Chuckey-Doak (3-2, 0-1) steps back into Region 1-3A action and resumes play with a long trip to Mountain City for a date with the Johnson County Longhorns (2-3, 1-0) on Friday night.
The Black Knights had an all-time classic last Friday in a 29-28 overtime loss to South Greene. It wrapped up Chuckey-Doak’s trio of county games with wins over West Greene and North Greene and a loss to South Greene. But it’s back to the games that matter more this week.
A loss to Unicoi County two weeks ago put Chuckey-Doak behind the sticks early. The Black Knights began Region 1-3A action with a 0-1 record for the third-straight season. A trip to Mountain City on Friday night could help Chuckey-Doak pull even and change the outlook of the season.
“These first five games have obviously mattered, but this one has playoff implications. This one has November implications so this one has a whole lot of meanings towards it and we’ve had a good week of practice for it,” Chuckey-Doak Head Coach Billy Kaylor explained.
As the weeks go on, games will become more important. The Black Knights aren’t in a dire situation yet, but a loss on Friday night could spell trouble for Chuckey-Doak’s playoff hopes.
“It’s huge. We’re on the road the next three weeks and four of the next five are conference games. In a five-team conference this one may not determine whether or not we play in the playoffs, but it certainly has some seeding implications. To me, it’s a must win. It’s a must win because of where it puts us and the spot it puts us in,” Kaylor expressed.
Johnson County leads the all-time series 22-11 and has won three-straight games since Coach Kaylor took over in 2023. The Black Knights have been successful in recent trips to Mountain City and have come back to Lower Afton with wins in 2 of their last 3 trips.
After a slow beginning to the season, Johnson County has changed their look offensively and have won back-to-back games after the switch. The Longhorns averaged only 4 points per game in the first 3 weeks and were 0-3. Since the switch the Longhorns are averaging 27 points per game and are 2-0.
“They’ve kind of changed what they’ve done in the last couple weeks. Early in the season they did more spread stuff and showed a little different of an identity offensively and struggled some. Two weeks ago they went back to smashmouth football,” Kaylor explained.
Chuckey-Doak began the season 3-0, but have lost two-straight to Unicoi County and South Greene. The Black Knights average 30 points per game on offense. The dual-quarterback system split between Brody Myers and Kiptyn Ball has been a factor in many games this season. Junior Kiptyn Ball leads in the passing categories and is 26-for-41 (63.4%) with 522 yards and 5 touchdowns. Freshman Brody Myers has been more prolific in the running game with 136 yards on 30 attempts and 2 touchdowns. Marcus Britt has been the lead running back with 246 yards on 40 carries with 4 touchdowns. Skylar Davis has been Chuckey-Doak’s best receiver with 457 yards on 16 catches for an astounding 28.6 yards per catch and 6 touchdowns.
The Black Knights defense is allowing 26.2 points per game.
Coach Kaylor described the importance of limiting turnovers in a game where Johnson County will control the time of possession and chew time off the clock. “We’ve got to take care of the football and that’s something we’ve not done as well as we should have in the last two weeks and that’s certainly played a role in those two losses. So, we’ve got to make sure we take care of the football,” he said.
Johnson County’s offense has struggled and has only scored 13.2 points per game. The Longhorn’s defense is allowing 33.2 points per game. The numbers might not look good, but Johnson County is coming off back-to-back wins over Ashe County and Claiborne after changing their look on offense.
“It’s such a stark offensive change,” Coach Kaylor stated. “The thing that makes it tough is they don’t really change personnel; they just change sets. It makes it hard to defend because if you’re changing personnel packages and they’re not it can be tough. We’ve just got to make sure we’re ready to make adjustments if they were to pop into something we’re not expecting.”
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM at Johnson County High School.
