Tee Hodge breaks out to give Maryville comeback win over Alcoa

ALCOA – Isaiah Cobb called out to Tee Hodge as he stepped away from the children looking for his autograph. The Maryville star running back took the MVP medal from around his own neck and hung it around his half-brother’s. Cobb didn’t say anything else, and returned to the kids.

Their mother, one of many in T-shirts with Cobb’s 2 on the front and Hodge’s 44 on the back, told Hodge to pose with the medal “your big brother gave you” as she live streamed the Rebels celebrating Friday’s 28-24 win over Alcoa.

Hodge narrowly edged Cobb with 144 yards to the senior’s 109, but he scored two touchdowns, including the winning one.

“I feel like he had the better game overall,” Cobb said when asked about the medal, awarded by Great American Rivalry. “I’m entirely proud of him for everything he’s accomplished this year. I look forward to watching him play in the future. Watching my brother do his thing was amazing.”

Hodge’s 80-yard sprint made the difference in the game, capitalizing on an Alcoa turnover. Alcoa quarterback Walker Russell fumbled the ball into the end zone as he stretched, trying to widen the Tornados’ lead early in the fourth quarter, and Noah Humphries dove on top of the ball.

The Maryville sideline went crazy. The fumble alone felt like a game-changer to Cobb. And then Hodge made it count.

The Rebels’ first play was supposed to be an outside play for Hodge. But the sophomore saw a hole and cut back. He hit it and took off. Hodge heard the footsteps behind him as he closed in on the end zone. He just barely made it over the line, completing an 80-yard run, before the ball was knocked away.

“At first I thought I fumbled and I got scared, but then I saw (the referee) put his hands up and I knew,” Hodge said.

Maryville and Alcoa hadn’t played a single-score game since 2011, when the Rebels won 26-19. Coach Derek Hunt preached needing a near-perfect game to beat Alcoa, but his players weren’t all quite on that page.

“We definitely underestimated them,” Hodge said. “We came in thinking we were going to destroy them, but it took more than that. We had to get ready during halftime.”

The close game – how Maryville-Alcoa is supposed to be, according to Hodge – made the win a little sweeter for Cobb. It’s a bit more special having to fit for it and come from behind in the fourth quarter.