Chuckey-Doak’s youth and inexperience was no match for Pigeon Forge on Friday night as the Black Knights dropped their first Region 1-3A contest 56-3.
“There were some improvements. Obviously, we didn’t play well. We’ll watch the film this weekend. There’s definitely some improvements. There’s a lot to work. So, we’ll go back to work Monday and try to get one at home next week,” Chuckey-Doak head coach Billy Kaylor stated.
After the first drive, the Black Knights seemed to have some poise on offense and knocked a field goal through, but their fortunes would soon change. The Tigers ground-and-pound style offense was too much for Chuckey-Doak’s young defense to handle in the end.
Last year it was Chuckey-Doak that stole a hard-fought 7-0 victory from Pigeon Forge on the Tigers’ home turf. This year was quite the opposite with the Tigers gaining that win back in a big way. Chuckey-Doak falls to 0-1 in Region 1-3A play with the loss.
The Knights received the opening kickoff and went straight to work with a first down run from Brayden Greene. A late hit on Pigeon Forge’s defense granted an automatic first down and moved them up to the 15-yard line. The drive stalled out and the field goal unit was called onto the field. Billy Hahnlen drilled a 30-yard field goal to give Chuckey-Doak an early 3-0 lead.
“Longest kick he’s had. He did a good job with that. The protection was great and he stood in there and kicked it. Got our points on the board,” Coach Kaylor said.
Pigeon Forge rattled off three first down runs before sucking the defense in and going to the air. Andrew Lewis found Ayden Hood wide open for a 17-yard touchdown catch in the end zone. The two-point conversion succeeded and the Tigers took control 8-3 and never looked back.
A three-and-out forced a punt, but a great defensive play on Pigeon Forge’s first play of their next drive caused a change in possession. Gavin Patrick managed to recover a fumble by the Tigers.
With shorter yardage and the ball placed on Pigeon Forge’s side of the field, Chuckey-Doak had a chance to regain the lead and make some noise. Unfortunately, the drive ended after quarterback Kipton Ball was sacked on 4th-&-8.
Things changed quickly when the very next play from scrimmage was housed for 60 yards. Wyatt Howard took a handoff and eluded past every defender for a quick touchdown play. They led 16-3.
Another three-and-out led to another scoring drive for the Tigers. They marched downfield another 60 yards, but it took more than one play this time. Howard ran 18 yards on 3rd-&-7 and Karson Blalock followed that with a run of 10. Andrew Lewis finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown on a designed QB run. The lead grew to 24-3.
After yet another three-and-out, the Black Knights punted the ball away and endured another long drive but managed to get off the field without allowing any points. The defense stiffened up and stopped the ball carrier one yard short on 4th-&-4 inside the red zone.
“We did some really good things defensively,” Kaylor mentioned. “There’s certainly some positives to take. It feels hard saying that when you lose 56-3, but there’s some positives.”
The offense couldn’t move the ball backed up in their red zone and punted the ball back. Pigeon Forge made sure to score once more before halftime with a 24-yard rushing touchdown from Wyatt Howard.
The visitors led 32-3 at the break.
It was all Pigeon Forge in the second half too. Carson Blalock started with a 30-yard touchdown run to boost their lead to 40-3. They recovered a fumble on Chuckey-Doak’s 25-yard line and quickly moved into scoring position with Donterrius Russell pushing through for a 3-yard score. The final touchdown came in the 4th quarter with Hector Lamothe scoring from one yard away.
Pigeon Forge left Lower Afton with a 56-3 win on Friday night and exacted revenge after last year’s loss.
The Black Knights stay home and host Cocke County next week for a 7:00 kickoff time on Friday night.
