Battle of 840, Page 19 Fairview 0
The Page High School football team accomplished the improbable almost in spite of itself. The Patriots stopped host Fairview cold on the road 19-0 handing the home team their first shutout loss since November of 2015. And they did it despite giving up 95 yards thanks to a bloated 12 penalties. “I’m happy for the win, I’m happy for these guys and I’m happy for the seniors,” said Page head coach Charles Rathbone after the victory. “But we’ve got to get better. This was sloppier than last year. We had nine penalties at halftime, two turnovers, missed two extra points – no I’m not happy about everything.” One thing Rathbone could be pleased with was the play of senior quarterback and linebacker Colin Hurd. The region’s defensive player of the year last season was stellar on that side of the ball again, but his play on offense was more impressive. Hurd hit 13 of 19 passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another 49 yards on seven carries in the win. He and senior Max Collins played catch 13 times, with Collins hauling in 11 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. “We call that a gift,” Rathbone said with a smile. “It’s always there.” At one point, Hurd targeted Collins on six straight pass plays. “And we were six-for-six, right? We’ll take it,” Rathbone added. After a scoreless first quarter, the pair hooked up for the Patriots’ first score, a one-play drive that covered 60 yards and set the Yellow Jackets back on their heels. Fairview responded, driving inside the Page red-zone for the second time in the game with less than two minutes remaining in the first half, but came up empty for a second time when a backside holding penalty nullified a touchdown and killed the drive at the Page 15-yard line. The Patriots upped the lead to 13-0 at the 3:05 mark of the third quarter when Hurd found a streaking Ethan Lisman for a 25-yard score. They sealed the deal when Ethan Cunningham broke loose down the left sideline early in the fourth, breaking tackles at the line and second level before racing 71-yards for the final score of the night. The Yellow Jackets continued to fight, crossing into Patriot territory two more times in the game, but they could not finish the effort. Fairview coach Chris Hughes was proud of the effort and fight in his team, but disappointed with red zone results and being shutout. “We just struggled to get consistent drives and kept shooting ourselves in the foot with stupid penalties," he said. "We’ve got to find ways to finish drive. Our first one got inside their 20 and stalled, the touchdown called back by a penalty, we had another ball dropped at the two. I felt like we were on a down escalator trying to go up. "I can count on one hand the amount of times Fairview’s been shutout. That just doesn’t happen. Hat’s off to Page’s defense; even when we’re playing bad, we can put up a touchdown or two. We gotta figure out a way to score.” Hughes was hoping for a strong game from junior quarterback Mays McCoy, who was making his first high school start. McCoy’s stats didn't jump out, but a paper report will fail to show how much the youngster stood strong despite rude introductions to Hurd, Eric Hazzard and Caleb Meeks among other Patriots all night long. “I’m real happy about how Mays played," Hughes said. "For him to have so much pressure on him in his first start, and to still be able scramble around and make some good decisions, this is only going to make him better." “The main thing is we can’t hang our heads and pout about it," Hughes added. "We’ve just gotta fix it and move on." Fairview (0-1) will get the chance to get even next week, traveling to Class 4A Creek Wood (1-0), a 13-7 winner over Class 6A Dickson County Friday night. Page (1-0) will host Franklin (0-1) next week. The Admirals fell at home to Riverdale, 14-10, to open the season.
Source: Williamson Herald
Brentwood 24 Blackman 13
The Bruins drained the clock late with a lengthy scoring drive and used three Isaac Hayes field goals to pull away from visiting Blackman for a Week 1 victory Friday. Brentwood’s Adam Fontechia capped a 13-play, 74-yard drive that chewed up most of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:47 to play. The drive lasted nearly eight minutes. Fontechia also scored the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter on another 1-yard plunge as Brentwood staked a 16-14 lead. Hayes knocked down field goals from 34 and 50 yards in the first quarter and added a 49-yarder in the third for the Bruins, who pounded out 227 yards on the ground on 47 carries. Homzi Nassar rushed for 87 yards on 21 touches and Jackson Lowe gained 84 yards on 11 carries to lead the Bruins' bruising ground game. Blackman quarterback Jack Risner guided the Blazer offense going 18 of 30 with 293 yards and two touchdown throws to Ben Marshall. Brentwood’s Kyler Green snagged an interception and Max Orefice was in on two sacks to lead the defense. Brentwood avenged a 38-35 loss at Blackman in last season’s opener. The Bruins head to Father Ryan in Week 2 and Summit in Week 3.
