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Scott High makes defensive adjustments, defeats Monterey
HUNTSVILLE | It was close for most of a half, as Monterey used a size advantage on the offensive line and mashed on Scott High with its run game.
But then came the second half, some defensive adjustments by the Highlanders, and a comfortable, 33-14 win over the Wildcats.
Scott High (2-0), stumbled at times offensively in its home opener, but used a big night on special teams — and another big night by explosive junior Carter Slaven — to pull away from Monterey (1-2).
Missing a key component of their offensive attack, the Wildcats leaned on Donald Musell. He was up to the challenge, rushing for 113 yards on 31 carries. Hank Shepard added 52 yards on 10 carries.
But after 130 yards in the first half — which seemed like even more, because Monterey was able to run almost at will against the Highlander defense on back-to-back possessions once it shifted to a heavy front — the Wildcats could do almost nothing in the second half.
Scott High shifted to a heavier defensive front and limited Monterey to just 56 yards of offense in the second half, and the Wildcats did not sniff the end zone.
“They’re very well coached,” Scott High coach Billy Hall said of Monterey. “They’re very good in the box and that’s what they do. Coach (Eric) Privett handled it very well. He came to me and said, ‘This is what I’ve got, and I said, ‘Absolutely, roll with it.’ I’ll be honest, I really didn’t even need to know what it was.”
As a result of the defensive adjustments, Scott High was able to pull off a comfortable win despite not generating any offensive scores of its own in the third or fourth quarters. The only score in the second half was a 57-yard Slaven punt return — his second of the game — early in the fourth quarter.
The Highlanders got the scoring started after a Monterey punt that was partially blocked to open the game. Gage Privett connected to Sawyer Barnes from six yards out to give Scott the early lead. Privett finished 12 of 18 for 157 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Monterey’s second possession resulted in another blocked punt, which was scooped up by Slaven at the 21-yard-line and returned for a touchdown, giving the Highlanders a 13-0 lead.
Unable to move the ball through its first two possessions, Monterey began to find some sizeable gaps to run through, and was able to put a pair of touchdowns on the board. The first was a one-yard run by Musell early in the second quarter.
Scott answered, though, as Slaven scored on an eight-yard run.
That was followed by a one-yard touchdown plunge by Ethan Phillips, as Monterey continued to hang around.
Again, the Highlanders had an answer. This time, Privett and Slaven hooked up for a 28-yard strike, making it 26-14 at the half.
Neither offense could get much going in the second half, but Slaven scooped up a punt off a bounce and returned it 57 yards for a score with 8:45 remaining. He is believed to be the first player in school history to return two punts for scores in a single game. He now has eight touchdowns in just two games this season.
Scott High finished with 222 yards of offense. Jesse Jeffers led the rushing attack with 59 yards on eight carries. Slaven was the top receiver, with four catches for 71 yards.
Hall said after the game that his team is still making mistakes, but they’re correctable.
“We just need to execute a little bit better on both sides of the football,” he said. “We’ve hurt ourselves a lot, but it’s things we can clean up. We’ve made some mental mistakes, but everything is fixable. And, nevertheless, we’re 2-0.”
One big issue for the Highlanders has been penalties. Through two games, Scott is averaging well over 100 yards per game in penalties.
“You’ve gotta be in the moment,” Hall said. “When the whistle blows, you can’t do something extra. You just have to be smart and know what’s going on. We just have to be aware of what’s going on.”
Three players left the game with injuries for Scott High, though the extent of them was not immediately clear. Kennix Parton and Devin Prewitt suffered ankle injuries, and Elijah Wilson left with a knee injury.
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Bledsoe County uses timely defensive stops to best Oneida
PIKEVILLE, Tenn. | The stat sheet suggested a much closer game than the scoreboard indicated.
The scoreboard said that Bledsoe County (2-1) defeated Oneida (2-1) by a 35-13 count on a muggy Friday evening.
The stat sheet, meanwhile, showed that Oneida rolled up 300 yards of offense on 43 snaps — identical to Bledsoe County’s 300 yards on 41 snaps.
The Indians rushed for 180 yards and, despite playing without injured junior quarterback Connor Mays, completed eight of 10 passes for 120 yards.
Time of possession and penalties were even between the two teams, as well, and neither the Indians nor the Warriors had a turnover.
So where did the difference come from? Bledsoe County did not have to punt the football, turning five possessions into five touchdowns, while its defense made stops at opportune times to force Oneida into a pair of punts and also a failed fourth down try.
