Unaka Rangers Thrash Cosby, 64-0, secure home-field playoff game

Published 12:03 am Saturday, October 15, 2022

By C.Y. Peters

Star Correspondent

It was so cold Friday night I thought we were going to need a bigger coat.  By halftime, according to Citizens Bank, it was only 17 degrees above freezing and that was in town.  Mildred Issacs, who was a cheerleader in1962, made the game and it was her birthday.

  On the creek, Unaka Quarterback Landon Ramsey was 10 for 17 for 218 yards with two touchdowns, Joe-z Blamo caught five catches for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns.  T.J. Thomas scored a 55-yard touchdown and had one called back of 45-yards. The Rangers had 14 penalties and two touchdowns called back, and they still led 44-0 in the first half.

  Cosby would only cross the 50-yard line one time in the game, they would finish the night with 18-yards rushing and 34 receiving as the Ranger’s defense was on top of their game tonight. Cosby threw three interceptions and only made two first downs.

  Ramsey would get Unaka on the scoreboard with 10:13 in the first on an eight-yard run.  Cosby would run three plays before having to punt. Ramsey then hit Joe-z Blamo for a score, Jamol Blamo added the two-point conversion and the Rangers led 14-0. Blamo would intercept a Cosby pass on the next series and run 55-yards for a score, but a flag brought this one back.  On the next play, Joe-z made another great catch this one was a yellow flag the referee had thrown into the air.

  T.J. Thomas would make a catch and run up the middle 55 yards to move the score to 34-0. Ryan Peters added the PAT to make it 36-0 Unaka. Blamo would add another score, Freeman’s two points to give Unaka a 44-0 lead going into halftime.

 The Rangers would receive the ball to start the second half, Johnny Douglas returned the kick to Cosby’s territory to the 46-yard line. Thomas would score his second touchdown from 45-yards out. Peters again added the two points to make it 52-0. Ramsey would score a third touchdown, Peters added another and the Rangers secured a home-field playoff game with a 64-0 win.

Principal Mike Ensor wanted to set new goals and break records for the Rangers and this game was the first time the Rangers scored 64 points in a game.  Henry Wayne said he didn’t know the scoreboard went that high.  Coach Bennett said it was a School record for points and margin of victory.

  Ramsey rushed 12 times for 166 yards and scored three touchdowns, T.J. Thomas had four rushes for 85-yards and a score. Jamol carried seven times for 28-yards and a touchdown and Ryan Peters rushed one time for a 15-yard score.  Receiving, Joe-z made five catches for 117-yards and two touchdowns, Thomas made two catches for 69-yards and A.J. Greenless made three catches for 31 yards.  Unaka ended with 490 total yards, and Cosby netted 52-yards.

“Kids did a great job,” said Coach Bennett. “Joe-Z Blamo really stepped up and made plays at wide receiver. AJ Greenless got thrown into the fire as a sub at free safety against the state’s leading receiver and came away with an interception and made several plays. TJ Thomas stepped up at running back and had several explosive runs. Any time you set a school record, a lot of credit has to go to the offensive line.”

  “Marcus Shomaker, Tyler Smith, Jacob Wilson, Brayden Powell, Aidan Peterson, and Nathan Wilson did a great job paving the way for those big plays. Ryan Peters scored the record-setting touchdown following a block around the edge from Josh Mann at wide receiver.  Our defense has shown tremendous improvement this season. We have only given up 27 points combined in our last four games and earned a shutout against an explosive Cosby offense scoring 29 points per game. It was a complete team victory and our kids earned a home playoff game which is a big win for the whole community,” he said.