Boone @ Cocke County

[PTSportsWriter]

So from what I see, we had special teams miss a tackle during the first series and the defense let up a long run for the second TD. I don't know the full details of what happened during the plays, but you can bet Boone will be working on those this week.

 

All in all, the game is over, they brought home a win, the boys need to rest up this weekend and get ready for a hard week of practice and prepare for the game on Friday.

 

Congrats to Cocke County for putting up a tough effort. Congrats to Boone from bringing home win #6.

 

Here's what went down.

 

CC had trouble corralling the opening kickoff....and once they got it, the coverage from Boone was on the far sideline, but after Franklin got control of the ball he was on the near sideline and had a wall set up. Franklin pulled a Leon Lett near the end of the run, but the ball was ruled it had broke the plane before it was knocked out of his hand.

 

On the long TD run....it was a thing of beauty for Cocke County. Cocke County went wishbone with their big defensive tackle playing in the FB position. They ran it to him on the fullback dive about 3-4 plays in a row. On the TD play, they faked it to him, Boone had about 10 guys go towards him, and then Graham got the football and there was literally no one near him for the whole play (Much like the Gerald Riggs 80-yard TD against Auburn in atlanta a few years back)....

[PTSportsWriter]

More thoughts on the game.

 

After the KR for Cocke County a big KR for Boone really flipped field position. While Boone went 3-and-out their first two series, it was all on the Cocke County side of the field.

 

Ploucha had decent kicks, but was helped out by the Cocke County return man. The first punt should've been fielded but wasnt and bounced to the 4. The second punt shouldn't have been fielded and was caught at the 2 and returned out to the 7.

 

Off that series, Cocke County punted from their own endzone setting up a 6-play, 25 yard "drive" for the score.

 

Cocke County got pinned deep again on the ensuing kickoff and a penalty. Went backwards as they went single-back set. The punt was blocked and gave way for a 3-play, 23-yard TD drive.

 

After a CC 3-and-out, Boone went 44-yards in 8 plays (took 3:48 off the clock) and took the ball down to the 7 yard line. They lined up for a FG, but faked it and CC wasnt fooled.

 

CC went 89 yards in 7 plays off the long TD run to be down 15-14 at half.

 

Both teams swapped punts to start the half, when Boone hit a 9-play, 52-yard drive that took 3:52 off the clock. Boone was faced with a 4th and five on the drive and they gave to Jarrett and he his lead blocker went the wrong direction, but Jarrett faked the defender out and got down to the one-yard line.

 

CC and Boone swapped punts and CC punted back to Boone at the 7:10 mark of the 4th quarter. Boone rolled off 2:32 off the clock but fumbled to Cocke County at the Boone 41-yard line.

 

Cocke County went 25 yards in 11 plays (took 4:04 down inside the last 45 seconds of the game) down to the Boone 16 yard line. Cocke County's 4th down (and 10, not goal) pass into the endzone was batted away, setting up the Boone victory formation...

 

And thats the game within a small capsule...

 

 

Heck of a game

Both teams played hard and deserved a win....just feel both teams are a little one dimmensional right now offensively though.

[mikey65]

#51 is quite a player. I saw him lay some serious blocks tonight. It took about 5 or 6 to bring him down also. What's his name?

[PTSportsWriter]

#51 is quite a player. I saw him lay some serious blocks tonight. It took about 5 or 6 to bring him down also. What's his name?

 

Derrick Ottinger.

 

Missed all of last year (except minimal action Weeks 9 and 10) with apendicitis. Won fastest lineman 250+ at the 2005 Jamboree.

 

Heck of a guy, plays primarily a DT - but had to come in to give some kind of running room on offense and to carry the ball...

 

maybe we can find him an extra year of eligibility.

That said, Cocke County desperately needs a wide receiver....

[PTSportsWriter]

Boone wins 42-0 (unless they are feeling generous and want to spot them a TD)

[mikey65]

I had it 30-0. I'd love to see Cocke County win out (except for Crockett). Thanks for the direction. I made it a lot quicker than I thought I would.

[PTSportsWriter]

I had it 30-0. I'd love to see Cocke County win out (except for Crockett). Thanks for the direction. I made it a lot quicker than I thought I would.

 

people should learn to listen to me more often

 

 

its not a bad drive that way - just got to hope you miss the 81 truck traffic. I drive it at least 2-3 times a month...

[mikey65]

people should learn to listen to me more often

 

 

its not a bad drive that way - just got to hope you miss the 81 truck traffic. I drive it at least 2-3 times a month...

