Dominance from start to finish as Knoxville West finishes a perfect 15-0 to claim their second state title in a 47-13 blowout win over the Page Patriots in the TSSAA 5-A championship.
At first, both teams were in a defensive slugfest. Neither team was able to move the ball as West and Page posted two three-and-outs each in the opening quarter. It was not until the final minutes of the quarter that we saw any offensive rhythm, as West began to march down the field into Page territory. On a third down deep into Patriot territory, Rebels’ Syxx Hoard displayed his hand strength by ripping a catch away from a Patriot cornerback and turning up field for the first down.
That was just the beginning of the fireworks, as the second quarter saw 39 total points scored. West was first on the board with running back Brayden Latham’s run up the middle, after taking the read option, and plowed over a Patriot tackler into the end zone.
The Patriots would respond by putting together their first successful drive of the night, a 10 play, 80-yard drive that was capped off by the Patriot quarterback, Colin Hurd, running the read option to perfection. As the defensive line and backs crashed the running back, Hurd discreetly pulled the ball from the tailback’s stomach and would run into the end zone nearly untouched.
Both scoring drives to start out were slow, methodical drives but the remainder of the half saw huge plays through the air by both quarterbacks.
West’s Ja’Qurrius Wrenn caught a deep, high-arching jump-ball over a Page defensive back for a 44-yard gain, and Wrenn let the cornerback know that he got Moss'd following the play as some jawing by both sides began. On the next play, junior Rebel wideout Marshaun Bowers would take a simply bubble screen 25 yards to the house to give West the lead, 12-7. The drive only took 1:03 off the clock.
Even more impressive, the Patriots would respond in a two-play 33-second drive. Page’s Colin Hurd would connect with his senior wide receiver Max Collins for a 69-yard touchdown pass, as the Patriots regained the lead yet again, 13-12.
The offensive showcase had touches of Big 12 football during the mid-2010s—where it felt like the 11 players on offense and the kicker shows up to play.
On the kickoff, West would tack on an additional 15 yards to move into Page territory after a facemask penalty. Soon after, another bubble screen would be operated to perfection as the Rebels’ Syxx Hoard would look like a blur as he ran down the sidelines for 37 yards and six more points to be added on the board.
Just as everything was clicking, the Rebels captured full control of the game on one defensive stand. With the defense on their heels for most of the quarter, West’s senior inside linebacker John Carlevato provided the spark that had their sidelines roaring—a sack on first down. On second down, the Patriots would gain five yards off a pass play, but the lumber would be laid as Rebel defensive back Marshaun Bowers laid out the pass catcher. And on the critical third down late in the second quarter, Carlevato would chase the Patriot quarterback down from behind for another sack, and the West sideline had Finley Stadium rocking.
“The defensive line did a great job of slanting, and when they slanted it gave me a lot of room to work with,” said West linebacker John Carlevato on the sacks. “Coach said to make plays when your number is called, and he let me come off a blitz and I was able to make the play.”
The defensive stand had some type of significance to it, and you could feel it. A sense of dread fell upon the Page sideline, it felt like the towel was thrown in suddenly.
“John (Carlevato) has played great all year and that is what we expect of him,” said West head coach Lamar Brown. “Our defense has played well, but we had a few blown assignments there early, we got confused out there, but we got that stuff fixed and from that point on I thought our defense played lights out.”
“At the start of the season, this football team came up with the goal to win every first five minutes and last five minutes of every half,” added coach Brown.
They sure did. In fact, the final minutes of the half-decimated Page's hopes.
After fielding a bad punt, West took over at Page’s 42-yard line. With excellent clock management, the Rebels marched deeper into Patriot territory and could hold the final possession of the half. With 16 seconds remaining, West’s quarterback Carson Jessie connected with tight end RJ Brooks for a 21-yard touchdown. With the score, the Rebels took a demanding 26-13 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the half, the high-flying Rebels held the Patriots to zero points in the second half. The offense kept raking in points behind the legs of Latham. The running back would post two more touchdowns in the second half of eight yards and the 33-yard exclamation point in the fourth quarter, and put the West lead out of reach. Rebel quarterback Carson Jessie notched the final score and the Blue Cross Bowl Most Valuable Player trophy with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Cayden Latham late in the fourth quarter. West would roll to the 47-13 victory for the state title.
In the playoffs, the Rebels managed to outscore opponents 248-62 throughout their state title run and their conquest to an undefeated season. The title will reside, well-deservingly, in West Knoxville.
SUMMARY
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WEST
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0
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26
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7
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14
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-- 47
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PAGE
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0
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13
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0
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0
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-- 13
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WES Brayden Latham 7 run (kick failed) (10:15, 2nd)
PAG Colin Hurd 6 run (Ethan Lisman kick) (6:32, 2nd)
WES Marshaun Bowers 25 pass from Carson Jessie (pass failed) (5:22, 2nd)
PAG Max Collins 69 pass from Hurd (kick blocked) (4:49, 2nd)
WES Syxx Hoard 37 pass from Jessie (Tyson Siebe kick) (3:47, 2nd)
WES RJ Brooks 21 pass from Jessie (Siebe kick) (0:16, 2nd)
WES B Latham 8 run (Siebe kick) (6:14, 3rd)
WES B Latham 33 run (Siebe kick) (9:11, 4th)
WES Cayden Latham 36 pass from Jessie (Siebe kick) (6:43, 4th)
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STATS
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WES
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PAG
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First Downs
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19
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11
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Rushes-Yards
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35-385
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12-(-6)
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Passing Yards
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286
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211
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Total yards
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385
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205
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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18-24-1
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17-37-1
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Penalties-Yards
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7-79
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4-40
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Punts-Average
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4-51.0
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7-37.6
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Fumbles-Lost
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2-0
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1-0
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Time of Possession
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27:23
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20:37
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Individual Stats
Rushing: Brayden Latham 25-101: Kelin Rucker 1-5; Marshaun Bowers 1-4; Annterrius McAlister 1-3; Devin Jameson 2-(-1); Carson Jessie 4-(-8) (WES); Caden Walker 4-12; Colin Hurd 6-(-13); Brendan Anes 1-0 (PAG).
Passing: Carson Jessie 18-24-1 for 286 yards, 4 TDs (WES); Colin Hurd 17-37-1 for 211 yards, 1 TD (PAG).
Receiving: Marshaun Bowers 5-55; Ja’Qurrius Wrenn 3-74; Syxx Hoard 3-55; Cayden Latham 4-66; Brayden Latham 2-15; RJ Brooks 1-21 (WES); Henry Cason 5-56; Max Collins 3-93; Boyce Smith 3-24; MacClean Copeland 1-20; Ethan Lisman 1-12; Isaac Power 1-8; Brendan Anes 1-2; Jason Hoath 1-1; Colin Hurd 1-(-5) (PAG).
Records: Knoxville West 15-0; Page 12-3
Most Valuable Player: Carson Jessie, Knoxville West