OC suffers same old woes in loss to Crockett
By KEVIN WEAKS
Messenger Sports Editor
Obion Central was better than Crockett County in the first quarter and still in good shape after a big play by the Cavaliers in the second period.
After that: Same old, same old.
Crockett County scored twice between Rebel offensive possessions and then got a little help in the second half to expand the lead and preserve the shutout in a 28-0 win Friday night at Rebel field.
The win puts Crockett County in the playoffs, now 4-3 overall and 2-0 in Region 7-4A, while effectively eliminating Central as the Rebels are now 1-6 overall and 0-3 in the league with a season-ending game at Haywood remaining.
Before that, OC will travel to Trenton this Friday to play No. 1-ranked and two-time defending Class 2A state champion Peabody, which extended its winning streak to 30 games with a 49-7 win over Union City on Friday.
“We’ll continue to try to get better at blocking up front and doing what we do,” OC head coach Paul Decker said. “That’s the only thing I know to do.
“I hate it for our seniors. We have a great group of seniors. They played hard, and I expect them to continue to play hard.”
OC celebrated Senior Night and also had Landon Matheny as a special guest to deliver the game ball to midfield at the pre-game coin toss.
The Rebels might have been playing off those emotions in the first quarter, the defense holding Crockett to a pair of three-and-out possessions and a net gain of 14 yards.
Central went 38 yards on 10 plays its first time with the ball, converting twice on third down, and moved 24 yards in six plays on its next series despite two penalties.
Preston Correa completed a nice roll-out pass to Hunter Burpo for 14 yards on the first series and threw for 22 yards over the middle to Nick Chappell on the second, both coming on third down.
Still, OC was unable to capitalize, turning over possession on downs and punting.
Crockett County eventually made the Rebels pay, getting a 78-yard touchdown sprint from Payton Currie two minutes into the second quarter. Alex Nolan hit the first of his four point-after kicks for a 7-0 lead.
V.J. Pillar then picked off a Correa pass on the next series, setting up what turned out to be the game-changing sequence.
Taking over at the Rebel 28, the Cavs had a TD run by Lukas Barger on the first play called back, but Haydn Moten went up the middle for a seven-yard scoring run on fourth down.
OC then was unable to get to the ensuing kick, and Crockett recovered at the Rebel 27.
This time, Barger’s run on the first play counted, putting the Cavaliers back on the board for a 21-0 lead at 5:55.
That score held until 4:38 of the third period, when Crockett County got a huge break on fourth down.
Following a Rebel three-and-out to start the second half, the Cavs moved from their own 43 to the Central 19 in nine plays, overcoming a holding penalty to begin the series.
An incomplete pass put CC in a 4th-and-9.
Deciding to go for it, knowing that at the worst OC would be pinned deep in its own territory, Crockett had Barger call his own number. Apparently hemmed in and stopped well short of the first down, Barger instead bounced up and kept running for a 19-yard score to give his team a 28-0 lead.
OC’s coaching staff showed its frustration that Barger wasn’t called down, picking up an unsportsmanlike penalty.
More disappointment came in the fourth quarter, when Chappell’s long run on third down that would have put OC inside the Cavalier 10 was called back on a holding penalty. Central punted two plays later and then fumbled the next time it had the ball.
“The guy was definitely down on the last touchdown, and they don’t call him down. I thought it was a phantom hold when we finally get a good play on offense and have a chance to get on the board,” Decker said. “It just seems like that if anything can go wrong, it goes wrong for us. That’s the way the whole year has been.”
OC was held to 127 yards offensively, including just 43 yards rushing on 35 carries.
“We’re just having a hard time getting anything going offensively,” Decker said. “We’re getting beat up front. We were able to complete a couple of passes for some good yards, but we couldn’t run the ball all night. If you can’t run the ball, you’re not going to have a chance to win. Right now, we’re just struggling up front to get people blocked.”
Barger ran for 98 yards on 15 carries to lead a Cavalier offense that gained 291 of its 309 yards on the ground
Tavion Alexander had a big game defensively for OC with eight tackles and five assists, highlighted by three stops for a loss and a forced fumble. Chappell had 10 tackles, including eight solo stops.
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This report and statistics will appear in Monday’s online edition.
