Parrott, Haney Lead Trojans Past Red Bank In 33-22 Thriller
by John Hunt
posted August 29, 2008
) Photo by Greg Davick |
Forget the fact that the Soddy Daisy Trojans had won just three games in the last two years.
Don’t even think about the fact that the Red Bank Lions had won four straight Region 4-4A championships.
Red Bank probably won’t be as good as they have been in recent years and it’s a good bet that Soddy Daisy won't be as bad.
Even though Thursday’s game didn’t mean a thing in the region standings for either team, bragging rights do mean something.
So go ahead and pass those rights on over to Soddy Daisy after the Trojans recorded a stirring 33-22 comeback win over the proud Lions.
Forget about an excessive amount of penalties by both teams and bone-headed mistakes that are common in season opening games.
Both team played their hearts out, but the folks who attend school up near Sequoyah were the ones cheering the loudest at the end Thursday night.
The Trojans scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half and defeated the Lions by a 33-22 final score, handing new head coach E.K. Slaughter his first victory ever.
Slaughter had been the offensive coordinator for Red Bank these last three years, but was named the Trojan head coach shortly after legendary coach Tom Weathers retired at the end of the 2007 season.
No doubt Slaughter and his Trojans will have many more memorable games with Red Bank in the coming years, but it will be tough to top the way Thursday's game unfolded.
“We’ve been talking about handling adversity for some time now, but we came out and handled it tonight,” Slaughter told his team at midfield once the game finally ended.
“We were down by 14 points and came back to win. That means an awful lot to me. We showed a lot of heart.
"A lot of big plays happened tonight, but our defense shut them out in the second half and that was the difference.
“I know Bubba Haney told someone after the game he thought I was a genius, but it doesn’t take a genius to get the ball in his hands because that guy can run.
"I thought that (quarterback) Scott Parrott settled down and played an outstanding game,” Slaughter praised his junior signal caller.
Things didn’t exactly start off as planned for Soddy Daisy.
But like their coach said, they made some key adjustments on offense and defense and that paved the way for one of the more stirring victories for the Trojans in recent years.
Parrott was sacked for an 11-yard loss by B.J. Jones on the very first play of the game and the Trojans were forced to punt from their own end zone three plays later.
Red Bank took just over a minute to cover 28 yards for the first touchdown with Tim Dews covering the last 20 on a run to the left.
Andy Ramirez converted the PAT and the Lions had a 7-0 lead with 8:36 still remaining in the first quarter.
That lead lasted all of 16 seconds as speedy Bubba Haney raced 95 yards with the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown as the Trojan faithful went bananas. Matt Dolberry’s kick knotted the score at 7-7.
Red Bank again responded with a quick scoring drive that covered 90 yards in five plays.
The big play was a 57-yard pass from Andy Christopher to Kelvin Clay. Two plays later, Dews scored again, this time on a 10-yard run, and the Lions quickly regained the advantage.
Red Bank’s lead stretched to 15-7 when Parrott slipped in the end zone on a rollout for a Lion safety after a Red Bank punt had pushed the Trojans back to the 2.
It was still 15-7 when the first quarter ended.
Shammel Brummett made it 22-7 when he scored on a five-yard run with four minutes to go in the half and it looked like the Lions might be taking control for sure.
Somebody forgot to relay that message to the Soddy Daisy sideline.
Haney gave the Trojans excellent field position with a 45-yard kickoff return and his team scored four plays later when Parrott hooked up with Brandon Lane on a route across the middle with 1:56 remaining before intermission.
All of a sudden, the momentum had shifted and the visiting Trojans were on a roll.
Soddy Daisy trimmed the lead to 22-20 on its first possession of the second half.
Red Bank botched a punt attempt and the Trojans took over on their own 42.
Parrott found a streaking Donovan Barnes across the middle with just over two minutes elapsed and he scored on the 58-yard play.
The conversion pass failed, but again, the momentum that had swung Soddy Daisy’s way before the half quickly increased.
