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Cheatham County, Sycamore exit high school football playoffs in first round

Andrew Preston
The Tennessean
Cheatham County's Quinn Maxwell reaches out to catch the ball.

Cheatham County’s first winning season since 2012 came to an end when the Cubs fell 13-3 to East Nashville in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.

“(East Nashville) played well defensively all night long,” Cheatham County coach Eric Hatley said. “They didn’t hurt themselves, they played disciplined and had some players with athleticism we hadn’t seen all season.”

Cheatham County’s field goal by Charlie Martin came just before halftime, which helped shift the Cubs mindset.

“When he connected, we had momentum going into halftime,” Hatley said. “I was fully expecting us to make the plays when we had the opportunities. We had opportunities to score a lot more points. It’s all about making plays when you have the chance.”

The loss ends the high school careers for two of the Cubs' premier starters, quarterback Landon Barnes and running back Walker Bunce.

 “I can’t say how much the entire senior class means to me,” Hatley said. “The adversity they’ve been through doesn’t happen often.”

In all, the Cubs graduate 12 seniors.

 “The younger guys should be motivated from the loss,” Hatley said. “Our guys need to understand they are a playoff team every year and can learn from this game.”

Sycamore's Mack Waddell runs the football

Sycamore falls at Giles County 50-20

Back in the playoffs for the first time since 2015, Sycamore was unable to break through to the second round.

Giles County defeated Sycamore 50-20 in Pulaski in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs.

“They did exactly what they had to do to beat us,” Sycamore coach Justin Robison said. “(John Bachus) is a legit quarterback. He made every throw he needed to make last night.”

Bachus, a UT-Martin commitment threw over the War Eagles defense the entire game.

“We weren’t able to generate pressure because he gets rid of the ball within two to three seconds,” Robison said. “We had some mishaps in our secondary, but he made phenomenal throws.”

Isaiah Havens rushed for caught three passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns while, quarterback Trevor Gagnon added 137 yards and two touchdowns through the air.

“Our guys never gave up,” Robison said. “We were down 42-6 and put up 14 points in the second half. We can hang our hats on winning the second half.”

The War Eagles graduate 11 seniors.

“It was a great experience,” Robison said. “The younger kids know they can make the playoffs. It just takes that one time breaking through and things start happening for a program.”

Reach Andrew Preston at APreston@tennessean.com or 615-259-8015 and on Twitter @AndrewPreston33