Source: Williamson Herald
Centennial 38 Overton 28
Brendan Jones threw for three touchdowns, Tanner Lee rushed for two more and the Centennial High School football team kicked off the 2022 season with a Week 1 victory at Overton in Nashville. Jones and Lee paced the offense in a 38-28 victory over the Wildcats. Defensively, Keegan Scruggs and Zavion Haddux both posted two sacks and Kane Johnson snagged an interception and blocked a punt. Centennial scored the first 28 points before the host Bobcats scored twice in the third quarter to close within 28-14. A cougar field goal early in the fourth pushed the lead to 31-14 before Overton’s Jevon Edmondson scored on the ground to close within 10 points at 31-21. Lee provided a late touchdown to add to the cushion before Overton scored inside the final 30 seconds to provide the final score. Jones closed 15 of 23 for 322 yards with the three touchdowns – two to Alex Perez and another to Kani Johnson. Johnson hauled in six balls for 149 yards. Lee led the ground attack with 113 yards and two TDS on 25 carries as Centennial closed with just over 500 yards of offense. The Cougars play at home in Weeks 2 and 3 beginning with Lincoln County next Friday.
Source: Williamson Herald
Franklin 10 Riverdale 14
Riverdale’s DJ Taylor scored on a 23-yard touchdown run with 3:42 to play to lift the visiting Warriors past Franklin in the Week 1 season-opener Friday. Isreal Celestine capped the contest with a late interception for Riverdale. Just two minutes prior in the final frame, the Admirals staked a 10-7 edge when Brewer Wilson hit Cooper Brown for a 53-yard strike. Franklin managed to hold a 237-143 edge in total offense. Wilson guided the Admirals going 15 of 22 for 147 yards with the TD to Brown, who closed with seven receptions for 123 yards. Jaylen Spring totaled 58 yards rushing on 19 carries to lead the ground game. Franklin heads to Page in Week 2.
Source: Williamson Herald
Independence 24 CPA 42
Crews Law rushed for three touchdowns and London Humphreys added two more scores on throws from Thomas Vaccaro as CPA bested visiting Independence to open the season. Law scored on each of his carries, including a 30-yard touchdown run to open the third quarter that boosted the CPA lead to 35-17. Law’s second touchdown run wiped out some late first-half momentum by the Eagles when he scored two minutes before the half to answer a Cody Pagach touchdown throw to Brayden Needham with 2:53 to play in the frame that brought Indy within 21-17. Pagach closed 9 of 14 for 146 yards with the one TD and two interceptions. He exited in the second half because of an injury. The Eagles played without Alabama commit Ty Lockwood, while CPA was without head coach Ingle Martin. Tre Hartwell rushed 25 times for 96 yards and a touchdown for Indy, which also had four receptions for 73 yards and a score from Daniel Morales. Brooks Sapone added three grabs for 88 yards and also played under center in the second half, throwing for a TD. The Eagles will play their home opener in Week 2 against Trezevant, while CPA heads to Brentwood Academy to kick off four consecutive games on the road.
Source: Williamson Herald
Nolensville 38 BGA 14
The Knights senior quarterback Coby Walton picked up right where he left off last season by throwing for 300 yards and two touchdowns in Friday’s Week 1 win in Franklin. His top target Chance Fitzgerald collected eight receptions for 190 yards and TD, while Eric Harper caught the other touchdown and Dylan Northcutt added five catches for 67 yards. Samson Johnson rushed for two scores with 95 yards on 14 touches for the Nolensville ground game. After leading 21-14 at the half, Johnson’s second TD with 5:04 to play in the third quarter extended the Knights’ lead to 28-14. Reese Miller added a 24-yard field goal early in the fourth for the visitors and Zion Tamaska put the finishing touches on the contest with a 4-yard touchdown run. Trey Woods was a menace on defense with three sacks to lead the Knights. Nolensville out-gained the Wildcats 466-193 on the night. Austin Ford gained 132 yards on 21 carries with two touchdowns to pace BGA. Will Evans led the defense with seven tackles. The Wildcats head into a Thursday matchup at Ravenwood in Week 2, while Nolensville hosts Giles County on Friday.