That’s when the Trojan defense decided take matters into their hands.
They stopped Red Bank on a fourth-and short midway through the third quarter before Barnes recovered a lateral that had been thrown behind the line of scrimmage.
Scott Beavers added another fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter as Red Bank could never quite get untracked in the second half.
Following another Red Bank punt late in the game when it was still 26-22, the Trojans put the game out of reach with 2:20 to play when Parrott found a wide-open Haney for a 44-yard scoring pass.
Shortly after that, the Soddy Daisy players drenched Slaughter with a cooler of ice water as the Trojan defense stopped the Red Bank offense for the last time in the final minute.
Haney was one of the happiest players on the field when it ended.
“I had some awesome blocking on that kickoff return, but I just took it up the middle and just had to make one move on their kicker.
"Somebody hit me from the side, but I was able to keep my balance,” he explained his first touchdown.
“We turned it around in the second half. Scott (Parrott) had an great game throwing the ball. I think I had one-on-one coverage on that last touchdown and Scott put it right in my hands. All I had to do was put one move on their defender and I was on my way.
“I’m so thankful to be playing for coach Slaughter. He’s an offensive genius. Football at Soddy Daisy is fun again,” he added.
Red Bank coach Tim Daniels certainly couldn’t find fault with the effort of his young team or the play of his first-year starting quarterback.
“We fought our hearts out and never quit, so I'm proud of that.
But it was a typical first game with all the mistakes and penalties, but give Soddy Daisy a lot of credit. They played longer than we did,” Daniels said matter of factly.
“We couldn’t ask for more out of a first-year starting quarterback. Andy (Christopher) had a couple of delay of game penalties, but for the most part, he did exactly what we asked him to do.
"We had at least three plays that could have gone either way, but Soddy Daisy had more gas in the tank at the end and they’re to be congratulated.
“This game doesn’t mean a thing as far as what we want to accomplish as a team, but my hat’s off to E.K. Slaughter. His team came down here and did what they had to do to win,” Daniels added.
Soddy Daisy finished with 268 yards of total offense after being limited to just 99 yards in the first half.
Parrott completed eight of 11 passes for 209 of those yards with three touchdowns.
Barnes got 100 yards on three catches while Haney added 69 more on two grabs.
P.J. Hubbard was the workhorse running back for the Trojans as he finished with 81 yards on 21 attempts.
Soddy Daisy finished the game with 10 first downs.
Red Bank finished with 312 total yards, including 175 on the ground and 147 through the air.
Dews was the leading rusher with 84 yards on 14 carries, although he only touched the ball once in the second half while suffering from leg cramps.
Danzel Owens followed with 62 yards on 14 trips while Brummett added 59 yards on nine attempts.
Clay had two catches for 68 yards to lead the Lion receivers while Jeremy Simpson had 51 yards on three grabs.
Christopher finished with 147 yards passing by completing half of his 18 throws. The Lions finished with 19 first downs.
Red Bank travels to Central next Friday night while Soddy Daisy will be on the road to face William Blount.
Soddy Daisy 7 7 6 13 -- 33
Red Bank 15 7 0 0 -- 22
RB – Tim Dews 20 run (Andy Ramirez kick), 8:36 left in first;
SD – Bubba Haney 95 kickoff return (Matt Dolberry kick), 8:20 left in first;
RB – Dews 10 run (kick failed); 6:33 left in first;
RB – Safety when Parrott slipped in end zone; 2:39 left in first;
RB – Shammel Brummett 3 run (Ramirez kick), 4:00 left in second;
SD – Brandon Lane 13 pass from Scott Parrott (Dolberry kick), 1:56 left in second;
SD – Donovan Barnes 58 pass from Parrott (pass failed), 9:55 left in third;
SD – P.J. Hubbard 4 run (pass failed), 11:51 left in fourth;
SD – Haney 44 pass from Parrott (Dolberry kick), 2:20 left in fourth.
(Email John Hunt at tnmoose2002@aol.com)
) Photo by Greg Davick |
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