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By Pat Cole
pcole@mckenziebanner.com |
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Following cessation of the showers that plagued West
Tennessee throughout the day last Friday, the Tigers of
Caldwell County, Kentucky and War Eagles of West Carroll
met in a non-regional game in Atwood. The wet field
presented no real concerns for either team, as both
played hard for the victory.West Carroll won the toss and received the first
offensive opportunity with Chancey Depriest receiving
and then fumbling the ball. West Carroll recovered and
then Shane Depriest took the ball for a first down at
the 19-yard line. Kevin Gentile lost a yard and on
second down, a pass to S. Depriest was incomplete.
Jeremiah Johnson was held to no gain and on fourth down,
Jordan Black punted the ball.
Caldwell County took over at its own six-yard line with
Carl Copeland taking the ball to the War Eagles
three-yard line where Johnson brought him down. However
on first down, Kent Wells scored and Darren Ramey kicked
the PAT to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Johnson received for the War Eagles and returned the
ball to their own 35-yard line. S. Depriest was held for
a one-yard loss. Chris Cannon tossed the ball to Johnson
who was held for no gain and S. Depriest was then held
for a one-yard loss. Once again Black came in to punt
the ball.
A holding call on the reception run placed the ball at
the 47-yard line. Rick Coleman held the Tigers for a
loss of five and then Justin Smith held the advance at
the 30. Robert Smith stopped a pass completion and then
Kent Wells moved left to the 15 before Johnson and
Justin Smith stopped him. Four plays later, the Tigers
scored again despite the defensive efforts of J. Smith,
Chris Rimmer and Jason Lott. Donovan Dame scored on a
two-yard run at the 3:50 mark of the first quarter and
the PAT by Ramey was good to give the Tigers a 14-0
lead.
C. Depriest received the ball and returned it to the War
Eagle 28-yard line. S. Depriest was held by a host of
defenders to a yard and then Gentile moved right and
back through a host of defenders to the left gaining a
first down at the 49-yard line. However, the Tigers
defensive unit then held fast, holding S. Depriest to
only six yards on two carries and C. Depriest to no
gain. The punt by Black was partially blocked and taken
at the West Carroll 48-yard line.
This time the War Eagle defenders held the Tigers with
Kevin Taylor, R. Smith and Gentile holding the Tigers to
little gain. In addition, an offsides penalty moved the
ball back five yards and at the end of the first
quarter, the Tigers faced fourth and 15 and elected to
punt the ball to Johnson, who signaled for a fair catch
at West Carroll's 22-yard line.
The War Eagles again had difficulty moving the ball with
S. Depriest gaining the three-yards before punting again
to the Tigers.
A six-play drive resulted in yet another score for the
Tigers. J. Smith, Johnson, Taylor and Lott led the
defensive effort. However with 7:26 remaining in the
first half, Wells scored another touchdown for the
Tigers and Ramey's PAT was again good, giving Caldwell
County a 21-0 lead.
J. Smith received the kick and returned the ball to the
War Eagle 31-yard line. Despite the margin against them,
the War Eagles were more determined than before to play
hard and made their mark on the scoreboard prior to
intermission. Consecutive offsides penalties gave the
War Eagles first down at the 41-yard line. Gentile moved
up the middle for four yards and then Cannon held for a
four-yard gain to the right. S. Depriest moved up the
middle and picked up another first down at the Tiger
41-yard line. C. Depriest moved right to the 20 for
another first down. S. Depriest moved up the middle for
first down at the 20 and then right for a gain of two. A
pass attempt was tipped and then S. Depriest held for a
slight loss. On fourth and 10, Cannon found J. Smith in
the end zone for the touchdown. S. Depriest's two-point
conversion run attempt failed. With 3:23 remaining in
the second quarter, the War Eagles had narrowed the
score to 21-6.
The Tigers received the ball and Johnson made the tackle
at the Caldwell County 45. R. Smith held the advance at
the West Carroll 41 and Taylor and Lott combined to hold
the gain to only five. Taylor and Johnson again held the
advance, but an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the
War Eagles moved the ball to the 24-yard line. After
running Patrick Murphy out of bounds at the four, the
War Eagles were unable to stop Dame, who apparently
crossed the plane to score the Tigers fourth touchdown
at the 21.7 mark of the second quarter. The kick was
blocked by War Eagles and the ensuing kickoff was out of
bounds, giving the War Eagles first and ten at their own
35 with just over 20 seconds remaining. Caldwell County
led 27-6.
Cannon took to the air on first and second downs. Both
fell incomplete. The third down play drew a motion
penalty on West Carroll and then C. Depriest attempted
to run the ball. On fourth down, with 7.4 seconds
remaining, S. Depriest took the ball and managed to run
out the clock for intermission.
During intermission, the Marching War Eagles entertained
the crowd with their competitive show and drew loud
applause.
The second half began with the Tigers receiving the ball
at their own 33-yard line. The possession was
short-lived as Johnson intercepted a pass from
quarterback Brett Hawkins and returned it to the
Caldwell County 36.
C. Depriest moved the ball for four and a motion penalty
gave the War Eagles second and one. S. Depriest broke
through for a first down at the 10 and then Cannon
picked up five yards. On second and five, S. Depriest
again broke up the middle and into the end zone for the
War Eagles second score of the game. Cannon held for the
two-point conversion and at the 9:12 mark, the score had
been narrowed to 27-14.
An onsides kick followed from Taylor, but the Tigers
recovered at their own 42-yard line and began a two-play
drive to pay dirt. On second and five, Hawkins found
Copeland and he rushed 54 yards to pay dirt. A pass to
Dame was good for two more points, giving Caldwell
County a 35-14 advantage at the 8:15 mark.
Despite the lead against them, the War Eagles continued
to play hard and penetrated into Tiger Territory before
their 13-play drive was stopped. In fact, the War Eagles
were playing to win when, on fourth and eight at their
own 49-yard line, Cannon again found J. Smith for a
first down at the Caldwell County 36-yard line. Johnson
was shaken up on the drive, but Caldwell County was
moved to its own 25-yard line where they took over.
The Tigers managed to score yet another touchdown which
was called back on an illegal block penalty. R. Smith,
Lott, Black, S. Depriest, Wesley Arnold, Taylor, and
Rick Coleman led the defensive attack. Ultimately,
Johnson moved back to receive the punt, which was downed
at the War Eagle 10-yard line.
Despite a 10-play attack, led by S. Depriest, C.
Depriest and Gentile, the War Eagles were forced to
return offensive efforts to the Tigers at their 4:58
mark of the game.
The drive was short-lived and ultimately the War Eagles
regained an offensive opportunity at the 2:50 mark on
their own 31-yard line.
C. Depriest moved left for six and after a failed pass
attempt, Gentile moved up the middle to the Tigers
43-yard line for the first down. Following two
incomplete passes, S. Depriest moved for a gain of six
and then a pass to Johnson brought the final score of
the game at the 38.7 mark. C. Depriest picked up the
two-point conversion and the score was now 35-22,
Caldwell County.
After receiving the kick at their own 24, the Tigers
took a knee to end the contest.
This Friday night, the War Eagles will travel to
McKenzie to face the Rebels as they celebrate
homecoming. Both teams will have a battle on their hands
as the improved West Carroll lads vie for an opportunity
to gain a cross county win. |
