Homecoming Week 2022…Cyclones continue to sharpen after weathering brutal first half of season

Published 10:20 am Tuesday, September 27, 2022

STAR CORRESPONDENT

The Elizabethton Cyclones can make a justified argument that they are the best 1-4 team in Class 4-A in Tennessee.

Why one might ask? Simply put, the brutal schedule they have played through the first half of their 2022 season taking on #1 Greeneville (21-0 loss), #2 Anderson Co. (35-34 OT loss), # 6 Class 5A Daniel Boone (7-0 loss) and Class 6A Science Hill (17-7) with their win being over Grainger Co. (47-0).

With the confidence that continues to grow week after week, many believe that the Cyclones could be starting a climb to the pinnacle over the next eight weeks of the season that could put them in a position to return to the state championship as the peak is still on an upward curve.

Case in point is the Anderson Co. game in which the Cyclones had an ample opportunity to win on the road at one of the hardest places to play in the state. Every game is a learning game for this team and there appears to be a cohesiveness coming together on the offensive side to go along with the stellar play of the defensive unit since the start of the season.

This week the Cyclones will have to deal with the festivities of Homecoming 2022 which hopefully will not provide too much distraction as a Sullivan East team that put up a lot of points in a loss, 56-35, last week to state-ranked Class 3A team Unicoi Co. before falling late.

The Patriots have scored 38, 26, 24, 50, 21, and 35 this season in their six games played. They come into Friday’s game with an overall record of 2-4.

“I think that we played complementary football,” said Cyclone head coach Shawn Witten. “I think that Friday’s game is the hardest that we have played all year. We played so hard that it covered up a lot of the mistakes. We had almost 400 yards of offense which was really good to see. The guys really laid it on the line Friday and we took major steps. We knew they were going to make a good run. We have come so far. The schedule has been really tough early. If we can use the struggles that we have had early on to help us finish strong, then I think it can be a tremendous advantage for us.”

The confidence that is starting to ooze from this squad of Cyclones is starting to be more visible with each game. In Friday’s game, there was a lot of fire not only on the field but on the sidelines as the game began to play itself out.

“We had a chance of winning seven straight going into the second round of the playoffs so we have to win six of the last seven to give ourselves a chance to make goals and get back to where we want to be,” Witten said. “The best way to really build confidence is to run the rest of the table. We let this one slip away but we played really well. All it took was one game to get our confidence going and you have seen what we have done. Nate (Stephens) had 164 yards rushing and got open and made a lot of great plays. Our practice and preparation have been much better. We just have to keep it going and see how we can finish.”

Witten added that high school football is really three seasons – the first half of the season, the second half of the season, and playoffs. The head coach in his 16th season said the Cyclones can be a tough team if they use their tough schedule early to help them later, saying that no one had played a tougher schedule.

“We have had some grit and protected a little bit more on the offensive line,” said Witten. “Dalton (Mitchell) played his tail off at quarterback making some good throws and a couple of good runs.  Gib (Maupin) had the first touchdown. We did a great job of taking the shots when we needed to. We can build on what we have done over the last couple of weeks. We have settled into kind of a spread offense and moving (Jacob) Whitaker to the interior of the line has given us a six-man rotation that has seemed to work.

“A coach told me one time that you have to start peaking at the right time and I think that we are doing that.”

The kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. inside Citizen’s Bank Stadium.