Source: Williamson Herald
Ravenwood 20 MBA 46
In a game that had a taste of the Egg Bowl, Chris Parson found himself scrambling. Again and again. The Ravenwood High School senior quarterback was continuously harassed and hounded by the Montgomery Bell Academy defense on Friday night during the Raptors’ 46-20 season-opening home loss to the Big Red. The game, played in front of a massive crowd, featured two of the state’s top quarterbacks — Ravenwood’s Parson, who committed to Mississippi State last week, and MBA’s Marcel Reed, an Ole Miss commit. The two QBs could potentially square off again in the years ahead while taking part in one of the SEC’s oldest rivalries — the annual Egg Bowl — between Ole Miss and Miss. State. For now, though, Parson is focused on more immediate matters: Bouncing back from Friday’s loss and moving on with the 2022 season. “We’ve just got to be better, straight up,” said Parson. “We need to clear our heads, correct our mistakes and come out and start fresh next week.” For MBA, Reed showcased his arm strength, speed and accuracy. He completed 14-of-17 passes for 252 yards (unofficially) with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran for a score. Ravenwood’s Parson had some highlight reel plays, too, but the crafty quarterback seldom had much time to find open receivers. The MBA defense routinely found its way into the Ravenwood backfield, forcing Parson into numerous hurried throws and tuck-and-runs. “They are a really good team with a really good defense — and we just didn’t execute against them,” Parson said. “We made too many mistakes. We just need to get back to the drawing board.” Parson completed 11-of-18 passes for 152 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Ravenwood head coach Will Hester said the Raptors will need to do a better job of supporting Parson in the weeks ahead. “We’ve got to help him out,” Hester said. “He’s a great football player, but nobody can be a one-man show. He did some really good things, but he has some things that he needs to clean up, too. We’ve all got to get better, and we need to get better around him as well.” MBA jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, when Reed threw a pair of touchdown passes, including hooking up with Jonothan Moore on an 84-yard scoring connection late in the quarter. The teams then delivered an explosive and eventful second quarter that featured three touchdowns in the final 5:47 before halftime. Ravenwood’s Carter Pace, who had a solid night, scored both of the Raptors’ touchdowns in the second quarter. He had a one-yard run early in the quarter and later added a 24-yard burst that came with exactly three minutes left before halftime and enabled Ravenwood to pull within 19-13. But MBA scored again on a TD pass from Reed to Hutton Durrant with just 12 seconds left in the second quarter to push the lead to 26-13. The Big Red put together another touchdown drive on their opening possession of the third quarter, and tacked on two more scores in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 45-13 with 4:40 remaining in the game. Ravenwood’s final touchdown came in the last minute of the fourth quarter, when Parson found Corbin Firth on a 19-yard scoring strike. Hester said the Raptors will use Friday’s game as a chance to grow. “We try to play the best (teams) in the state — that’s what we want to do in order to be prepared when October, November and December roll around,” Hester said. “And this team (MBA) is one of the best teams in the state. We didn’t play very well tonight, and we didn’t put up much of a fight. We’ve got some mistakes we need to correct. But I think, if we get some of those fixed, we still have everything we want to do in front of us.” Parson said the Raptors will turn the page quickly after the loss. “We can’t worry about this one too long,” he said, “especially with BGA coming up on Thursday. It will be a shorter week (than normal). We want to come out strong next week; that’s the mindset we have to have.” After Thursday’s game against BGA, the Raptors visit Franklin the following week, then host back-to-back games against two-time defending Class 6A champion Oakland and rival Brentwood.
Source: Williamson Herald
Summit 7 Henry County 30
The Spartans struck first but were silenced the rest of the way by a tough Henry County team Friday night in Week 1. Summit’s Dominick Hollis capped the game’s opening drive with a 1-yard touchdown run before Henry County scored the next five touchdowns. The Patriots also took advantage of three Summit turnovers. Jayce Kendall recovered a fumble and scored in the final seconds of the first quarter for Henry County and also scored on an interception return midway through the second to highlight the Patriots big night on defense. The Spartans were out-gained 295-154 in the contest, which was played in Franklin at Centennial since the new Summit turf field wasn’t ready for the season opener. Morgan Barrick led the Patriots on offense with 161 yards rushing on 15 touches with one TD. Hollis closed with 62 yards on the ground. Summit will try to break in its new field in Week 2 against Spring Hill.
Source: Williamson Herald
