Rhea County shuts out Walker Valley for region victory

BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR)

EVENSVILLE, Tenn. – Rhea County and Walker Valley have always been familiar with each other being region rivals. Add in that new Golden Eagles head coach Taylor Harvey was Walker Valley’s defensive coordinator for the past 5 seasons on Drew Akins’ staff and the familiarity level between these 2 programs was off the charts. Both teams would battle the elements almost as much as each other, with the Golden Eagles shutting out the Mustangs 16-0 on a homecoming Friday night at Bill Horton Field.

“It just saved us time on Sunday from having to look up the other team’s roster because you know all the kids, the coaches, and everything they’re wanting to do”, Harvey said when asked about going up against the Mustangs.

There would be one surprise before the game began. Walker Valley starting quarterback Dosen Stum was involved in an automobile accident on Wednesday and would not play in the game, giving sophomore Jacob Kerley the nod behind center. Neither passing attack would light up the stat sheet as this game would be run heavy and special teams would be a determining factor throughout the game.

Rhea County would begin this region showdown with great field position on the first possession, beginning at their 43-yard line. The Golden Eagles would convert a 3^rd and 10 down to the Mustangs’ 40-yard line, then get 13 yards on a 3^rd down and 15. A personal foul on Walker Valley would give Rhea County the missing 2 yards and then some in addition to an automatic first down, keeping the drive alive. After another 3^rd down conversion on a 5-yard run on 3^rd and 2, Mason Ford would end the drive when he punched it in from 4 yards out to give Rhea County the first points in the contest. The extra point was blocked so the Golden Eagles had a 6-0 advantage with 6:35 left in the opening quarter. Walker Valley would go 3 and out on the next possession, but Rhea County was flagged for roughing the kicker, giving the Mustangs an automatic first down. Roman Eulo would take off and pick up a first down for the Mustangs to get inside Golden Eagle territory, getting inside field goal range going into the second quarter.

Noah Campbell would line up for a 34-yard field goal attempt on the first play of the second quarter, but it pushed wide right and the Golden Eagles hung on to their 6-0 lead. After that, punts and continuous rain would dictate the rest of the first half. Eulo would have more rushing yards in the first half, 96, than Rhea County had total offense, which was 87 yards. He would end the night with 117 yards on the ground on 12 touches. But the only numbers that mattered was the 6 under home and the 0 under guests on the scoreboard at Eagle Stadium at the half.

The rain would also dominate the third quarter in addition to the defenses, with 3 punts between both squads until the end of the third quarter when Rhea County was in Walker Valley territory. The Golden Eagles would end the drive, that began at the Mustangs’ 26-yard line, with a 41-yard Austun Fugate field goal. Fugate was kicking into a cross wind that was blowing right to left, but the sophomore split the uprights and gave his team a 9-0 lead with 11:54 remaining. Ace Robinson would fall on the ensuing kickoff after Walker Valley was unable to get control of it, giving Rhea County the ball back deep inside Mustangs territory. Chauncey Odum would punch it in from 2 yards out less than a minute later to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 16-0 with 11:03 left on the clock. Odum and Ford would rush for 102 total yards on 33 combined carries and the 2 touchdowns for Rhea County.

“We got dealt a bad hand”, Akins said, talking about Stum’s absence and Kerley stepping in. “When those things happen, it’s unplanned We didn’t ask him to do a lot but he was able to do the things that we asked him to do. He didn’t hurt us; he didn’t turn the ball over”.

Rhea County improves to 3-2 overall (1-0 in region) and will travel to McMinn County on October 4^th. Walker Valley is 4-2 overall (1-1 in region) and hits the road to take on Howard on October 4^th at Reggie White Field.

 

Follow Jeff Cate on “X” at @TheJeffCate