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Cyclones crush Cumberland Gap in playoff opener

By Douglas Fritz
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

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ELIZABETHTON — It took a full quarter for Elizabethton to really get going.

That was actually a fortunate thing for Cumberland Gap.

The Cyclones exploded for 42 second-quarter points and rolled to a 63-12 victory over the Panthers in the first round of the TSSAA Class 3A playoffs at Rider Field on Friday night.

Five of those six second-quarter touchdowns came in a whirlwind span of only 4:53. And the Cyclones chalked up those five scores on just six plays. Elizabethton totaled the 42 points in nine snaps.

Just about the only pleasant thing for the Panthers was the mercy rule kicking in and the clock running continuously for the entire second half.

Winning its first playoff game since 2004, the Cyclones improved to 9-2 on the season and earned a second-round home game against Sullivan North. The Raiders (9-2) destroyed West Greene by a score of 45-14.

The Cyclones defeated North 50-12 in their regular season meeting.

Against the overmatched Panthers, Elizabethton sputtered around in the first quarter. The Cyclones fumbled the ball away on their first possession and missed a 32-yard field goal attempt on their second try.

“We just didn’t come out and do the things we needed to do,” said head coach Shawn Witten, who notched his first-ever coaching playoff victory after earning six as a player for the Cyclones. “We were more talented and more athletic, and we started out with the great kick return. Then we fumbled on the second play.

“We’ve got to play a lot better than that if we’re going to beat teams down the road. That was not us out there.”

The Cyclones broke through with Chantz DeMoss making a very athletic catch in the corner of the end zone after a 13-yard toss from Ryan Thomas with 4:49 left in the first quarter.

However, the Cyclones punted on their next possession.

Then the floodgates opened.

For most of the second quarter, Cumberland Gap was mostly going backward while the Cyclones were scoring on almost every play. In a span of 19 plays, the Panthers had 12 snaps and totaled minus-15 yards while the Cyclones totaled 106 yards on seven snaps.

Touchdowns in the 42-point explosion came from Thomas (17 yard run), Preston Itaro (runs from 2 and 8 yards), Cody Forbes (39 yard run), Cody Nidiffer (7 yard pass from Thomas) and Zach Boles, who caught a beautifully thrown 54-yard bomb from McKenley Berry.

In that stretch, Jake Davis set up two scores with a pair of interceptions he returned to the 2-yard line and 7-yard line, respectively.

“On the first one I didn’t read (the screen), but the ball just wound up in my hands,” said Davis. “On the second one, I saw it. They were running the same plays, and we had seen it on film. I saw it early and the quarterback threw it right to me.”

Things were even worse when Cumberland Gap went into punt formation during the game. The Panthers’ first punt was blocked, the second snap was high and led to a 1-yard loss, the third snap was low and led to no gain, the fourth one was a 12-yard punt, and the fifth attempt appeared to be a fake for a one-yard gain. The sixth and final punt attempt was good for 20 yards.

Cumberland Gap finally got on the board late in the third quarter when freshman quarterback Blake Franklin hit Whitt Willis on a 9-yard scoring strike.

Elizabethton quickly answered with three carries by Alec Whitehead, capped off by a 40-yard touchdown run to make it 56-6.

The Cyclones recovered a muff on the ensuing kickoff, and tacked on another score with Terrence Turner powering in from four yards out to make it 63-6.

Whitehead led the Cyclones with 55 yards on four carries. Forbes added 52 yards on six carries.

Thomas, the Cyclones’ senior quarterback, totaled 80 yards of offense despite still feeling the effects of an ankle injury suffered in Week 9 against Christian Academy of Knoxville.

“It hurts a little, but I’m tough and I can gut it out,” said Thomas. “I don’t want football to end.”

Witten said he’s pleased with where his team stands.

“We’re excited to be where we are,” said Witten. “It’s the first time these kids have had a chance to win a playoff game.”

The Panthers struck again late in the fourth quarter with Joseph Jenkins catching a 27-yard TD from Franklin.

For the game, Franklin finished with pretty good numbers. He totaled 212 of his team’s 244 yards of offense, completing 16 of 36 passes for 164 and running seven times for 48 yards. He also threw three interceptions.