That allowed the Warriors to build a 21-0 lead at the half and extend it to 35-7 before Oneida scored a touchdown in the game’s waning seconds.
Bledsoe County, always tough, scored on touchdown runs of seven yards, four yards, and two yards to build the 21-0 lead, underscoring its grind-it-out approach that was typical of Bledsoe County teams the Indians have faced in years past.
Oneida was able to edge back into the game with a 12-play, 80-yard drive to start the third quarter, which ended with a 17-yard touchdown run by Waylon Hill.
But Bledsoe answered with back-to-back touchdowns by Noah Shrum to put the game out of reach.
Shrum finished with 66 yards on six carries, including three touchdowns. Bledsoe quarterback Luke Morris completed all four of his passes for 79 yards.
Gage Duncan led Oneida’s ground attack with 89 yards on 16 carries.
In Mays’ absence, senior Cannon McDowell completed five of seven passes for 77 yards, including a 51-yard connection with Kannon Gazay. Waylon Hill completed three of three passes for 43 yards, and added 59 rushing yards on eight carries.
Hill added 10 tackles on defense, and was named the IH Sports Network’s First National Bank Player of the Game.
Sophomore Tate Shepard led the Oneida defense, with 11 stops.
Bledsoe County took the game’s opening possession after a big kickoff return to midfield. Despite digging a deep hole with back-to-back penalties, the Warriors converted a third-and-15 play and eventually scored on a seven-yard run by Cade Swafford.
Oneida’s first possession started with a McDowell-to-Drayton Wade pass for a first down, but stalled immediately after that. Bledsoe was impressive in its response, reeling off four first downs in five plays to get deep into the Indian red zone. Oneida stiffened its back inside the 10-yard-line, but Bledsoe County was able to convert a fourth down play, then score on a short run by Marcos Ramirez to build a 14-0 lead.
Oneida got into Bledsoe County territory on its next possession, but found itself behind the sticks after a third down penalty, and was forced to punt.
Bledsoe’s third and final possession of the first half led to another Warrior touchdown, as they covered 64 yards in nine plays, scoring on a two-yard run by Shrum with less than a minute remaining in the half.
Oneida nearly got into the end zone to end the first half, when McDowell and Gazay connected on the 51-yard pass play to the goal line. But Bledsoe’s defense came up with a big stop, as Shrum made the tackle at the two-yard-line to keep the Indians off the board.
That stop loomed even larger when Oneida started the second half by marching 80 yards in 12 plays to score on a 17-yard run by Hill.
But even if the first half had ended with a score, Bledsoe County’s offense was too dominant against an always-stout Oneida defense. The Warriors responded to the Indians’ score by swiftly marching 73 yards in six plays. On third down, Shrum broke free for a 38-yard touchdown run, making any comeback by Oneida seem impossible.
With the game growing late and the three-touchdown deficit on the board, Oneida was forced to attempt to convert a fourth-and-one play at its own 27-yard-line on the ensuing possession. Bledsoe County got a stop at the line of scrimmage, and quickly tacked on an insurance score for a 35-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Oneida took possession with 7:58 left on the clock and put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive that ended on a two-yard touchdown run by Gage Duncan with 11 seconds remaining.
The road won’t get any easier for Oneida in the short-term, as the Indians get set for a Friday night trip to CAK, one of the state’s top-ranked private schools. That will be Oneida’s final tune-up before beginning region play.
Words of Wisdom
Each week, Preacher Johnny Polk and the Oneida Church of Christ present Words of Wisdom, short devotionals that are archived on our website. Here is the current Words of Wisdom. (Sponsored content.)
☀️ Weather: We’ll be hot and dry today, but it’ll feel nice compared to what we’ve seen the past week or so. We’ll top out around 86 degrees with mostly sunny skies. It’ll be another dry week overall, though we will see a chance of rain Thursday and Thursday night. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot — or always available at indherald.com.
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📅 Community Calendar
Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 9:15 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.
Tuesday: Scott County Commission will meet in an organizational session at the Scott County Office Building in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.
Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.
Tuesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).
Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.
Wednesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at the Highway 27 Unity Club in Oneida at 12 p.m.
Wednesday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will host Golden Grooves Exercise at 1 p.m.
Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. 569-8828.
Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Thursday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center in Huntsville will offer a trip at 10:30 a.m.
Thursday: The Scott County Board of Education will meet in regular session at the Central Office in Huntsville, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas Utility District pipelines are generally safe. They can be damaged by things such as excavation, natural forces, and automobile accidents. These can potentially cause a leak.Visit citizensgastn.com.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes From the Past tomorrow. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)