I had never been to a state championship game so I was pretty excited to travel to Cookeville and watch Alcoa go for number 7 in a row against Goodpasture. We got to Tucker Stadium on the campus of Tennessee Tech University just after South Pittsburg had beaten Jo Byrns for the 1A state title and now arguable the best team in the state was about to play Goodpasture. I knew the Tornadoes had this one in the bag as soon as Goodpasture bust through their sign like the Dallas high school did in Friday Night Lights. You don't do that playing a team that has won 42 straight games.
Goodpasture quarterback Keenan Reynolds got my hopes up that this might actually be a game when he broke free on a 35 yard run, being taken down at the Alcoa 15 yard line. On 4th and 5 however, the Cougars proved they didn't trust their kicker by going for it. Alcoa's defense held however and Vanderbilt Hambrick broke free on a 65 yard run only to be taken down by a shoe string tackle at the Goodpasture one yard line. Darrell Warren punched it in on the next play to put Alcoa up 7-0.
The second trailing defensive player is the one to have the touchdown saving tackle. Impressive I know.
Goodpasture answered the Alcoa score by going three and out and handing the ball back to Alcoa which needed only one play to score again. Austin Tallant hooked up with Steven Isom on a 49 yard bomb that gave Alcoa a 14-0 lead. Goodpasture's bad fortune continued when a fumble was recovered by Alcoa and returned to the Cougar 17 yard line. After a converted 4th down, Darrell Warren got his second touchdown of the quarter and Alcoa increased the lead to 21-0. Goodpasture looked as though they had gotten things rolling when Keenan Reynolds hit Robert Walls on a 50 yard pass but the play was called back for an illegal shift. The Cougars proceeded to go three and out and once again gave Alcoa the ball.
Alcoa put a drive together consisting mostly of Hambrick and Warren runs, eventually turning to Warren for a 19 yard scamper and his third touchdown of the game to make it a 28-0 game. Keenan Reynolds took the Cougars down the field in a hurry on the ensuing possession and eventually gave Goodpasture its first score of the game on a 4 yard quarterback keeper closing the gap to 28-7. Any momentum gained on that score was lost on the kickoff when Steven Isom returned the ball 60 yards to the Cougar 30. After Hambrick had a 24 yard touchdown run called back for a block in the back penalty, Tallant found Isom again for a 29 yard touchdown pass to make the halftime score 35-7. A song played by the Alcoa band during their halftime show summed up what Goodpasture was going through when they played the Bed Intruder song by one Antoine Dodson.
Hide ya kids, hide ya wife, and hide ya husbands, cuz they destroying ery body out hur!
Alcoa opened the second half with a scoring drive that lasted four minutes and was capped off by a 2 yard touchdown run from Taharin Tyson. The 42-7 score meant that the mercy rule would be enforced so long as the margin stayed at 35 points or more. With the continuously running clock the second half was on its way to lasting exactly 30 minutes. That is until Keenan Reynolds found John Thomas Lynn wide open over the middle for an 87 yard touchdown pass making it 42-14 Tornadoes and ending the mercy rule. A 40 yard kickoff return by LaJuan Warfield, who as a side note has probably the best name on the Alcoa roster, put the Tornadoes in a great position to get the clock running again. That is just what they did after Tallant again hooked up with Isom for a 45 yard touchdown pass, giving Isom three receptions for 123 yards and three touchdowns, and Alcoa a 49-14 lead. At this point Goodpasture took on the roll of Rocky. . . JUST FINISH!
He went the distance you fools!
Any chance of Goodpasture stopping the running clock went out the window when Reynolds was intercepted by Tallant and Darrell Warren scored his 4th touchdown of the game from seven yards out. The Cougars could not keep the ball and Alcoa was able to run out the clock, winning their 7th straight state championship and their 43rd game in a row. Darrell Warren, with 11 carries for 83 yards and 4 touchdowns, was named offensive MVP and JeRod Crenshaw won defensive MVP honors. It has been quiet the adventure this year, traveling to see talented kids from all over east Tennessee play. Whether it was Maryville vs. Alcoa or Campbell County vs. Halls, each game had its high points and I had a ton of fun watching the game of football at its purest form. I was able to see at least two state champions play in Webb and now Alcoa and all indications point to Maryville being the third. I got to watch at least two former Tennessee Vols on the field in Devrin Young and Kyler Kerbyson. In the end only 8 schools can claim that they were the best, and Alcoa did just that in Cookeville.
Alcoa Tornadoes
2010 3A State Champions
2010 3A State Champions
