MOUNTAIN CITY – The first half was uneventful and lackluster, but Chuckey-Doak came out of the halftime break energized and proved to be the better team in a 34-18 win on the road.
“It was a great night. We started off really slow early in the game and put the ball on the ground a couple of times. Defensively, they had a pretty strong rushing attack and withstand it a little bit and force some three-and-outs and turnovers. Offensively, we ran the ball really well and I’m very proud of that,” Chuckey-Doak Head Coach Billy Kaylor said.
The Black Knights were hungry for a Region 1-3A win last night after losing to Unicoi County two weeks ago to start out 0-1. The game’s importance was emphasized earlier in the week as a “must-win” to avoid an 0-2 start. Chuckey-Doak showed urgency in the second half and out worked the Longhorns for a well-deserved win.
“It was huge. Like we talked about earlier this week we’re still in control of our own destiny. You start 0-2 in a 6-team conference then you start to need help. We still control our own destiny so we’ve got to go back to work on Monday and have to go to a good Claiborne team. Tazewell is a long drive so we have to go get a win there,” Coach Kaylor said.
Chuckey-Doak improved to 4-2 (1-1) with the win and snapped a 3-game losing streak to Johnson County. Friday served as Coach Kaylor’s first win over the Longhorns in four attempts.
The first half was full of everything. Johnson County received the opening kickoff and had no success on offense and were forced to punt on the opening drive. The snap was low and didn’t give the punter enough time to kick it away. Jaden Britt got to the backfield and brought him down at the 32-yard line.
Although Chuckey-Doak started in good field position, the drive resulted in nothing. The Black Knights managed to move the ball to the 5-yard line before Johnson County’s hard-nosed defense stiffened up and wouldn’t let them go any further. The field goal unit was sent out on the field, but the kick was no good and left the game scoreless.
The Longhorns went on a 10-play drive using over four minutes of game clock to strike first. All ten plays were on the ground and ended with a 5-yard rushing touchdown scored by Jacob Frauenthal. Frauenthal also scored the 2-point conversion and Johnson County led 8-0 with 32 seconds left in the first quarter.
Both teams traded turnovers on back-to-back drives. Hunter McElyea intercepted a Brody Myers pass on the last play of the first quarter and Avery Parkey recovered a fumble two plays into the second quarter.
The Black Knights marched 71 yards downfield in 6 plays and found the end zone. Brody Myers hit Skylar Davis over the middle and Davis raced to the pylon for a 42-yard receiving touchdown. The Knights converted the PAT attempt and trailed 8-7 with 8:41 left in the first.
Johnson County punted on the next possession, but Chuckey-Doak gave it back not long after with a questionable fumble call. It seemed as if Braxton Lowe’s catch was knocked incomplete, but the officials ruled he completed the catch and fumbled the ball instead leading to Johnson County to regain possession.
A 9-play, 4-minute and 48 second drive ended with a turnover on downs on the 25-yard line. Coincidentally, Chuckey-Doak ended the first half with a 9-play drive resulting in a turnover on downs too.
The Knights trailed 8-7 at the halftime break.
Chuckey-Doak needed a spark to begin the second half and received one from Braxton Lowe. The wideout hauled in a 50-yard receiving touchdown on the second play of the second half and sent Chuckey-Doak ahead, 14-8, at the 11:13 mark of the third quarter.
Both teams traded punts before Johnson County regained the lead. Brayden Dickens broke off a long 58-yard rush to the 2-yard line finished off by a 1-yard touchdown by Dickens. The 2-point try was successful and Johnson County led 16-14 with 5:13 left in the third.
Chuckey-Doak fought right back and responded three plays later. Senior Brayden Greene found the end zone for a 30-yard rushing touchdown and the Black Knights went ahead 20-16 with 4:05 left in the period.
The game was flipped upside down in back-to-back plays. Lance Turner-Armstrong recovered a fumble on 4th-and-5 and freshman Zaden Schacke scored a 41-yard rushing touchdown to extend Chuckey-Doak’s lead to 27-16 with 1:04 left in the third.
Another controversial call occurred at the 1-yard line. Johnson County was stopped short of the end zone and the ball popped out around the same time the whistle blew for the play to be dead. Chuckey-Doak pounced on the ball and waited for a signal. After a quick conversation, Chuckey-Doak was rewarded with a huge game-changing turnover.
The excitement of the turnover didn’t last long. Johnson County swarmed to the ball on the next play and tackled the Chuckey-Doak ball carrier in the end zone for a safety with 6:49 left in the game. The score was 27-18.
The Longhorns fell short of the sticks on the ensuing drive and committed a turnover on downs on 4th-and-13 at the 38.
Skylar Davis iced the ball game with a 27-yard receiving touchdown with 2:59 left to create a 34-18 advantage. Davis scored two touchdowns on Friday night and did a great job blocking in the run game. “Two touchdowns is fantastic. I was really impressed with how he blocked on the perimeter. He did a fantastic job of blocking out there. He’s become a very selfless player in that regard and I’m proud of that,” Kaylor mentioned.
Colton Kaufenberg truly iced the contest with an interception at the 41-yard line with 2:24 left.
Chuckey-Doak walked out of Mountain City with a 34-18 win to earn the first Region 1-3A victory of the season for the Black Knights. Chuckey-Doak outscored Johnson County 27-10 in the second half.
“We came out really flat. We hurt ourselves offensively early in the game. We had an interception and a fumble and let them keep themselves in the game. They did a good job so credit to them that’s a really hard-playing football team. They do a really good job at what they do. Really proud of the way our boys responded after halftime,” Coach Kaylor expressed.
The Black Knights travel to Claiborne next Friday night in another Region 1-3A showdown. A win next Friday would clinch a playoff berth for Chuckey-Doak.
