Cherokee Line Dominates in Defeat of Crockett (2024)

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. --- In its home opener of the 2024 season, Cherokee picked up where it left off against co*cke County.

The Chiefs rolled to 338 yards of total offense, and five scores as Cherokee defeated Class 5-A David Crockett 35-21 at Mike Sivert Stadium at Big Red Valley.

The win marked a 2-0 Cherokee start for the first time since 2019 and the end of a six-game losing streak against David Crockett, who they played in Region I-5A for several years when players like Prince Colley and others roamed the sidelines.

Cherokee overcame two Crockett leads in the contest.

Crockett raced to a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game as Jonathan Hall raced 13 yards to cap an 80-yard drive helmed by sophom*ore quarterback A.J. Wynn, who picked up 23 yards to move into Cherokee territory before Hall's TD run.

The Chiefs were on their way to a possible tying score when quarterback Landon Jeffers fumbled the ball back to the Pioneers with 4:23 left. From there, the Pioneers Lamarcus Dunn rambled 60 yards to the end zone to make it 13-0 with 4:07 left in the first.

The second quarter saw the Chiefs' offensive line of Collin Fugate, Chance Lewis,Ethan Haun, Cooper Bledsoe and Nathan Collins pick up steam and limit the Pioneers to any further scoring in the first half. With Cherokee facing third down from their own 30 yard line, Hayden Hook steamed his way for 42 yards and a first down. Five plays later, Jaydan Gonzalez went 21 yards to paydirt to put Cherokee on the board with 1:06 left in the half.

As Cherokee came back out for the second half, Hook "captained" his way downfield, picking up 17 yards and Gonzalez had a 20-yard reception from Jeffers. Jeffers rushed the final 14 yards for the score to put the Chiefs up 14-13.

David Crockett said, "Not so fast, my friend."

The Pioneers' Wynn called his own number, racing 65 yards for a score and putting Crockett back up 21-14 after a two-point conversion pass to Zeke Slone.

The rest of the game was all Cherokee.

Rowe Fletcher keyed the Chiefs' rally by taking a Crockett punt 52 yards to the house to tie the game at 21.Just three plays later, a Crockett fumble at midfield put Cherokee back into business.

Gonzalez advanced 22 yards with Crockett tacking on 15 more yards on a penalty. Jeffers found the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and a lead that Cherokee wouldn't give up, 28-21.

With the game slipping away, Crockett tried to mount a rally, but a three-and-out gave Cherokee possession at its own 35. Hook's running and Crockett penalties gave Cherokee a first-and-goal at the Crockett one. Hook completed the seven-play drive with a one-yard run to score the Chiefs' final touchdown.

Adam Fridman kicked all five of Cherokee's extra points.

Hook ended the game with 125 yards on 22 carries. Jeffers had 14 carries for 76 yards. Cherokee ground up 338 yards of total offense with Jeffers 8-of-13 for 82 yards.

Cherokee, led by Coach Josh Hensley, has won six of the Chiefs' last seven games dating back to last year.In each of those games, Cherokee scored at least 30 points.

"We played a solid game in the first half," Hensley said. "In the second half, we came out with a roar. I'm proud of the way we won the game in the second half. The guys made the plays. I'm proud of everybody."

Hensley said that a lot of the strides made by the Chiefs is because many of these players have grown up.

"We believe in ourselves and each other," he said. "Most valuable thing that we have within our program is that we're together. We're going to fight anybody, we won't back down from any man under any circ*mstance. We're going to be together. I challenged them to overwhelm them with how together we are."

The offensive line's play is a credit to Assistant Coach Matt Myers, Hensley said.

"My hat's off to Coach Myers," he said. "I'm certainly blessed to have him. He's done a great job with those guys behind him. with the improvement they've had. They love being linemen. The whole offensive line playing as a unit is something we've got right now."

Fletcher was called a big-time playmaker by Hensley.

"We're happy and blessed that he's on our team," he said.

The Chiefs will stay at home next Friday as No. 2 ranked Greeneville comes to Sivert Stadium at Big Red Valley, along with former head coach Cody Baugh and his son, junior quarterback Caden Baugh. at 7:30 p.m. David Crockett will host Daniel Boone in the Region I-5A opener for both teams in Jonesborough next Friday.

Cherokee now leads the overall series against the Pioneers 24-13 and has played them most of the years that football has been played at Cherokee.

First Quarter
(8:52) DAVID CROCKETT -- Jonathan Hall 13 run (Dawson Callahan kick)
(4:07) DAVID CROCKETT -- Lamarcus Dunn 60 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter
(1:06) CHEROKEE -- Jaydin Gonzalez 21 run (Adam Fridman kick)

Third Quarter
(6:11) CHEROKEE -- Landon Jeffers 14 run (Adam Fridman kick)
(5:56) DAVID CROCKETT -- A.J. Wynn 65 run (Zeke Slone pass from A.J. Wynn)
(0:05) CHEROKEE -- Rowe Fletcher 52 punt return (Adam Fridman kick)

Fourth Quarter
(9:55) CHEROKEE -- Landon Jeffers 16 run (Adam Fridman kick)
(3:58) CHEROKEE -- Hayden Hook 1 run (Adam Fridman kick)