A quarter century ago, a bunch of bleached blondes handed Sevier County its first state football title. The Smokey Bears went back to the peroxide bottle Friday night and took advantage of a mistake-prone Page Patriot squad to claim the 5A BlueCross Bowl championship on the frigid Finley Stadium turf, 27-20.
"Word got around that the last time we were in the state finals we showed up without the bleached blonde look, so we decided it was best to not take a chance this week," said an elated game MVP Cooper Newman, the Smoky Bears' sophomore quarterback who wasn't even an afterthought back in 1999 when that first title was taken back to Sevier County.
It took Sevier County another 15 years to make it back to the title affair after that first one, and sans the blonde look, it didn't turn out well, losing to Independence in the 2015 championship, 49-14.
But on the 25th anniversary of title No. 1, Sevier County proved that blondes definitely have more fun.
For the Page Patriots it was another disappointing outcome much like the three consecutive runner-up finishes, losing for a fourth straight year on the Chattanooga emerald turf. And much like the last three, this one came with a lot of self-inflicted damage.
None of those mistakes, though, were any bigger than the attempted field goal just before half that was blocked and returned for a score with no time left in the half.
Last year, Page turned it over four times and missed a pass from the 5 as time expired to settle for silver in a 24-19 loss to Knox West. Three years ago a miscommunication on a kickoff provided a recovery at the 3 for an easy score in a 42-24 loss to Powell.
"Losing stings, but this was a special group and it will hurt for some time. Proud of the kids, but just too many mistakes to overcome," said Page coach Charles Rathbone.
So special was this 14-0 Page squad, it had given up just 31 points all season and trailed just briefly one time this season. The defense had allowed just 634 total yards all year, but Sevier County was undaunted and was more than gracious in accepting gifts.
Tis the season of giving, and the Patriots were generous.
· A fumble set up a short TD drive.
· A penalty negated a long TD pass.
· The blocked field goal at the end of the half returned for a score.
· Back-to-back penalties kept a Sevier County scoring drive alive that ended in a missed field goal.
· A golden opportunity on a muffed kickoff that wasn't recovered.
· Another fumble that set up a field goal.
· An interception at the Sevier County 13.
· 11 penalties for 80 yards.
· And losing track of the downs after spiking the ball to stop the clock on first down.
All in all, it was a tribute to Page's tenacity that it managed to make it a battle to the end.
"To beat a team like that, you have to have everything clicking. These kids are the epitome of a team. We have played complimentary ball all year. Just a bunch of unselfish kids. I'm at a loss for words, but this game was for everybody who has ever worn the purple helmets," Sevier coach Todd Loveday said among the celebration.
Loveday and Rathbone were teammates at Carson Newman back in the late 90s, and the respect for each was evident. But in the end it was Sevier County celebrating its first perfect 15-0 season in the program's 100th year of competition.
A couple of first half mistakes provided for gimme scores, one for each sideline. A bad snap on a punt on the Smoky Bears first drive set up Page at the 19 and QB William Wiebush converted a 10-yard scoring run on fourth-and-1 to make it 7-0 with 4:10 left in the opening period. .
Following a 31-yard field goal on Sevier County's next possession, a feat in itself considering Page had allowed just 31 points through the first 14 games, the Smoky Bears got a fumble recovery at the Page 18 and Sevier County parlayed a fourth-and-5 conversion to the 3 before Cooper Newman hit Jude Costner out of the backfield for a 3-yard score. The 10-7 lead with 2:00 left in the half was only the second time this season Page faced a scoreboard deficit.
The Patriots certainly didn't want that taste in their mouths at the half, but what unfolded was even harder to swallow. Page drove down to the 29 and opted for a potential game-tying kick at the end of the half, but it backfired when Bryson Headrick slipped through the middle to block it and then scoop it up to go untouched 62 yards for score as time expired in the first half. It proved to be quite the turn of events as a 40-yard TD pass had just been negated for an illegal formation that looked as if Page would enter the locker room ahead, but instead now faced its largest deficit of the season.
"Bryson worked his tail off to be ready for this game. He has been out the last two weeks with a leg injury, but he wasn't going to miss this with his teammates," Loveday said of the game-changing play.
