Jets add to wins with 21-7 over Jackson County
Oct. 24—For most of the contest, Cumberland County and Jackson County high school football teams were reminiscent of the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots game, playing hard-nosed football and waiting for the other team to slip up.
Then Jackson County blinked.
The Jets scored late in the third quarter and held on for their second win of the season, 21-7, over the Blue Devils in Gainesboro.
"I am very proud of our offensive and defensive lines," CCHS head coach Noah Repasky said this week. "They played well and for the most part we controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage.
"That has always been our recipe for success."
Special team effort set the tone. Marcus Pedde took the opening kickoff and raced through a wall of Blue Devil defenders around 60 yards.
On the second play of the game, Drayton Hairston scored. Jaime Perez added the PAT and, with only 8 seconds off the clock, CCHS had a 7-0 lead.
Dalton Bowman late in the first quarter grabbed an interception, stopping one Blue Devil drive, but Jackson County was able to run 16 yards in the second quarter to tie the game, 7-7.
The two teams traded possessions and some hard hits throughout the third period. That set the stage for Jets' next score.
With 56 seconds left in the period, Jordan Propst recovered a Blue Devil fumble and two plays later, Hairston ran the ball over from the two. Perez's PAT gave CCHS a 14-7 lead going into the final quarter.
The Jets' final score was set up by a 26-yard run by Noah Potter. The next play Hairston faked into the line and then scampered around left end for 26 yards.
Again, Perez was true with the PAT.
The Jets' defense bent but didn't break in an exchange of possessions, and Wyatt Sharp dashed the Blue Devils' hopes with an interception at midfield.
"Wyatt Sharp stepped in for an injured player and made the last interception. He also had five tackles and a sack," Repasky said. "He played well coming off the bench. He was ready for his shot and took advantage of the opportunity."
Once again, the line play of the Jets on both sides of the ball stood out.
The head coach said of Friday night's win, "Overall, it was our best effort of the season."
The one thing that the Jets will be working on this week is focus and elimination of mistakes.
Repasky said his team had "too many penalties for the third game in a row, which is kind of uncharacteristic for us."
The coach added that penalties kept the offense out of the end zone, especially in the first half.
"I believe the defense played well again," said Repasky. "We have shown tremendous strides on that side of the ball as the year has progressed, and our offense had its best overall game of the year.
"I am proud to see us show some growth on that side of the ball We made a few plays and scored a few more points."
Friday night the Jets travel to Macon County to take on the Tigers who fell to Smith County last week 28-20 for the last regularly scheduled game of the season.
Michael Moser may be reached at mmoser@crossville-chronicle.com
