PIGEON FORGE – Chuckey-Doak had its chances on Friday night but came up on the wrong end of too many close calls as its playoff hopes were dashed in a 25-18 loss to Pigeon Forge.
“My heart breaks for our kids,” Chuckey-Doak coach Billy Kaylor said. “We had our opportunities, and we couldn’t capitalize. We had opportunities to get the ball into the endzone in both halves, and we couldn’t quite get it done. But these kids played their tails off tonight.”
Ayden Hood carried the Tigers on Friday as he ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns, and added a 35-yard touchdown reception. As a team the Tigers ran for 288 yards in the win.
While Hood’s night was impressive he was honored before the game for breaking the state record for rushing yards by a quarterback with 460 yards against Cocke County last week.
“(Hood) is a special player,” Kaylor said. “He’s one of the better players I’ve seen in a long time. I was proud of the way we contained him after what he has done the last two weeks. Holding them to 25 points after they scored 46 and 59 the last two weeks was a good effort by our defense.”
Hood got started quickly on Friday with five carries for 43 yards on the opening drive. The series ended with the quarterback running off tackle to the left and breaking a tackle on his way to a 10-yard score and 7-0 lead.
Chuckey-Doak followed by marching down the field, helped by Kiptyn Ball finding Dominic Hahnlen on a 30-yard post route. But then the first break went against the Black Knights when Avin Mitchell picked off Ball at the 19-yard line.
Chuckey-Doak’s defense made a fourth-down stop at the 11-yard line and then the offense put together a 14-play scoring drive. After a heavy dose of running back Marcus Britt the drive ended with Ball delivering a quick strike to Dom Atchison on a seam from the slot. The receiver then sprinted untouched across the goal line for a 26-yard touchdown with 5:55 left in the first half. The extra point hooked wide left and the Tigers held on to a 7-6 lead.
The Black Knights had one more chance to score before halftime, but instead Mitchell intercepted another pass which set up the Tigers at the 44-yard line with 59 second left in the second quarter.
Two plays later McCoy Smith sent a swing pass to Hood who got to the edge and raced to the endzone for a 35-yard touchdown. Chuckey-Doak blocked the extra point, but the Tigers took a 13-7 lead into halftime.
Atchison got the second half started with a 42-yard kickoff return. Hahnlen took the Knights down to the three-yard line when he broke loose on a 21-yard screen pass. Brayden Greene then powered across the goal line. The two-point try failed, but Chuckey-Doak closed the gap to 13-12 with 8:27 left in the third quarter.
The Knights’ Colt Shull jumped on a fumble on Pigeon Forge’s next series, and it looked like Chuckey-Doak might steal the lead with the ball at the 21-yard line.
Instead Pigeon Forge’s Dakari Lawson broke up a fourth-down pass in the end zone to keep the home team in front.
“It felt like we were six or eight inches away all night,” Kaylor said. “There were probably six plays tonight that we are a hair away, and if any of them goes the other way this might be different. Unfortunately, we just didn’t execute in those situations, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
Hood made the turnover on downs hurt worse when he plowed over two defenders on his way to a 26-yard touchdown run that put Pigeon Forge in front 19-12 with 3:22 left in the third quarter.
Chuckey-Doak got into the redzone again and made it to the four-yard line, but another incomplete pass in the end zone ended the drive with no points with 7:34 left to play.
Pigeon Forge followed with a 12-play, 92-yard drive that finished with Hood scoring from two-yards out for a 25-12 lead.
The Black Knights put together a last-gasp drive in which Ball hit Braxton Lowe for 15 yards and Hahnlen for 34 yards. With 22 second left Ball raced to the pylon for an eight-yard touchdown that closed the gap to 25-18.
Pigeon Forge’s Max Cable recovered the ensuing onside kick which allowed the Tigers to run out the clock.
Ball finished the day 13-of-24 passing for 176 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Hanhlen had four catches for 85 yards and Atchison had four catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. Greene carried the ball 18 times for 91 yards and Britt carried 14 times for 52 yards.
Chuckey-Doak is now 4-5 on the year and 1-3 in Region 1-3A play. The Black Knights will wrap up the regular season at Gatlinburg-Pittman next week.
Pigeon Forge (3-6, 2-2) clinched a playoff spot with the win, and at the same time eliminated Chuckey-Doak from playoff contention.