On Sevier County's opening drive of the second half, the Patriots appeared to have avoided damage when a 38-yard field goal attempt was wide left, but an offsides brought the Smoky Bears offense back on the field to try to convert a fourth-and-2. Another offsides penalty made that a reality and Newsome found a wide open Jude Costner in the back of the end zone for a 24-7 lead midway through the third period.
From that point on, Page (14-1) did its darndest to get back in it. First it was Wiebush directing an 80-yard drive, keeping it for a one-yard score and the missed conversion left it 24-13. On the ensuing kick, the ball was muffed forwards with a Page defender all alone to recover it deep, but the ball squirted out and Sevier fell on it.
But that point on, the Patriots defense gave it all to give the offense a chance, forcing four 3-and-outs down the stretch. Another Page fumble, though, set up Taylor Madison's 28-yard field goal and Sladen Hickman's interception at the 13 ended another Page threat.
Page got it back twice more, the first one ending in the downs mix-up when the quarterback ran out of bounds on a fourth down thinking it was just third, not taking into account a spiked ball to stop the clock. The second ended with Wiebush scoring from the 1 after connecting with Knight Wilson on a 43-yard pass with just 1:28 left.
The Smoky Bears recovered the onside kick and with no timeouts left for Page, two kneel downs ended it and started the celebration.
Newman deservedly won the MVP honors with his precision passing accounting for 153 yards and two TDs, his 44th and 45th of the year as the sophomore finished just shy of 3,500 passing yards on the season. Hayden Akers caught five of them for 94 yards.
Page's defense was as advertised, allowing just 184 total yards but just like last year it couldn't overcome the offensive mistakes. West had just 183 yards last year in its title win.
Wiebush finished with 142 passing yards and another 94 rushing for Page in the loss but the usual clock chewing offense lost the time of possession by almost six minutes thanks to the three turnovers.
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SEVIER COUNTY
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0
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17
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7
|
3
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--27
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|
PAGE
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7
|
0
|
6
|
7
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-- 20
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SCORING SUMMARY:
First Quarter
P 04:10 William Wiebush 10 run (Jonathan Baba kick) 7-0
Second Quarter
SC 11:28 Taylor Madison 31 field goal 7-3
SC 02:09 Jude Costner 3 pass from Cooper Newman (Taylor Madison kick) 7-10
SC 00:00 Bryson Headrick 62 blocked field goal return (Taylor Madison kick0 7-17
Third Quarter
SC 05:48 Jude Costner 4 pass from Cooper Newman (Taylor Madison kick 7-24
P 01:54 William Wiebush 1 run (run failed) 13-24
Fourth Quarter
SC 07:21 Taylor Madison 28 field goal 13-27
P 01:28 William Wiebush 1 run (Jonathan Baba kick) 20-27
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TEAM STATS
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Sevier Co.
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Page
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|
First Downs
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11
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18
|
|
Rushes-Yards
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28-31
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32-159
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Passing Yards
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153
|
142
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Total yards
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184
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311
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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15-26-0
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17-26-1
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Penalties-Yards
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5-41
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11-80
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Punts-Average
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4-34.0
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1-50.0
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Fumbles-Lost
|
2-0
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2-2
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Third Down Conversions
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5-15
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4-10
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Time of Possession
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26:23
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21:37
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Individual Stats
Rushing: Nathan Patterson 15-39; Cooper Newman 5-9; Jude Costner 1-0; Zach Banks 2-(-1); Roman Gibbons 2-(-3); TEAM 3-(-13) (SC); William Wiebush 15-94; Brenden Anes 3-42; Knight Wilson 3-16; Isaac Otey 5-15; Mitchell Grandjean 3-5; Colt Brown 1-1; Cayden Aukerman 1-(-1); Macclean Copeland 1-(-3) (P).
Passing: Cooper Newman 15 of 26 for 153 yards and 1 touchdown (SC); William Wiebush 15 of 21 for 142 yards and 1 interception; TEAM o for 1 (P).
Receiving Haydon Akers 5-94; Jude Costner 5-30; Roman Gibbons 3-17; Parker Newman 2-12 (SC); Cayden Aukerman 7-52; Macclean Copeland 4-26; Knight Wilson 3-59; Brenden Anes 2-10; Colt Brown 1-(-5) (P).
Most Valuable Player: Cooper Newman (Sevier County)
Notable: Sevier County wins second state title in 25 years.
Records: Sevier County 15-0; Page 14-1.
(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)