By a fingernail… Streseman’s blocked PAT difference as Elizabethton downs South 14-13
Published 1:33 am Saturday, October 26, 2019
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Star Photo/Ivan Sanders South running back Julian Reed is hemmed in by Cyclone defenders Deuce Morton (20), Zach A. Harley (80) and Cade Maupin (6).
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton running back Cade Maupin looks for an opening as he is being surrounded by a trio of South defenders.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton quarterback Bryson Rollins puts air under a ball as he sends it down field toward an intended receiver.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton quarterback Bryson Rollins runs the ball in the heart of a stingy Sullivan South defense in the Cyclones 14-13 win Friday night.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton's Jordan Haynes prepares to lay the smack down on South receiver Isaac Haynie.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton's Jordan Haynes (on ground) and Deuce Morton team up to bring down South running back Julian Reed.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone wide receiver Parker Hughes picks up a chunk of yardage after a short screen pass against South.
BY IVAN SANDERS
STAR SPORTS EDITOR
ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com
Elizabethton defensive lineman Carson Streseman man not cut his fingernails again until after the 2019 Cyclone football season is completed as it was Streseman’s hand on a Sullivan South point-after attempt that could have possibly salvaged an undefeated season for the Cyclones.
Streseman burst through the gut on South’s PAT and batted the ball down to preserve a tougher than expected battle against a very determined Rebel team looking to upset the one-week-old #1 team in the state in Class 4-A as Elizabethton took the 14-13 win in rainy conditions at Citizens Bank Stadium.
With the win, the Cyclones outright clinched Region 1 Class 4-A and will have home-field advantage all the way to the state championship game providing
they can keep winning throughout the playoffs.
It wasn’t as easy a win as some might have been thinking it would be as the Cyclones struggled mightily, and even at times appeared to sleep walk through the contest, before finally doing just enough to win the game.
Now, if the Cyclones should win next week’s game against Sullivan Central, they will have a legacy of being one of two undefeated teams in Cyclone history with the last coming in 1951 under the legendary John Treadway which also went 10-0.
The Cyclones scored first in the contest as wide receiver Parker Hughes took a pass from quarterback Bryson Rollins and did the rest on a 41-yard scoring toss that gave the Cyclones a 7-0 lead after Jaxton Holly booted the PAT with 1:22 left to play in the first quarter.
Neither team dented the scoreboard in the second quarter of action as it was a game of tough-nosed football on both sides with a bend-but-don’t-break attitude being exhibited by both teams.
South had threatened a couple of times in the contest and finally made good on the threat with 3:46 showing on the third quarter clock when Eli Topping barreled over the goal line from the one-yard line to even the score on Light’s PAT at 7-7.
With fans on the edge of their seats and more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs, Cyclone senior running back Cade Maupin eased the breathing just a tad as he went wild and galloped 73 yards to pay dirt with 2:09 left in the third quarter.
Once again Holly proved to be true on the point-after and the Cyclones took a 14-7.
Everyone knew the game was way from over and South sent chills through the stands when quarterback Ethan Bergeron bulled into the end zone from one-yard out with 2:15 left in regulation.
That was when Streseman made one of the most memorable plays of his Cyclone career by blocking the point-after to keep the game at 14-13.
Elizabethton managed to recover an onside attempt and ran the clock out after successfully picking up a couple of first downs and exhausting South’s timeouts.
“It was huge knowing it was that close of a game,” said Streseman after the contest. “If they scored we would either go to overtime or they could have possibly have won it if they got the ball back.
“I just had to just focus on my team. Joe (Joseph Kechter) blew up the guard and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t have gotten the block.”
The game was about as close statistically as it was on the scoreboard as Elizabethton accounted for 306 yards of offense while South recorded 300 yards.
The Cyclones rushed the ball 32 times for 159 yards while South toted the pigskin 45 times for 110 yards. Rollins was 7-of-15 passing for 147 yards on the night while Bergeron was 11-of-18 for 190 yards.
South actually had 15 first downs to eight for the Cyclones.
Once again, a stat that jumped out was the Cyclones being whistled for seven penalties totaling 85 yards while South was given the yellow hanky four times for 30 yards.
Maupin came away with big numbers offensively once again carrying the ball 21 times for 172 yards on the ground while Parker Hughes reeled in five receptions covering 111 yards in the game.
“I thought we came out ready to play as we had some chances and early opportunities but hats off to our defense tonight,” said Cyclone head coach Shawn Witten. “They really made some big-time stops.
“Hats off to Sullivan South. They played a really great game and are a good football team. Sometimes you just have to battle and find a way and tonight we were fortunate.
“When you are going to be a championship football team, you have to have some breaks and plays that come along your way.”
One of the defensive standouts in the evening was Zach A. Hartley.
“Honestly they had a lot of sized and we may have been a little unprepared and underestimated them a little,” said Hartley. “But in the end we stuck together and did what Cyclones do.
“It’s probably the best feeling that I have had in my entire life,” said Hartley about the opportunity to finish the season with an unblemished 10-0 regular-season record.
