CHURCH HILL -- Sports can entertain. Sports can inspire. And sports can heal.
For the David Crockett football team, Friday's game at Volunteer – a 35-7 victory in Crockett’s favor – offered an opportunity to do all three, but it also provided a release for the Pioneers (4-1), some of whom endured unspeakable loss as the remnants of Hurricane Helene ravaged the area last week.
The storm made an unexpected direct pass over the region, producing catastrophic flooding and loss of life and property. The family of one player on the Crockett roster lost their home. Another player's grandfather died during the storm.
“Tonight was for the community, and all of Pioneer country,” Crockett coach Hayden Chandley said.
“To be honest with you I think there will be some people that might have not thought we should play tonight but I'm gonna tell you something about these kids, man. They're so resilient. We had a few kids affected, severely affected … but came to practice and was the happiest I'd seen them all year because they got a chance to get away.”
Even though Washington County endured significant damage from the storm and school was out there all week, Chandley said the team got in a full week of practice.
“There were a couple days we didn't have all the guys there due to circumstances, but definitely an abnormal week for sure,” Chandley said.
It was also an abnormal week at Volunteer (0-5), which missed Monday practice due to utility outages and flooded roads in Hawkins County. The Falcons entered this game with a question mark at quarterback with Jackson Mowell, the previous starter, out due to injury. Falcons coach Mike Castle cycled through three different options at QB.
Both teams got off to a sluggish start. A mistake-filled first quarter ended scoreless with the two sides combining for more penalty yards (50) than net offensive yards (47), with a 20-yard loss on a bad Crockett snap figuring prominently in that total.
Crockett finally broke through in the second quarter, going on an eight-play, 56-yard drive that ended on an 18-yard scramble into the end zone by AJ Wynn. The key play on that possession was a 34-yard pass from Wynn to Zeke Slone, which reaped almost as many yards on the one throw as the Pioneers had for the entire game to that point.
Slone finished with 92 yards of total offense – 58 rushing and 34 receiving – and scored two touchdowns on the ground.
“We practiced every day this week like it was a normal week. We knew we had to come out here and win this game, go 4-1,” Slone said.
It looked like it would remain a one-score game at half until a bizarre special teams play set up the second Crockett TD.
Volunteer had the ball on the Crockett half of the field on fourth down. Isaiah Ward, who shifted from tight end to quarterback for the Falcons after they lost the game starter Keelin Releford to a shoulder injury in the first quarter, executed a quick kick punt but the ball caromed off another Falcon and landed at the feet of the Pioneers’ Lamarkus Dunn.
A state-caliber sprinter, Dunn picked up the ball and dashed 47 yards before getting brought down. Two plays later, Wynn found Dunn over the middle for the second Crockett touchdown, as time expired in the half.
“I just heard ‘Run! Pick it up and run!’ So that's what I did,” Dunn said.
Dunn, a senior, talked about the challenges of the week. With no school in session, when Crockett wasn't practicing, the members of the team spent several hours volunteering in relief and recovery efforts for storm victims.
“It almost didn't feel like a game day today. … the spirit came back,” Dunn said. “It felt good to play for not just myself, not for the team but just for the whole community back in Jonesborough.”
Crockett came out sharp after halftime. The Pioneers got the ball to open the second half and promptly scored in six plays. That primed the pump for a dominant third quarter. In those 12 minutes, the Pioneers scored 21 points and gained 205 yards on 19 plays. Volunteer, meanwhile, mustered 24 yards on eight plays.
Down 35-0, Volunteer went to Brock Mowell – Jackson’s brother – at quarterback in the fourth quarter. He performed the best of the three to see time there, completing seven of 10 passes for 70 yards and scrambling for an 11-yard touchdown run.
“First series, you lose your second-team quarterback – really our tailback. Then you try and find something to run that you hadn't run probably since little league,” Castle said. “They played hard and they tried to do things that we probably can't do.”
Castle noted that Brock Mowell “played pretty good. … that might be something we look at and put Keelin at tailback.”
Wynn ran for 108 yards and was responsible for two touchdowns – one passing and one rushing. Jon Hall racked up 81 rushing yards on 11 carries, including a 7-yard touchdown. As a group, the Pioneers ran for 242 yards, a total skewed by two errant high snaps from shotgun formations that combined to lose 41 yards.
“We came together and played for our community. That's all that matters,” Dunn said.
Both schools have their fall break scheduled this week but significant football matchups on the schedule. Crockett hosts Tennessee High while Volunteer welcomes Unicoi County.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL | |
David Crockett | 14 | 21 | 35 | ||
Volunteer | 7 | 55 |
Second Quarter
(4:39) DAVID CROCKETT – AJ Wynn 18 run (Dawson Callahan kick)
(0:00) DAVID CROCKETT – Lamarkus Dunn from Wynn (Dawson Callahan kick)
Third Quarter
(8;55) DAVID CROCKETT – Zeke Slone 9 run (Dawson Callahan kick)
(2:19) DAVID CROCKETT – Jon Hall 7 run (Dawson Callahan kick)
(0:51.1) DAVID CROCKETT – Zeke Slone 3 run (Dawson Callahan kick)
Fourth Quarter
(8:59) VOLUTNEER – Brock Mowell 11 run (Jackson McLain kick)
David Crockett | Volunteer | |
First Downs | 12 | 9 |
Rushing Att-Yards | 31-242 | 29-118 |
Passes Comp-Att-Int | 5-8-0 | 8-12-0 |
Passing Yards | 74 | 90 |
Total Plays - Offense | 39-316 | 41-208 |
Fumbles-Lost | 2-0 | 2-2 |
Penalties-Yards | 9-95 | 10-86 |
Punts-Average | 3-40.3 | 4-24.5 |