Battle of Hawkins County

Week 9 article by VSN

Rogersville- Down in the lower end of Hawkins County, the Falcons and Chiefs lined up once again for another installment of one of the greatest rivalries in the area. It was a classic matchup just like most games in this series, with 55 points combined and plenty of big plays on both ends. Unfortunately, when it was all said and done, Volunteer lost to Cherokee 35-20.

The Falcons, still searching for their first win, 0-9 (0-5 in District), will have one more chance this season to find it. The Falcons put up a great fight in this one, but the Cherokee had more firepower as they held onto the ball longer.

Cherokee marched right down the field on their opening drive to score 7-0. On the first drive for the Falcons, they also made progress down the field but were unable to capitalize and wound up stopped on 4th down. The Chiefs scored once more to make it 14-0 with some great runs and a touchdown by their RB Kalijah Sexton. After a punt, Volunteer got on the board with an end-around rush by star WR Aden Parson. Later on, the Falcons tallied a great interception by Brandon Begley but ran out of time to make the halftime score 14-7 in favor of Cherokee.

Coming back from the half, Cherokee scored again off another Sexton rushing touchdown. While the Falcons answered quickly with a touchdown from star RB Keelin Releford, Cherokee answered even quicker as they returned the kickoff for another touchdown to bring the score 28-13 going into the 4th quarter.

It was too little too late as the Falcons forced a few punts, and a fumble with a recovery, and got back on the scoreboard with a touchdown pass from QB Jameson Mowell to Aden Parson once more. In the in-between, Cherokee scored another touchdown bringing the final score to 35-20 with Cherokee winning another matchup in this highly anticipated rivalry game.

This week Volunteer will match up with the Grainger County Grizzlies in Rutledge for the final game of the season. Grainger is another team that the Falcons match up with really well. The Grizzlies are also looking to finish their season on a high note after a disappointing campaign sitting at 2-7 (0-5 in the district). Tune into the Volunteer Sports Network starting at 7 p.m. for pregame coverage followed by play-by-play coverage.