Raiders, and they did it well. After Scott took a 3-0 lead on a 36-yard Lynch field goal early in the second quarter, McCreary Central used all but 40 seconds of the remaining 10:47 in the first half to eventually score the go-ahead touchdown.
When the Raiders opened the second half with an explosive, 97-yard kickoff return by Darius Ridener to give themselves a 14-3 lead, things began to look a little dark for the home team — especially when Scott was forced to punt on its ensuing possession. Another 10-plus-minute drive by McCreary Central might’ve been enough to ice the game.
But the Highlander defense rose to the occasion. Scott head coach Billy Hall would say after the game that his team did nothing different schematically in the second half; they simply started playing downhill.
McCreary Central finished the night with only the one offensive touchdown, and only 162 yards of total offense. Fewer than 50 of those came in the second half, as the Highlanders clamped down defensively under the direction of defensive coordinator Eric Privett, who was facing his former team for the first time since coming to Huntsville three years ago.
The Highlanders’ 14-3 deficit as the fourth quarter began was a bit misleading because it wasn’t as if McCreary Central had dominated the game to that point. It was just that Scott had been bitten by a few inopportune developments. On third and less than a yard to start the second quarter, Privett bumped into one of his teammates in the backfield and was tripped up, forcing Scott to settle for the Lynch field goal. After McCreary’s touchdown with 40 seconds left in the half, Wyatt Lloyd found himself wide open behind the defensive back on a vertical route, but the pass reception carried him out of bounds just short of the goal line. On the next play, McCreary Central made a stop at the line of scrimmage and the Highlanders were powerless to stop the clock.
Once the script flipped, though, the game continued to be about individual plays — this time going the Highlanders’ way. A 51-yard punt by Houston Stanley backed McCreary Central up, leading to the back-to-back sacks by Potter that forced a safety and gave the Highlanders the ball back. Lynch banged home his second field goal of the night on a 22-yard try to make it 14-8. Jaigen Morgan snagged a 50-yard catch-and-run to set up the game-winning touchdown.
And, finally, Privett scrambled to the end zone to cap the best night of his career. He finished 11 of 20 through the air for 187 yards and looked confident and poised as he bounced back from an early interception to lead his team to victory against his father’s former school.
GAME CAPSULE
Scott Farmers Co-Op Play of the Game: Gage Privett’s 8-yard scramble to the end zone with 1:22 to play in the game, for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.
First National Bank Player of the Game: Michael Bond, back into the lineup after suffering an ankle injury last season, accumulated nearly 100 yards of offense, including 56 yards on the ground and a 37-yard pass reception.
Trophy Masters Lineman of the Game: Defensive end Braxton Potter, a sophomore, had back-to-back sacks to end the third quarter and start the fourth quarter. The second resulted in a safety, cutting the deficit to 14-5 and giving the Highlanders possession.
The game was over when: Carter Slaven intercepted a McCreary Central deep pass and returned it into Raider territory, setting up the victory formation for the Highlander offense.
Talk about redemption: Jaigen Morgan couldn’t come up with the last two passes that had been thrown his way, one of which would’ve been a touchdown. But he came up big when it mattered most, snagging a 50-yard reception to set up the game-winning score.
Break-out game: Senior Lucas Newport was Privett’s favorite target, with four catches for 33 yards.
What the coach said: “I couldn’t be more proud of this group. They attack everything, every single day. They never argue back and forth, they never complain; they’re always together. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done.”
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Rough start? No sweat. Oneida storms back.
ONEIDA | When Jayden Davidson stepped in front of a pass to Grady Keeton and returned it 32 yards to Oneida’s 36-yard-line early in the second half, things seemed quite bleak for the Indians.
Already down 14-0 after two big plays by the Tigers in the first half, Oneida was in danger of going down 21-0, and was still looking for a spark offensively.
But just as quickly as Rockwood had snuffed out the Indians’ opening drive of the second half with the second turnover of the night, momentum shifted right back to Oneida — and stayed there.
Brady Burke got a stop at the line of scrimmage on first down, Oneida’s defense forced a three-and-out, and then the offense clicked, marching 83 yards for the first of three second half scores that would lift the Indians to their third consecutive win over the Tigers.
The game had started well enough for Oneida. The Indians’ defense forced a three-and-out to start, and the offense marched to the Tigers’ 26-yard-line.
But Rockwood’s defense stood tall there, and it was the Tigers who drew first blood later in the first quarter when Aiden Amonett found Davidson for an 86-yard touchdown strike and a 7-0 lead.
Waylon Hill intercepted a pass later in the second quarter and returned it to Rockwood’s 17-yard-line, and the Indians appeared to be in business. But Rockwood struck back in improbable fashion, recovering a fumble near the goal line and returning it 97 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead that would stand until halftime.
If things looked bleak at halftime — just 36 yards and two first downs for the Indians’ offense — they looked even darker after the first possession of the third quarter, when Rockwood intercepted the deep ball and returned it inside Oneida’s 40-yard-line.
From there, however, the game was all Oneida.
With only 34 yards of offense all game up to that point, Oneida marched 83 yards for a score, starting with three consecutive completions from Brock Ryon to the Hill brothers to get the ball into Rockwood territory, followed by seven straight carries by Ben Gilbert to find the end zone on a six-yard run with 2:45 to play in the third period.
