Warriors, Cavaliers face off

 The Sparta Warriors traveled north, on Highway 111, on Sept. 11, 2020, to take on rival Cookeville High School in football action. 

Cookeville has been dominant for the past 30 years in the series, however, they play the game to determine the outcome, and Friday night was a game that all football fans would enjoy. 

The Warriors kicked off to the Cavaliers to start the ball game.  Quarterback Stockton Owen took the field and led Cookeville on a nine-play drive that ended with Owen finding the endzone on an 11-yard run.  The extra point was good, and Cookeville took the opening kickoff. With 7:26 left to play, in the first quarter, Cookeville led Sparta 7-0.  

 It did not take long for the Warrior offense to match the Cavalier scoring drive.  Sophomore Malaki Dowell faked the zone read on the third play of the drive and rambled 78 yards to paydirt.  Dawson Stewart kicked the extra point. With 6:15 to play in the first quarter, the score was tied 7-7.

The Cavalier offense again moved the ball on an 11-play drive and scored a touchdown on a one-yard run to paydirt to take the lead 14-7. 

Early in the second quarter the Warriors attempted a fake punt, which was unsuccessful, and the punt was taken by Cookeville.  Cookeville’s Owen did not take long on the short field to add another touchdown by running up the middle for 16 yards and a score. With 9:51 in the second quarter, the score is Cookeville 21 and Sparta 7.  

It did not take long as, once again, Sparta’s Dowell on the first play of the series, went his way behind solid blocking and outran the Cavalier defense 79 yards for the score.  The extra point was good and the score with 9:20 to play was Cookeville 21 and Sparta 14. 

Cookeville’s running game took control on the next series and in three plays scored on a 53-yard run.  At the 7:56 mark in the second quarter, Cookeville led Sparta 28-14.  After a punt by the Warriors, Cookeville again scored on a 30-yard touchdown run by Owen, pushing the score to 35-14, with 3:35 to play in the second quarter.  After an interception and a turnover on downs by the Cavaliers, the Warrior sophomore quarterback Dowell broke free again and went 55 yards to paydirt to close the gap.  The score, with 1:40 to play in the second half, was Cookeville 35 and Sparta 20.  The second half ended with that score, and Sparta was to get the ball coming out of the half. 

White County came out of the locker room and took the second half kickoff and put together a 12-play drive that ended with Dowell on a six-yard touchdown run.  The score, with 6:31 in the third quarter, was Cookeville 35 and White County 26.  The Warrior defense stopped the Cavalier offense and took the ball once again on a seven-play drive to paydirt as Kade Clark rumbled into the endzone and came within two points of the Cookeville lead.  The score, with 1:20 to play in the third, was Cookeville 35 and the Warriors 33. 

The fourth quarter saw Cookeville flex and take over the game, adding three more touchdowns while holding the Warriors scoreless.  The final score was Cookeville 56 and Sparta 33. 

Cookeville had 344 total rushing yards and 211 passing yards for a total offensive output of 555 yards and 56 points on the scoreboard. 

The Warriors stats were very impressive as well.  Malaki Dowell rushed 18 times for 300 yards and four touchdowns.  Kade Clark ran five times for 33 yards and a touchdown.  Caleb Bailey had six carries for 42 yards.  D.J. Paul carried seven times for 24 yards.  Nate Mullins carried one time for three yards.  Tyrone Harris carried one time for three yards.  In passing, Dowell threw the ball 13 times, with five completions and 44 yards.  Total passing yards combined with the total rushing yards gave Sparta a 455-yard offensive showing.  The two teams had a combined 1,010 yards of offense. 

Offensive Coordinator Greg Segraves stated about the game, “The first thing that caught my attention was how hard our kids played the entire game. They didn’t quit. They fought for four quarters.  I can’t say enough about the offensive Line.  Malaki Dowell had some great runs, but those runs aren’t possible unless the OL are executing their blocks.  Across the board, Simon Ogletree and first-time starting guard Kobe Jones pulled all night and did a great job.  I thought Hunter Slone played his best game of the year, taking care of their nose guard or cutting off the LB’ers. He was outstanding.  We rotated some different tackles due to injuries.  Kyle Erickson, Maliki Billings, and Keaton Steele, and Hayden Bilbrey rotated and played extremely well and communicated calls all night to the rest of the line.  Our OL coaches, Slone, J.J., and Rittenberrry continue to work hard and are doing an excellent job teaching, coaching, and preparing these men.  And Malaki Dowell does what he does best in the open field - uses that stiff arm and finds a way to get into the end zone.  He’s such a humble young man and great team player. That’s what makes him so enjoyable to be around and coach each day.  Again, Malaki’s success depends on how well our running backs are doing their jobs.  D.J. Paul did a great job on the outside and is an exciting runner and he makes things happen.  I wasn’t sure how much he could take playing both ways. He cramped a little, but he doesn’t seem to get tired.  He’s been a great addition to the backfield.  I can’t say enough about the performance of Caleb Bailey.  I don’t think I’ve been as proud of any player as I was of him when he got that big run.  Here’s a kid who has worked as hard as anybody on this team to get a shot on the field.  He made the best of it.  He’s going to remain a valuable part of this offense for us to be successful.  Our passing game has to improve, and it will with time.  I was glad to see Tanner Paul get his first varsity catch. Here again, is a first-year player that has unlimited ability.  He’s going to make some great catches and  has been our best blocker on the perimeter. Most of our receivers play both ways, and we had a few injuries.  Coach Wilson does a great job with the receivers, and they’re going to get better. As a whole offensively, we just have to keep working hard and try to get better each and every day.”

Coach Mark Frasier gave a statement about his team’s effort.

“It’s a tough loss,” said Frasier. “Offensively we played great.  Malaki is a special athlete, and our line played great.  Our wide receivers blocked downfield on those long runs as well.  They get overlooked most of the time.  We struggled on defense, but we fought hard.  Cookeville has an overwhelming offensive line, and their depth played a factor.  We hung in there, but eventually  we need to start getting wins in games like this..”

The Warriors travel to Cleveland, Tennessee, next week to take on Walker Valley.  Game time is set for 6 p.m. CST time.