The Chuckey-Doak football team will be making the long trip to Johnson County on Friday night, trying to knock off the top team in Region 1-3A.
The Black Knights are looking for their first win since week one, and last week they fell to Claiborne 39-13. But just getting back on the field a week ago was an accomplishment after the Chuckey-Doak community was hit particularly hard by the flooding caused by Hurricane Helene. With bridges out along the Nolichucky River just getting to school for practice became more of a road trip than quick jaunt for many players and coaches. That is in addition to the actual property damage many in the community are dealing with.
“In 13 years in coaching this past couple of weeks is like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Chuckey-Doak coach Billy Caylor said. “This is something you can’t prepare for. Logistically we’ve tried to figure out what we can do, and who we can get here. Everybody in our community was affected or knows somebody who was. There are things that are a lot bigger than football, but we’ve tried to give them a little bit of normal for a few hours a day to take their minds off other things.”
There were bright spots in last week’s loss to the Claiborne. Gage Hill got back on the field and into the endzone and freshman quarterback Kiptyn Ball threw for over 150 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown pass to Dominc Hahnlen.
“Sometimes with the kids it’s hard for them to pull bright spots from a loss,” Kaylor said. “But there were a lot of bright spots. Nobody counts moral victories, but at the same time there is enough bright there that we know that we can do it. We just have to be more consistent doing the right things play in and play out.”
The Longhorns are 6-0 (2-0) on the year and are currently ranked No. 5 in Class 3A according to the Tennessee Sports Writers Association. They are coming off a 29-15 win over Pigeon Forge. The Longhorns will be led by running back Juan Mejia who has run for 928 yards in six games this season. Quarterback Jase Stout is averaging 136 yards per game through the air.
In Kaylor’s mind winning the line scrimmage will be key to having success in Mountain City on Friday. He needs his team to play a clean game, without penalties or missed assignments to pull off the upset on the road.
Last year Johnson County earned a 12-3 win at Chuckey-Doak. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 20-11. Johnson County is the Black Knights most frequently played opponent outside of their Greene County rivals.
Johnson County has decided to not charge admission for Friday’s game, but it will be collecting donations for members of the Johnson County community affected by the flooding.