I just can't believe Greenevile beat them 35-0 and Cherokee 29-8. There coach did say they are getting better every week, but coaches always say that. It would be great if they could improve enough to win next week and their last regular season game.

[Slipstream1]

Excellent game for the most part. I saw that long run by Graham for the TD set up by the runs to Ottinger up the middle. I was thinking to myself that Boone better watch out for the quick backs and saw Graham in the backfield and no one to cover any cuts to the outside and then bam...

 

Cocke County is quicker than I thought they would be especially on defense. Their offense needs some work and has potential. Boone looked a little sluggish at times. If Cameron was sick that explains some things.

 

I would not like to play Cocke County again this year. They are going to beat some folks the rest of the way.

[PTSportsWriter]

Fighting Cocks take Daniel Boone to wire

By SETH BUTLER

NPT Sports Writer

 

NEWPORT – The Fighting Cocks of Cocke County High School were yearning for respect heading into Friday’s contest. The Fighting Cocks certainly will receive it after their effort and battle against Daniel Boone High School.

 

The Fighting Cocks (1-5, 0-3) took the eleventh-ranked (Class 4A) Trailblazers (6-0, 3-0) to the final play of Friday night’s contest, giving Daniel Boone all they wanted and then some before falling short 22-14 at Hedrick Field.

 

Jake Crawford’s fourth-and-ten pass from the Boone 16-yard line fell harmlessly to the turf after being batted away with only 33 seconds remaining in the contest to seal the win for the Trailblazers.

 

“My level of respect for our players and coaches went to a new level tonight,” said a dejected Cocke County head coach David Crawford. “We were playing one of the top teams in the state and we talked all week long, our call to arms all week long was let’s give them a game and be within one score going into the fourth quarter and we did everything (that we planned).

 

“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys, we’re disappointed we didn’t pull it out, but the effort was there,” Crawford said. “We’re getting better at all phases of the game, we’ve got a couple of areas that are quite non-existent right now.

 

“Short-term we’re disgusted we didn’t win the game, but big picture wise, we’re closing the gap.”

 

The Fighting Cocks were one-dimensional on offense for the second consecutive week in a row, as the passing game was inept mainly due on the part of the receiving game.

 

“We’ve got to have a passing game, because we can not line up and run it every play,” Crawford said. “We’ve got to throw it on first-and-10, we’ve got to run play-action, we’ve got to be able to throw quick screens.

 

“There was no balance, we ran, ran and ran,” Crawford said. “I can’t say enough about our OL, the way they’re run blocking now, but we’ve got to be able to throw first-and-10 and use play-action.”

 

Despite the woeful passing game, Cocke County’s rushing game made strides as the Big Red ran for 155-yards on the night on 38 carries, with defensive tackle Derrick Ottinger giving the Fighting Cocks a huge spark running the football. Ottinger carried for 61 yards on 11 carries and picked up a handful of first downs for Cocke County.

 

Ottinger also gave the Fighting Cocks defense a spark. Going against one of the most vaunted rushing attacks in East Tennessee, Cocke County held the Trailblazers in check, holding Boone to 233 yards of total offense on the night, with 200 of those yards coming on the ground.

 

“Double D (Derrick Ottinger) came in and his play explemified the mentaility and the desire of our senior class,” Crawford said. “They’re working hard every day and their effort and perserverence and discipline commands respect.”

 

Special teams also played a huge role in the game for both squads. The Fighting Cocks got the first special teams spark on the opening kickoff when Matt Franklin returned the kickoff 85-yards, his second such return of the season.

 

Franklin fumbled the kick, recovered and found the wall spurred by a block by Austin Graham. The two-point run by Graham was successful giving Cocke County an 8-0 lead 19 seconds into the game.

 

But an excellent kick return by Boone on the ensuing kick, flipped field position and when Boone went three-and-out, the Fighting Cocks found themselves pinned inside their own 10-yard line, a kiss of death for the Fighting Cocks. After a conservative three-and-out, Boone had great field position again, but again force three-and-out, pinning Cocke County at their seven-yard line. Another three-and-out gave Boone the pigskin at the Big Red 25-yard line.

 

It took the Blazers six plays to break through, with the scoring play coming on a 15-yard strike from quarterback Daniel Sharp to Ben Underwood. Underwood ran the slant route, beating cornerback Bryce Phillips, in for the injured Billy Bob Hembree. Boone tacked on a two-point conversion to even the score at eight with 1:54 remaining in the first.

