Cougars ran out of town by Cyclones
Published 2:18 pm Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone wide receiver Eli Blevins tries to outrun the Northview defense to the end zone pylon.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Offensive lineman Josh Hayes lifts Jeriah Griffin high into the air after a Griffin touchdown run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders EHS wide receiver Jeriah Griffin has the edge after a reception.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone quarterback Rhett Slagle throws a pass while on the run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Running back Zeth Mullins breaks free for a big gain for EHS.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Zeth Mullins follows the blocking of Eli Blevins for a first down run.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Kaleb Holzer takes advantage of a big hole to move the football closer to the goal line.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders The Elizabethton cheerleaders worked hard to keep the crowd energized during Friday's contest.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Ben Adams (44) makes a diving attempt to trip up a Northview runner while Mason Ball awaits if needed.
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STAR CORRESPONDENT
After six long weeks of playing road warrior football, the Elizabethton Cyclones finally were able to step onto the field at Citizens Bank Stadium before a huge gathering of Cyclone Nation to welcome their undefeated Cyclones home.
Making things extra special was the night was set aside to celebrate Homecoming 2023 and what a night it was as the Cyclones overcame a slow start in the first half to run away from Northview Academy in the second half winning 42-7 to run their record to 7-0 on the season.
Northview dropped to 6-2.
After the defense did their job in getting the football back from Northview after the Cougars took the initial kickoff, the Cyclones marched down the field to go up 7-0 on a Jeriah Griffin one-yard touchdown run. Will Bowers continued his good work by converting the point-after to put the Cyclones on top.
The Cougars however weren’t going to just bow down and allow the Cyclones to have it go their way all night as they responded four minutes into the second quarter on a Mason Phillips eight-yard run. Dennis De Leon Quintanilla converted on the PAT and the score was tied at 7-7.
Elizabethton wasn’t finished in the half either as quarterback Rhett Slagle dialed in his arm and found Griffin on a dazzling 38-yard scoring pass to put the Cyclones up 14-7 on Bowers PAT with 5:40 left before the half.
Neither team could push any more points before the half came to an end as the Cyclones clutched tightly to a 14-7 advantage.
The Cyclones took the opening kickoff and quickly put another score on the board just two minutes into the third quarter when Slagle found Luke Whaley on a 24-yard touchdown pass. Bowers stayed perfect with his third PAT of the night ti give the Cyclones some cushion at 21-7.
After making adjustments at the half, the Cyclones turned up the heat defensively in the second half allowing only 31 total yards of offense to the Cougars in the second half while putting the ball into the end zone three more times after the Whaley score.
Zeth Mullins was a wrecking machine on one drive carrying the ball for nearly 70 yards on a drive that resulting in a score for Mullins on a seven-yard run. Bowers kick made it 28-7 with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter.
The Cyclones weren’t finished in the quarter as Whaley was once again on the receiving end of an 81-yard bomb launched from the arm of Slagle to extend the Cyclone advantage to 35-7 on Bowers kick.
Mullins closed out the scoring in the final quarter of action when he burst to the left side of the line and outraced the Cougar defense to the end zone for a 15-yard scoring gallop. Bowers made good on his sixth point-after of the game to give the game its final score of 42-7.
Elizabethton finished the night with 486 yards of total offense to only 162 for the Cougars. Slagle was on fire in the contest completing 16-of-24 passes for 280 yards and three scoring passes.
Mullins added another 100-yard plus rushing night as the senior carried the football 11 times for 123 yards and two scores. Kaleb Holzer was a workhorse for the Cyclones as he toted the ball 16 times for 70 yards.
Whaley finished the evening hauling in five passes covering 124 yards and two scores while Griffin added seven receptions for 123 yards and one score.
Defensively, Eli Blevins and Whaley each came up with a fumble recovery while Justus Wallin added a sack.
The Cyclones will host Volunteer on Friday night with a kickoff which has been moved to 7 pm at Citizens Bank Stadium.
Elizabethton, 42-7
NORTHVIEW 0 7 0 0 — 7
ELIZABETHTON 7 7 21 7 — 42
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
E — Griffin 1 run (Bowers kick), 6:17
Second Quarter
NA — Phillips 8 run (Quintanilla kick), 8:07
E — Griffin 38 pass from Slagle (Bowers kick), 5:40
Third Quarter
E — Whaley 24 pass from Slagle (Bowers kick), 10:03
E — Mullins 7 run (Bowers kick), 4:55
E — Whaley 81 pass from Slagle (Bowers kick), 0:37
Fourth Quarter
E — Mullins 15 run (Bowers kick), 6:50
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Game Statistics
NA E
FIRST DOWNS 11 18
PASSING (C-A-I) 5-13-2 16-24-1
PASSING YARDS 18 280
RUSHES-YARDS 39-144 31-206
TOTAL YARDS 162 486
FUMBLES-LOST 0-0 1-0
PUNTS-AVG. 5-31.3 2-36.5
PENALTIES-YARDS 5-20 4-25
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Individual Statistics
PASSING — NA: Phillips 5-13-2 18 yds; EHS: Rhett Slagle 16-24-1 280 yds 3 TD.
RUSHING — NA: Schroth 20-81, Phillips 9-26 TD, Wharton 5-22, Hance 3-7, Regan 1-4, Laney 1-4; EHS: Holzer 16-70, Mullins 11-123 2 TD, Griffin 3-12 TD, Slagle 1-1.
RECEIVING — NA: Thompson 3-6, Stolz 2-12; EHS: Griffin 7-123 TD, Whaley 5-124 2 TD, Blevins 4-33.
INTERCEPTIONS — NA: Durmaz; EHS: Blevins, Whaley.
SACKS — EHS: J. Wallen.
FUMBLE RECOVERIES — EHS: Slagle.
