KINGSPORT – A battle for second place in region 4-A, saw the Elizabethton Cyclones take to the road to face Sullivan South in a showdown game with a home playoff game as the prize for victory.
The Cyclones’ second-half rally secured the 42-13 win, and with a win over Sullivan Central next week, the Cyclones will open the TSSAA 4-A playoffs at home.
South (6-3, 4-2 conference) surprised the Cyclones with an onside kick that was recovered by Nick Drumwright at the 44-yard line. From there the Rebels marched to a score in 12 plays with senior quarterback Luke Pollack covering the last nine yards for a 7-0 South advantage.
The Cyclones (7-1, 5-1 conference) came back and drove 80 yards in three plays with senior Corey Russell taking in a 20-yard scoring pass from Carter Everett that knotted the score at 7-7 with Jaxton Holly’s successful point-after kick.
The Cyclones then forced a punt and took possession at the 46-yard line. It took just seven plays for Bryson Rollins to score on a 2-yard run for a 14-7 EHS lead. The Rebels took possession at the start of the second quarter and held the ball for 24 plays driving to the Cyclone 5-yard line, but penalties set the Rebels back to the 31 where they failed on a Hail Mary pass in the end zone that was picked off by Parker Hughes.
“That was a big stop, and we got some penalties to back them up,” said Cyclones head coach Shawn Witten. “They did some things that hurt us defensively, but we got back and shut them out in the second half. We played well a week ago, and we learned a lot about ourselves and tried not to make the same mistakes we made last Friday night.”
The Rebel drive took up almost the entire second period giving up the ball to the Cyclones with 1:24 left before halftime. EHS had to settle for a 14-7 halftime lead when Everett’s last-gasp pass into the end zone from the 21-yard line was batted down by the South’s Austin Monds. Everett completed 9-of-12 passes in the half for 147 yards and one touchdown.
In the second half, it was all Cyclones as EHS scored three touchdowns in the third period with Russell scoring on an improbable 46-yard run in which he weaved his way through the entire South defense it seemed. With the PAT from Holly, the Cyclones now held a 21-7 lead.
“It’s always good to secure a playoff spot at home,” Russell said. “In the playoffs, you always play a good team so having that home field advantage, with the home crowd and not having to take a long bus ride means a lot.”
South went three-and-out and punted, and EHS drove for another score on the wings of an Everett-to-Hughes connection that went for 24 yards. Russell then picked off Pollack and returned the takeaway to the 3-yard line from where he punched it in as EHS now led 35-7.
Now it was time to unleash the run game and senior tailback Austin Outland was up for that task running for 106 yards on six carries including a 1-yard touchdown plunge.
“Austin Outland has been doing a great job the last few weeks,” Witten said. “Carter did a great job, and he has a lot of good players around him making plays. We still have some things to work on, and this was a great way for us to respond from last week.”
Everett finished the night completing 12-of-17 passes for 199 yards and a pair of scores. After Outland’s touchdown, the clock was a continuous running clock, but South managed to put together a scoring drive that was capped off by a 6 -yard scamper from freshman running back Jackson McGee.
EHS 42-13
Elizabethton 14 0 21 7 – 42
Sullivan South 7 0 0 6 – 13
Scoring summary
First Quarter
S – L. Pollack 9 run (Iacino kick) 5:50
E – Russell 20 pass from Everett (Holly kick) 4:56
E – Rollins 2 run (Holly kick) 1:16
Third Quarter
E – Russell 46 run (Holly kick) 8:38
E – Hughes 24 pass from Everett (Holly kick) 4:39
E – Russell 3 run (Holly kick) 2:48
Fourth Quarter
E – Outland 1 run (Holly kick) 9:42
S – McGee 6 run (kick failed) :13.6