CHARLESTON, Tenn. -- When Walker Valley and McMinn County faced off for the Region 4-5A football championship in 2023, it was the Mustangs who walked away with their first-ever win over the Cherokees and their firs region title since 2004.
Friday night, the 'Kees avenged that loss in a big way to take the 2024 crown walloping the Herd 37-6 in a contest that was dominated from start to finish by McMinn.
The loss relegated the Mustangs (7-3, 3-2) to a third place region finish behind region champion and McMinn (5-5, 4-1). Walker Valley will travel to Lenoir City Friday for Round 1 of the 5A playoffs. East Hamilton earned the crown by virtue of a win over Rhea County.
“We didn't play well in any phase. We gave up points on several drives and you can't hav four turnovers. Four turnovers was the difference in the game, but more than the game, we didn't handle adversity very well tonight,” said a disappointed Mustangs head coach Drew Akins. “We've got to take a minute this weekend and figure out who we are. I think we played hard. I think we played hard, but we didn't play disciplined. There is a difference. You can play hard with great effort, and I think we played with great effort, but we didn't play with great discipline.
After winning the toss and deferring, the Tribe opened with a 14 play drive that ended with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Luke Lawson to Carson Wade. McMinn followed up with a 34-yard Lawson to Jacob Sharp connection that led to a 14-0 lead.
“We had long down and distances all night and on defense we didn't get stops. We put ourselves in bad situations on offense. We got inside the 30, which for us is the Red Zone twice in the first half and came away with zero points and we had a dropped interception. We just had missed opportunities. We didn't play very well.
The Cherokees opened the third quarter with their third TD of the night and upped the lead to 24-0 with a 22-yard Drew Trapp field goal.
Roman Eulo provided the only highlight for the Mustangs with a 63 yard TD catch on a pass from Dosen Stum. The football bounced off a McMinn defender and tipped off the fingertips of Eulo, who managed to haul it in and race to the end zone. The 2-point conversion attempt failed after a 15 yard penalty set the Mustangs back to the 18-yard line.
McMinn continued to dominate on its next possession running the score to 30-6 after Dakota Thompson's 1-yard run. The Tribe capped the night with a fial score on a Lawson 4-yard run.
“They schemed us up really well. They did some scheme stuff that hasn't been on film that really put us in bad situations. That happens,” said Akins. “Ultimately, the game is not what's disappointing. It's how we interacted with each other. We've got to do some real self reflecting this weekend. But, we've been here before. We've been right here where we had a disappointing loss and we had a chance to respond one way or another. Historically we have responded really well.”
Friday's matchup against Lenoir City (6-5) will determine who moves on and who turns in uniforms for the year. The Mustangs defeated the Panthers in the first round last year at The MAC and will looking for a road victory this time around to reach Round 2.
“We saw them last year. We'll be at their place this year which will be a little different, obviously.,” Akins said. “But, we're very familiar with them. It's a different coaching staff, but we've got to worry about us right now. If we worry about us I think ultimately things will take care of themselves.”
SCORING SUMMARY
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MCMINN COUNTY
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7
|
7
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10
|
13
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--37
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WALKER VALLEY
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
-- 6
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First Quarter
MC — Carson Wade 33 pass from Luke Lawson (Drew Trapp kick), 1:17
Second Quarter
MC — Jacob Sharp 34 pass from Lawson (Trapp kick), 6:36
Third Quarter
MC — Lawson 1 run (Trapp kick), 7:38
MC — Trapp 22 field goal, 4:05
WV — Roman Eulo 63 pass from Dosen Stum ( kick failed), 2:21
Fourth Quarter
MC — Dakota Thompson 1 run (Trapp kick), 8:27
MC — Lawson 4 run (Trapp kick), 4:12
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STATS
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MC
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WV
|
|
First Downs
|
22
|
15
|
|
Rushes-Yards
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41-214
|
17-80
|
|
Passing Yards
|
172
|
161
|
|
Total yards
|
375
|
252
|
|
Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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4-21-0
|
16-23-2
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|
Fumbles-Lost
|
2-2
|
3-0
|
|
Penalties-Yards
|
7-73
|
8-76
|
|
Punts-Avg,.
|
0-0.0
|
0-.0
|
HIGHLIGHTS
Rushing: Thompson 8-28, Lawson 4-48 (MC); Javan Hall 8-38, Eulo 8-42 (WV).
Passing: Lawson 16-23-161 (MC); Stum 16-23-172
Receiving: Nathan Kessler 3-22, Thompson 6-33, Sharp 2-37, Wade 1-33 (MC); Eulo 5-99, Spencer Makuch 6-44, Tate Rountree 3-17 (WV).
Records: McMinn County 5-5, 4-1 Region 4-5A; Walker Valley 7-3, 3-2.
(Email Richard Roberts at richardvol55#yahoo.com)