Sunday, October 2, 2022

Tigers Run Away From Knox County Early

Worth County's football team ran away from Knox County early, scoring the first 52 points of the game and gaining a 76-24 win Friday. The Tigers scored right off the bat when Levi Cassavaugh ran right through the left side of the line like they weren't even there on the first play from scrimmage and Tyler New muscled his way in to make it 8-0 with 11:47 left.

Landon Wilmes dropped a Knox County back, Jace Latham led a swarm of defenders to create another loss, and a draw play went nowhere and Knox County was forced to punt. Knox County varied from series to series; at times, they were totally capable of stopping the Tigers. At other times, Worth County could run through them like they weren't even there. Braxton Hightshoe got a first down, but then the red shirts tightened up and forced Worth County into a three and out.

Worth County was able to pin Knox County deep in their own territory, while Knox County struggled with consistency and with their kicking game. As the game progressed, Worth County had a ton of short fields to work with, while they were able to pin Knox County in their own territory. Elias Alarcon dropped Cooper Clair on Knox County's own 13 on the next series. Jace Latham and Elias blew up the fullback dive on the triple option, a scramble only netted two yards, and a draw play went nowhere as Dylan McIntyre blew it up. 

Levi Cassavaugh only got two yards on Worth County's first play, but then Tyler New bounced outside, got a block from Creed Wilcox, who pushed his man five yards out of the way, and took it to the house from 45 yards. Dylan McIntyre caught a pass to make it 16-0.

Knox County got a first down, converting a fourth and one on a direct snap to one of the upmen. But then Braxton Hightshoe and Tyler New blew up a swing pass, a long pass was broken up by Tyler New after a good battle between him and Ryan Roberts, and another pass went incomplete, forcing a three and out. Worth County only needed one play to score as Braxton Hightshoe took a counter and ran through the red shirts like they weren't even there to make it 22-0.

A counter went nowhere, and then Braxton Hightshoe and Elias Alarcon combined on a sack to set up third and 16 at the 9 after Worth County had kicked it into the end zone. Grant McIntyre drove back Collin Hayes to the 8, and then Elias Alarcon rushed the kicker on fourth down, forcing a shanked punt that landed on the Knox County 20. It was the first of many short fields that Worth County benefitted from, and they only needed one play to convert as Tyler New aired one out to Dylan McIntyre with 52.8 seconds left. Levi Cassavaugh took an option pitch and cut back to the end zone to make it 30-0.

Knox County went three and out again as Jace Latham blew up a running play, Braxton Hightshoe blew up a short pass, and an unblocked Dylan McIntyre got a sack to force fourth and 17 at their own 10. Braxton Hightshoe made a running catch of the ensuing punt in traffic and ran it back to the Knox County 26. Levi Cassavaugh fought his way forward for 14 yards to the 12. He was dropped back to the 16, but then Tyler New aired it out to Grant McIntyre for a score with 9:02 left in the second. Tyler New ran in the option to make it 38-0.

The ensuing squib kick was mishandled by Knox County and they were buried at their own 14. They were driven back from there as Elias Alarcon dropped Keaton Strange at the 12, Grant and a swarm of Tigers dropped another red shirt at the 5, and Dylan McIntyre got a sack at the 4. Once again, the kicking game let Knox County down as a short kick gave Worth County another short field at the Knox 34. They only needed two plays to score as Braxton Hightshoe took a jet sweep 12 yards to the 22. Levi Cassavaugh took a sweep to the right side, found a wall of blockers in front of him, and took it to the house with 6:32 left. There was a fumbled snap on the extra point try, but Tyler New picked it up and ran it in to make it 46-0.

Colt Cameron buried a Knox County return man on the 15, Braxton Hightshoe broke up a pass, Grant McIntyre stood up a draw attempt, and a hail Mary was too far, and Knox County was forced to punt again. This time, Braxton Hightshoe ran it back again, this time to the Knox County 9 as their kicking woes continued. The Tigers only needed one play to take advantage as Levi Cassavaugh ran right through the defense with 5:27 left to make it 52-0. At that point, the Tigers had run 16 plays for 263 yards, around 17.5 yards per play.

