Hard-hitting Alcoa ends Notre Dame's season in Class 3A semifinals

Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/27/15. Notre Dame High School defensive  coach Chandler Tygard motivates his team before playing Alcoa High School during the class 3A football semifinal game at the Tornado's home field in Alcoa Tennessee on Friday, November 27, 2015.
Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 11/27/15. Notre Dame High School defensive coach Chandler Tygard motivates his team before playing Alcoa High School during the class 3A football semifinal game at the Tornado's home field in Alcoa Tennessee on Friday, November 27, 2015.

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ALCOA 42, NOTRE DAME 2Star: Alcoa running back Malik Salter scored two touchdowns for the Tornadoes in their semifinal win over Notre Dame.Up Next: Notre Dame ended its season with a 10-4 record.

ALCOA, Tenn. - That hurt. In the head, in the heart and every part of the body.

Alcoa battered Notre Dame 42-2 in the semifinals of the Class 3A state playoffs Friday night at Goddard Field, ending the Fighting Irish's season and sending the Tornadoes to the championship game for the third straight year.

"We did all we could," said Notre Dame starting tackle and nose guard Sam Stovall. "They're a very physical team, and things just started to go downhill."

Notre Dame (10-4) players dropped to a knee for an injured teammate at least eight times during the blowout. Most of the injured Irish, including senior running back Ricky Ballard, were offensive players facing the fierce Alcoa defense, which hadn't allowed more than 20 points in any game this season.

"Our kids were trying to match their reckless abandon," Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. "They're a hard-hitting team, and that's the type of game they play.

"The kids that got hurt, got hurt going full speed."

The Tornadoes (13-1) limited Notre Dame to 122 rushing yards, 182 total yards, intercepted four passes, forced a fumble and recovered it. Notre Dame held Alcoa to 183 total yards, but the Tornadoes did not have any turnovers.

"We're just playing defense as good as you can play it," Alcoa coach Gary Rankin said. "They're not a bad football team or they wouldn't be a semifinalist. I thought they were probably a little better defensively than I expected.

"They were tremendously athletic up front, and we just didn't handle it good at first."

Notre Dame's defense almost matched Alcoa's defensive squad, but the Tornadoes' defense and special teams essentially accounted for 28 of Alcoa's first 35 points. Much like last year, when Alcoa defeated Notre Dame in the semifinals, the Irish could not escape the hole they dug.

"Turnovers were key, and they knew how to capitalize," Notre Dame senior Zack Leath said. "They know how to win."

Notre Dame struck the first blow and stunned Alcoa.

Quarterback Jalen Myers faked a handoff and rolled to his right, taking a few steps in the end zone.

Tyler Enos did not fall for the fake and tripped Myers in the end zone for a safety to end Alcoa's second possession.

Notre Dame quarterback Alex Darras, who also handles kicks and punts, punted the ball off the back of a teammate, which sent the ball flying to the 5-yard line, where Alcoa recovered.

The Irish stuffed Alcoa on four straight plays, keeping the Tornadoes out of the end zone. But two plays later, they were back at the 5 following a 27-yard interception return by Terran Cox.

The Tornadoes would not be denied a second time. Mitchell McClurg scored on a 4-yard run for a 9-2 lead.

It signaled that the Tornadoes were about to get rolling.

Following a Notre Dame fumble on a handoff, the Tornadoes were granted fantastic field position again, this time at the 12-yard line. Jalen Myers lofted a fade pass to the corner that Tykee Kellogg collected for the touchdown.

Alcoa scored on a third straight possession when Malik Salter punched in a 1-yard run.

The first half concluded on a rare play.

Notre Dame called fair catch on a punt. That allowed the Irish to attempt a free kick, worth three points, from the 49-yard line. The kick didn't come close, but Fant invoked a rule that has been attempted only three times in the NFL since 1990.

Alcoa took a knee before the teams headed to the locker room with the Tornadoes leading 21-2.

A comeback became impossible less than two minutes into the second half. The Tornadoes returned the second-half kickoff to the 6-yard line and scored on a Salter run that covered that distance to the end zone.

Three snaps later, Darras was intercepted by Garrett Livesay, who returned it 26 yards for a touchdown and a 35-2 lead - far too much for any team to overcome against Alcoa.

"There were only four teams left in the entire state, and that says a lot about our kids," Fant said. "We were able to find a way to love each other, and this will be a season that we'll never forget."

Eventually, the pain will subside.

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him at @UchiyamaCTFP

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