 combined to stuff a Cookeville ball carrier .JPG)
 combined to stuff a Cookeville ball carrier .JPG)
It’s the biggest rivalry. The White County Warriors versus the Cookeville Cavaliers. It’s been three years since White County could claim bragging rights, but on Friday night, they bullied the Cavaliers at the line of scrimmage and dominated from start to finish.
“Football is a fight, and we want to control the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and our kids bought in,” Warrior head coach David Foster said. “Credit to Cookeville. They loaded up and stymied us in the second half. But our kids held.”
Foster credits the conditioning work that the Warriors put in over the summer and continue to put in daily. He has been adamant that they are only going to focus on what they can control, and physical conditioning and endurance are two of those things.
“We wanted the game to be dirty. We said we would give ourselves a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter,” Foster said about the overall game plan and mental preparation going into the rivalry game. “We knew we wouldn’t be tired after 45 minutes of play, so as long as we were still in the game, we would have a chance.”
White County received the opening kickoff and marched confidently downfield. However, once they reached the red zone, their drive stalled, and Cookeville’s Taylor Fitts had a tackle for a loss that set up a 27-yard field goal attempt for the Warriors. White County’s Noah Skeith, who was perfect last week on extra point attempts but hadn’t been called on for a longer kick yet this season, missed the field goal and the Cavaliers got the ball on the 20-yard line.
The Warrior defense was a wall, and Cookeville went three-and-out, despite White County giving them five yards on a penalty.
“Cade Apple and Derrick Sparkman put together a great game plan,” Foster gave the credit to his defensive coordinators. “They deserve all the props for this win. They planned the game perfectly and the kids executed it just as it was drawn up.”
The Warriors started their next drive on their own 41-yard line and moved methodically down the field gaining ground in 5-,8-, and 10-yard chunks. The result was a Cole Sims 8-yard touchdown run to cap off the drive and give White County a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
Things did get a little close when Cookeville’s Blake Barrett had a big return on the ensuing kick-off setting the Cavaliers up at the Warrior 21-yard line. The return led to a tied score after Evan Banks pushed the ball over the goal line on a 1-yard run just two minutes later.
The Warriors started their next drive on their own 20-yard line and moved the ball 12 yards in two plays. On first and ten from their own 32, Cole Sims ripped off a 38-yard run to set White County up at the Cookeville 30-yard line with three minutes left in the half. Five plays later and Sims took the ball the final five yards into the end zone.
“Cole is an absolute stud. You’re not going to find a better kid,” Foster said that he’s been impressed with junior ball carrier’s approach to both football and life. “Football is just a little part of who he is. He’s as good as they come – an absolutely phenomenal person.”
That would be the end of the scoring until the final few minutes of the game. Both teams had drives that would stall over the next 25 minutes of play, White County fumbled the ball away once in the third quarter and then threw an interception in the fourth. But the Warrior defense held strong, forcing stalled drives that kept the Cavaliers away from the White County end zone.
A lightening delay with 3:57 left on the game clock sent teams to the field house and fans home. But after almost an hour and a half, it was deemed safe for the game to resume with Cookeville in a possession on their own 39-yard line.
Down by just one score, the Cavaliers started a drive to tie the game, but White County’s Eli Smith jumped in front of a Cookeville receiver and intercepted a pass, swinging the momentum.
“That was a huge play by Eli,” Foster said. “After the long delay, to be ready to come back out and play big. The mental focus and physical discipline it takes to be ready for a moment like that are a testament to the work these kids are putting in this year.”
Minutes later, it would be Lex Winfree who would seal the game as the Warriors lined up in jumbo formation at the 5-yard line and gave the ball to the “big guy” who ran the ball into the endzone. Again, Skeith’s kick was good pushing the score to 21-7.
“I know what kind of athlete Lex is, he’s an incredible kid to coach. I’ve always wanted him to be in a position to carry the ball and get that chance,” Foster said that the jumbo formation play was something that he’s wanted to have in the Warriors’ arsenal. “I want to give all the kids the opportunity to be their best, do their best, and help us win in different situations.”
Cookeville tried to move the ball quickly, but with under two minutes to play, there wasn’t much chance they would score twice. In fact, the clock would expire before the Cavaliers could find the end zone even one more time.
“I can’t say enough about how hard our kids played. They played for each other, every one of them is ready to carry the load, ready to share the spotlight. No one cares about who gets the credit, they are just working together to win games,” Foster said. “Tonight, they came out and represented themselves the way we asked them to. Can’t ask for anything more than that.”
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