But with the game in hand, the sloppy play took over, the kind of thing that will let Pattonsburg, or any other team in the conference for that matter, right back in the game, even with a big deficit. Knox County ran the ensuing kickoff right back for a score to cut it to 52-6 with 5:15 left.

Offensively, the Tigers were able to move the ball with their second stringers, who played well. Landon Wilmes took a pitchout for 13 yards to the Knox County 33. They were faced with third and 13 at the 36, but Brayden Stevens showed some skill at quarterback, running a keeper to the 29 and then converting a screen pass to Landon, who took it to the 1. Stevens ran it in on the next play to make it 58-6. But two long passes brought Knox County in the end zone again to make it 58-12. Worth County got it right back as Landon Wilmes ripped off 22 yards to the 22, bounced outside and got a block from John Galanakis to the 9, and then Brayden Stevens completed a pass to Tanner Ridge for a score with 54 seconds left to make it 64-12.

The varsity took over for the first series of the second half. Tyler New and Elias Alarcon combined on a sack, then combined to blow up a pitchout to force Knox County to punt. The kicking woes continued as a bad snap led to a shanked kick, and Worth County took over on the Knox County 28. Levi Cassavaugh went nowhere, but then Braxton Hightshoe bounced down the right side and ran through defenders like they weren't even there to make it 70-12 with 9:06 left in the third quarter.

Worth County struggled with their kickoff coverage in the second half; this time, Knox County ran back the kick to the Tiger 18. Three plays later, Collin Hayes aired one out to Ryan Roberts for a score with 6:42 left in the third to make it 70-18. Worth County set up shop at their own 32; Landon Wilmes was stopped for no gain, but then found daylight on his next two plays as he ripped off a 10 yarder after getting a block from Brayden Stevens and 13 more after getting a block from Franklynn Hoff down to the Knox County 25. But then Brayden Stevens underthrew his man and Knox County picked him off.

The Tigers forced a three and out to get the ball right back, and once again, Knox County shanked the kick, this time giving the Tigers the ball on the Knox 28. They needed several plays to get in, but Brayden Stevens converted a fourth and two with a sneak, moving a pile to the 14. They converted another fourth down, this time at the 5, when Brayden threw a pass to Landon Wilmes with 9:07 left in the fourth to make it 76-18.

The sloppy play down the stretch continued as another breakdown on kickoff coverage allowed Knox County to run the ball back to the Tiger 30. Then, a roughing the passer call wiped out a fourth down stop and gave Knox the ball on the 26 for an automatic first down. Then, a mixup on pass coverage led to a score to cut it to 76-24. 

The second string offense continued to move the ball at will for the Tigers in the closing seconds, running out the final five minutes. Lucas Frisch got a couple of turns at carrying the ball and muscled his way for 9 yards on one carry. Landon Wilmes nearly got to the 100 yard mark, ripping off some more big gains in open space. Brayden Stevens continued to get the tough yardage inside. Finally, they were able to kneel out the clock to seal the win.

Braxton Hightshoe had 4 carries for 110 yards. Levi Cassavaugh had 8 carries for 100 yards. Landon Wilmes had 13 carries for 89 yards. Brayden Stevens had 7 carries for 27 yards. Lucas Frisch had 2 carries for 10 yards, and Tyler New had 1 carry for 45 yards.

Tyler New had 2 completions in 5 attempts for 36 yards. Brayden Stevens had 3 completions in 6 attempts for 43 yards and an interception. Dylan McIntyre had 1 catch for 20 yards. Grant McIntyre had 1 catch for 16 yards. Landon Wilmes had 2 catches for 33 yards. Tanner Ridge had 1 catch for 9 yards.

No comments: