TSSAA football championship: Greenback falls after Mr. Football winner Holden Willis injured

COOKEVILLE — Holden Willis stood on the sideline — his hands on his jersey, his jaw clenched, his right ankle heavily bandaged — as the horn blew and the Lake County Falcons ran onto the field and piled on top of each other. 

The Class 1A Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award winner watched as Lake County players celebrated a 38-23 victory over Greenback in the  BlueCross Bowl on Friday afternoon. Some of his teammates fell to the ground with tears streaming down their faces, a second straight season ending without a state championship, a 12-game winning streak ending exactly three months after it started. 

After Lake County scored a touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Falcons a 22-16 lead, Willis tackled Cayden Puckett on the ensuing two-point conversion try. As Willis tackled him, his toe got caught in the turf at Tennessee Tech's Tucker Stadium, and his ankle rolled. He didn't hear or feel a pop. Just pain. 

He limped back to the sideline, where his ankle was re-taped. Then he limped back to the locker room, where he was evaluated, given two pain killers, and then had his ankle and foot taped again. While in the locker room, Greenback (12-3) took the lead 23-22 after Wyatt Rutgerson rushed for a 5-yard touchdown.

"I knew that I wasn't going to back in the game," said Willis. "If it wasn't for the tape, in my mind, (my foot) feels like it's just hanging there." 

But he tried to get back in the game, running back and forth on the sideline, hoping maybe adrenaline would make his ankle go numb, or the pain killers would lessen the dull pain he felt.

But it never did. 

Willis watched Lake County (15-0) take a 30-23 lead with 7:28 left on a 4-yard touchdown run by Tanner Snyder. He watched as Snyder, the BlueCross Bowl MVP, intercepted a pass by quarterback Greenback senior quarterback Braden Carnes 28 seconds later, returning it 33 yards for a touchdown and a 38-23 lead. 

Willis set the state record for most receiving touchdowns in a season with 28 in last week's win over South Pittsburg, but he finished with one catch for 7 yards and no TDs on Friday. He ran for 1-yard touchdown to tie the game at 8 in the first half, then threw a 43-yard pass to Rutgerson to tie the game at 16 in the third. 

"He couldn't do nothing but limp on it," coach Greg Ryan said. "Don't get it wrong, he wanted to go, but there's no doubt he couldn't play." 

So Willis watched as Greenback didn't score on the very next drive, as Carnes' pass fell incomplete on fourth down in Lake County territory. He had his hands on his hips and saw Lake County gain four more first downs as the clock ticked down. 

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