 

Another Cocke County three-and-out deep in their own territory forced another punt. Only this time Crawford’s punt was blocked, setting the Blazers up again in excellent position. Boone scored in three-plays with Cameron Jarrett taking the plunge from five-yards out. Brett Ploucha’s point-after was good, giving the Blazers a 15-8 lead 13 seconds into the second period.

 

Field position continued to play into the hands of the Trailblazers, as the Fighting Cocks ran only 11 plays in Daniel Boone territory on the night. And Boone again drove inside the Cocke County 10-yard line, but the ‘Cocks held strong and forced the Blazers into a field-goal attempt. The fake was on and Franklin was not fooled as he snuffed the play out at the Big Red 11.

 

Pinned deep again, Cocke County began the march using Ottinger in the wishbone formation. Ottinger rattled off four consecutive Fighting Cocks first downs, setting up a play of beauty from the Cocke County 47-yard line.

 

Jake Crawford sold the fake to Ottinger and gave to Graham on the inside hand off. All 11 white shirts from Boone converged on Ottinger and Graham scrambled 53-yards to the end zone with no one within 30 yards of the Big Red junior tailback. Graham’s two-point run was unsuccessful and Cocke County trailed 15-14 at halftime.

 

“The irony of that is the first time I saw that play was about 100 years ago at Copper Basin,” Crawford said. “It’s a double dive play, we ran the hard dive to Derrick (Ottinger) and we’ve been repping it the past couple of weeks. We were fortunate to gash them with the hard dive to Double D (Ottinger), Jake rode Double D up in there on the fake, they all converge on him and we gave it to the deuce (Graham) and the deuce was loose.

 

“And its like the punt block last week, it was executed the way it was supposed to and its really cool when you draw something up and put it in and you rip one off for 53-yards,” Crawford said.

 

Again the physical defensive struggle continued in the second half, with both teams unable to sustain offensive momentum. Boone finally established their own embarking on a nine-play, 52-yard drive, capped off by a 3-yard Jarrett run. The drive faced a fourth-and-five for Boone and Jarrett appeared to be stopped in his tracks, but juked out the Cocke County defender and scrambled to the Big Red one-yard line.

 

But despite the score for Boone, Cocke County’s goal of being within a touchdown going into the fourth quarter was obtained.

 

“We told our guys all week long, if it plays out where its close going into the fourth quarter we’ve got to be ready for an onslaught,” Crawford said. “They’re ranked 11th in the state, they’ve got a veteran club and they’re undefeated, they’re playing to preserve their undefeated record.”

 

Both teams swapped punts in the period and with time quickly dwindling, Boone began a six play drive at the 7:10 mark, which ran a precious 2:32 off the clock. Cocke County forced a fumble from Jarrett and Blaine Hartsell made the scoop of the pigskin and was tripped up by his own blocker at the Boone 41-yard line.

 

The Fighting Cocks went hard-nosed on the ground again with an obviously beaten, bruised and battered Ottinger with the wishbone to pick up rushing room working their way inside the Boone 20-yard line. But with time moving under 1:10 in the game, Cocke County had to go to the air and the passing game rendered ineffective again.

 

Crawford threw a bubble screen on second down, while Crawford’s third and fourth down passes fell incomplete to end the contest.

 

But still despite the disappointment over the loss for Cocke County, there was still a positive sentiment with the outcome of taking the eleventh ranked Class 4A team to the wire.

 

“People have got to see that our guys are getting better, the competiton isn’t dropping off any,” Crawford said. “We’re getting better and as I told our guys, we are narrowing the gap between where we started back in the spring and where we are right now, because there was a big gap.

 

“We’re at a little bit of deficit when it comes to speed, and that’s nothing against our kids, that’s just the way it is,” Crawford said. “We’re at a little bit of deficit when it comes to experience, but that’s something that’s growing on a daily basis. And in time when our experience and our ability catches up with our effort, then the tangible, positive results will come.

 

“And let me be the first to say, and I hate it when people say ‘We’re behind you’, I’m not behind my team, I’m out in front leading my team and I couldn’t be prouder of these guys right now,” Crawford said. “We’re going to take a few days to digest this – the good and the bad and we’re going to get over it.

 

“In the big scheme of things our guys and our team and our program will see that we played a heckuva ballgame, we made tremendous progress and we’re going to come in Monday with a plan and we’re going to come in Monday and have the best week of practice this season and get ready for Morristown East,” Crawford said.

[cosbybball]

You got to respect and admire Cocke County for their effort. They are working hard and getting better every game. This is the beginning of rebuilding the program to a higher level.

[bucdaddio]

By the way, kidding about the Ploucha pronunciation. I really did enjoy the broadcast, good job. And I don't want to play Cocke County again, either.