After Oneida was unable to capitalize on a three-and-out that was forced by its defense on Rockwood’s next possession, Ruger West turned in one of the biggest plays of the night. He forced a fumble near midfield, which was recovered by Brayden Lewallen. From there, Oneida marched 52 yards to tie the game with less than five minutes remaining.
Ryon scored the game-tying touchdown from a yard out.
The Indians’ defense forced yet another three-and-out on Rockwood’s next possession, giving the ball back to the offense at the 46-yard-line with 2:34 remaining.
From there, the Indians kept the ball on the ground to get to the Rockwood 22-yard-line, before a completion to William Hill to set up Amauren Kidd’s 29-yard field goal as time expired.
If the young sophomore felt any angst in being thrust into the role of placekicker for the first time, he didn’t show it. He made both of his PATs, and nailed the 29-yard field goal to win the game.
Oneida finished with 210 yards of offense while limiting Rockwood to just 161 yards. That total for the Tigers was somewhat deceiving because of the long pass in the first half. Rockwood had just four first downs the entire game.
GAME CAPSULE
Scott Farmers Co-Op Play of the Game: With time running out, Oneida used a time out to set up an Amauren Kidd 29-yard field goal attempt, which the sophomore kicker nailed to give his team the 17-14 win over Rockwood.
First National Bank Player of the Game: Senior Ben Gilbert had 94 yards rushing and a touchdown, while punting three times for a 38-yard average and finishing with a team-high five tackles.
Trophy Masters Lineman of the Game: Senior Evan Cotton helped anchor an offensive line that saw the Indians use their rushing attack to come back from the 14-point deficit in the second half.
The game was over when: Amauren Kidd’s 29-yard field goal split the uprights as time expired, sparking a celebration at Jim May Stadium as the Indians completed the comeback against their non-region rival.
Flipping the ‘mo: It was a small moment in the grand scheme of things, but Brady Burke’s stop at the line of scrimmage after Rockwood had intercepted a pass and returned it to Oneida’s 36-yard-line seemed to begin the turning of the tide. Rockwood was forced to punt two plays later, and Oneida’s offense finally clicked, marching 83 yards for the first touchdown of the season.
Break-out performance: Besidses the obvious mention of sophomore kicker Amauren Kidd, senior Maddox Hutcherson recorded a team-high five tackles.
Plays that mattered: Every game hinges on a few big plays. For Oneida, a forced fumble by Ruger West and a 63-yard interception and return by Waylon Hill were two of them.
What the coach said: “It was a game we had to survive...things weren’t looking good but we kept fighting and trying to overturn stuff. The kids didn’t quit and that’s what I’m proud of. It’s all them. We pushed them, I got onto them at halftime. Sometimes you have to win games ugly when you aren’t your best, and I thought we hung in there and gave ourselves a chance to win.”
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Lady Indians get first win at York Institute
JAMESTOWN | Addison Cross scored two goals, six other players added goals of their own, and Oneida rolled to an 8-0 win at York Institute on Friday.
After battling Karns to a 1-0 loss in Knoxville to open the season 72 hours earlier, the Lady Indians took care of their business quickly and efficiently against the Dragons, picking up the win on the road at the same time the school’s football team was completing a sterling second half comeback against Rockwood.
It was a bit of a slow start for Oneida, perhaps; the Lady Indians didn’t find the back of the net until the game was 21 minutes old. But once the scoring started, it happened quickly. The Lady Indians scored five goals in the final 19 minutes of the first half, then tacked on three more in the second half.
Ava Kate Billingsley got the scoring started in the 21st minute, and Cross scored her first goal two minutes later.
Larissa Jones added a goal, followed by an Adysan Douglas goal, and Cross’s second goal before the first half ended.
The second half saw Oneida add goals by Kamryn Lee, Jayden Harness and Braleigh Douglas.
Oneida coach Dave Blevins said his team dominated possession, with York having fewer than five attacks on the Lady Indians’ goal.
The Lady Indians will have their first home game of the season against Sevier County on Tuesday, and will travel to Scott High on Thursday.
Scott picks up district dub at home
HUNTSVILLE | Scott High coach Caleb Ball said prior to the start of Thursday’s game against Clinton that he was making a change, moving junior Liriel Blevins from midfield to forward, playing her in the striker position.
It was a change that paid off in a big way, as Blevins scored two goals during the Lady Highlanders’ 3-1 win over district rival Clinton at Highlander Stadium Thursday evening.
Forty-eight hours earlier, the Lady Highlanders had been dominated by Campbell County, falling 6-1 with Ashley Guzman scoring the only goal.
But Thursday was completely different. Clinton’s only goal came on a penalty kick, and the Lady Highlanders answered that with a PK of their own that was scored by Emily Fladie.
Scott never trailed in the game, and led 2-1 at halftime after Blevins scored her second goal with just under a minute remaining — less than two minutes after Clinton had tied the game on the PK.
The only scoring of the second half was Fladie’s PK, which followed a hand ball in the box by Clinton.
Scott will be back in action Tuesday against Union County, and will host Oneida Thursday and York Institute Friday.
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