DECATUR – Chuckey-Doak played playoff football for the first time in three years, but were outmatched and defeated 43-6 by No. 2 ranked Meigs County on Friday night in the first round of the Class 3A Playoffs.
“Credit to Meigs. They are a fantastic football team and do a really good job. Obviously, they’re No. 2 in the state for a reason. It’s a very good football team. I thought we played really hard and I’m very proud of that. Obviously, it didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but I appreciate the heck out of our seniors. They’ve been through a lot with our program,” Chuckey-Doak Head Coach Billy Kaylor said after the loss.
Class 3A Mr. Football semifinalist Kaiden Brewster accounted for four total touchdowns in the game and led the Tigers to a win over the Black Knights.
“He is a fantastic player. Multiple times we had him pinned at or near the line of scrimmage and he’s just tough to tackle. Fantastic football player and a really good football team,” Kaylor said.
The Tigers were out for blood immediately and scored only three plays in. Brewster delivered a quick shovel pass to Cornelius Morgan and raced past every Black Knight defender for a 52-yard touchdown to open the game. Meigs County led 8-0 after 1:32 of game time.
The Black Knights had a nightmare of a first possession and lost 16 yards in three plays before punting away.
Once Meigs County took over at the 27-yard line it did not take long for Brewster to find the end zone. The junior quarterback tucked it and ran home for a 58-yard rushing touchdown. The two-point conversion made it 16-0 halfway through the first with 6:05 left.
Chuckey-Doak traveled 78 yards on the ensuing drive, but could not cash in at the goal line. Marcus Britt picked up back-to-back first downs and Meigs County called a timeout to adjust. Mason Henderson and Brayden Greene were next to pick up back-to-back first downs. Greene took the next handoff to the 1-yard line, but the next handoff didn’t go so well. Greene was stopped short and reached towards the white-painted end zone stripe and lost the ball on the effort. Kegan Lenker scooped the ball up in the end zone and carried it to the Tigers 47-yard line.
Meigs County only needed one play to score. Eli Barker caught a pass from Brewster in stride and went 53 yards for another touchdown for the Tigers. The PAT was true and the score was extended to 23-0 with 2:16 left in the first.
Chuckey-Doak gained a rhythm on offense again and traveled all the way to the 11-yard line before an interception by Eli Hope ended the hopes for a touchdown.
Meigs County went on a 6:19 drive and ended with Ethan Shaver scoring from the three-yard line on a rush up the gut. The Black Knights trailed 30-0 with 3:39 left until halftime.
Chuckey-Doak turned it over on downs and gave Meigs County the ball on their own 41-yard line with 43 seconds left. Brewster broke off a 53-yard run to the 1-yard line and scored on the next play to make it 37-0 going into the break.
Brinen Jones scored Meigs County’s final touchdown with an 11-yard rushing touchdown with 3:57 left in the third to make it 43-0.
Chuckey-Doak’s Brayden Greene scored the lone touchdown for Chuckey-Doak on the final snap of his career with eight seconds left.
“I’m really glad for him. He’s been a great player for us and I love that kid to death and we’re gonna miss him,” Coach Kaylor stated.
Meigs County ended Chuckey-Doak’s season with a 43-6 final on Friday.
The Black Knights ended the season with a 5-6 record.
“I’m proud of our kids and I can’t wait to see where we’ll be in the future,” Kaylor ended with.
EAGLETON 41, WEST GREENE 14
The West Greene football team could not keep up with Eagleton on Friday night and saw its season come to an end with a 41-14 loss in the first round of the Class 2A Playoffs.
The Buffaloes were able to hang around early, but 34 straight points from the Royals allowed the home to run away to the win.
West Greene finishes the year with a 1-10 record, but with the bulk of the players on the field Friday returning there is plenty to build on over the next 10 months.
Four minutes into the second quarter the upset-minded Buffaloes were able to tie the game at 7-7. West Greene was able to keep its drive alive by jumping on a muffed punt. Three plays later Aiden Thompson hit A.J. McMurray for a 34-yard scoring strike.
Eagleton wasted little time regaining the lead. Set up with a short field the Royals gave the ball to running back Easton Britton four times. The last covered eight yards and for the final 30:56 Eagleton played with a lead.
With 1:15 left before halftime Eagleton quarterback Mason Mitchell hit Ethan Anderson for a 20-yard score that set the margin at 21-7 going into halftime.
Eagleton Britton’s ran in a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter. On the first drive of the fourth quarter the Royals went in front 41-7 when Mitchell hit Noel Meza-Flores for a 13-yard touchdown.
West Greene’s final score of the season came with 2:02 left to play when Thompson hit McMurray with a 24-yard touchdown strike.
Thompson finished Friday with 112 yards rushing and 98 yards passing with two touchdowns and three interceptions. McMurray had four catches for 69 yards and two scores.
Britton led Eagleton with 172 rushing yards on 18 carries with three scores. Mitchell threw for 144 yards and three touchdowns.
The Royals advance to play Gordonsville next week.
TELLICO PLAINS 42, SOUTH GREENE 7
Making history was not in the cards for South Greene on Friday night.
The Rebels were seeking the first road playoff win in school history, but Tellico Plains’ vaunted ground game proved to be too much as it collected a 42-7 win in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs.
The Bears ran for 316 yards with five rushing touchdowns in Friday’s victory. Quarterback Caiden West led that effort with 167 yards and three touchdowns, while Gio Carter gained 134 yards with a score.
Tripp Neas returned to South Greene’s lineup after missing all or most of the last five contests. He ran the ball 19 times for 90 yards.
Neas briefly gave the Rebels the lead on Friday when he bounced off tacklers on his way to a four-yard touchdown with 9:10 to play in the first half. Sammy Jones’ extra point put South Greene on top 7-6.
Tellico Plains responded with a pair of two-minute drives that gave it a 22-7 lead at halftime. West finished both by running into the endzone.
The Bears got the ball first in the second half and moved 56 yards in three plays, ending with West scoring his third rushing touchdown of the night.
With the game in hand West hit Trevor Kibler for a 52-yard touchdown and Carter finished the scoring with a six-yard touchdown run.
South Greene finished the night with 201 yards of offense. Trent Haynes ran for 56 yards and threw for 26 yards.
The Rebels end the year with a 3-8 record.
Tellico Plains advances to play at Cannon County next week.
