Cosby sweeps in District openers
CLINCH-Both teams were coming off losses and needed a boost. Both the Cosby Eagles and Lady Eagles found it tough going Tuesday night in their home opener against Gatlinburg-Pittman. The Lady Eagles, especially, have had some tough times in their first three games of the season, and really needed a victory for some confidence.
Cosby reaps rewards following stellar season
COSBY-It was certainly a football season to remember. The Eagles rebounded from a 2-8 season in 2007 to finish 8-2 during the regular season for a share of the Region 1-1A championship, a first for Cosby, and another trip to the playoffs. Despite an opening round loss to Midway, Eagle head coach Tyler Shelton couldn’t be prouder of his bunch.
“We practiced hard and we played hard,” said coach Shelton, “and you can’t ask for much more than that. The coaching staff put in a lot of long hours getting game plans together, and the players paid attention and listened. We would have liked to win that District championship outright, and getting past the first round of the playoffs. But, we’re working on those. We’re trying to build a successful history here, and it takes time. But, we’re making progress.”
Fellow coaches in Region 1-1A have seen Cosby’s growth and improvement since coach Shelton took over the program four years ago, and heaped praise on the program by voting five Eagles to the All-Region team and five more as honorable mention.
Named to the Region 1-1A All-Region team were seniors Mitch Miller, Spencer Grooms, Trenten Dunn and Matthew Hester, and sophomore Robert Herzog.
Named as honorable mention were Jordan Cates, Matthew Lane, Danny Raines, Cody Butler and Robbie Whitted.
“I think we should have more,” said coach Shelton. “This was a real team effort on our part this past season. We had different guys stepping up each and every week. They played together as a team, and we certainly had more guys that deserved the recognition. But I’m proud of those who were named.”
Grace Christian had the most players named to the All-Region team (six) including Frank Atticus, Phillip Hester, Patrick Green, Jordan Bel, Tyler Richardson and Blake Hester. From Cloudland were Matt Tipton, Nick Sluder and Jon Shell. From Unaka were Dustin Taylor and Drew Chambers. And from Jellico were Ryan Morress and Josh Kennedy. The players from Hampton were unavailable.
The Region 1-1A Most Valuable Player award went to Grace Christian tailback David Amos.
“I thought that should have gone to Mitch (Miller),” said coach Shelton. “What he did this year was incredible, and we played a much tougher schedule that Grace.”
Miller had nearly 1,300 yards rushing for the Eagles this past season, and they were tough yards against not only the Region 1-1A teams, but four schools higher in classification.
The Region 1-1A Offensive Player of the Year went to Randell Johnson of Cloudland while the Defensive Player of the Year went to Josh Peters of Unaka. The Special Teams Player of the Year went to Jacob Teetezman of Jellico.
That only leaves the Region 1-1A Coach of the Year, and here’s where the other Region coaches sat up and took notice. The Coach of the Year went to coach Shelton.
“I certainly didn’t expect that,” said coach Shelton. “I mean Grace and Hampton had the coaches I though it would go to. But, I was told that going from 2-8 to 8-2 and a share of the Region championship was the reason. You need a lot of help when you get this kind of award. It’s not just me. It’s my assistants and my players, not to mention the support from the school and our fans.”
Coach Shelton is far too humble. Since taking over the program four years ago, there has been much he has done. Coach Shelton is now 25-18, becoming Cosby’s winningest ever football coach with the Eagles’ victory over Cloudland early in the season. More importantly, he has three seasons with winning records and three trips to post-season play. And that’s with just four seasons under his belt.
BANQUET SET
To celebrate another successful season, the Eagle Football Banquet and awards presentations have been set.
The Football Banquet will be held on Saturday, December 13, at the Cosby School cafeteria starting at 6 p.m.
There will be great food, and, as always, some great stories and celebration over an outstanding season. Awards will be presented after the food has been served.
2009 SCHEDULE RELEASED
No sooner than the season finishes and the post-season banquet is set, Coach Shelton has already released his 2009 Cosby Eagle Football Schedule.
“It’s a little different,” said coach Shelton. “With us moving up to Class 2A and the new classification handed down by the TSSAA, we changed things up a bit. We still have our traditional rivals from our old Region (Hampton, Cloudland and Unaka), but we’ve added some new teams that should make it interesting.”
Those new teams on the schedule include Claiborne County, Gatlinburg-Pittman, North Greene, Hancock County and Cumberland Gap. Gone are Kings Academy, Jellico and Knox Gibbs. Back on the schedule for 2009 are Pigeon Forge and Chuckey-Doak.
“The reclassification was supposed to cut down on travel,” said coach Shelton. “But it really doesn’t do that. I’m really not thrilled with the new classification, but you have to take it and deal with it. I think we’ve set up a pretty good schedule. It’s a tough one, but that’s the way we like it.”
Tough in deed considering the Eagles will have to face Gatlinburg-Pittman at the Highlanders home. They’ll also be on the road at Class 3A Pigeon Forge, and at Hampton, Chuckey-Doak and North Greene. Of particular interest is the set of games following their season-opener on August 21, 2009, at home against Claiborne. The next three games on the schedule are on the road at Gatlinburg-Pittman, Hampton and Pigeon Forge. That’s just plain brutal.
With the new classification, only Cosby and Hancock County are in the same District.
“It’s kind of difficult to figure out at first,” said coach Shelton. “What you really have to do is put it up on a board, and then branch off the teams according to class and you get a better picture. We’re still in a tough Region, so no changes as far as tough is concerned.”
Cosby’s new Region has old foes Hampton and Unaka, and new foe North Greene. Only the top two teams will advance to the playoffs under the new system.
Here’s Cosby’s 2009 Football Schedule:
Week 0
Friday, Aug. 21: Claiborne County (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 1
Friday, Aug. 28: Gatlinburg-Pittman (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 2
Friday, Sept. 4: Hampton* (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 3
Friday, Sept. 11: Pigeon Forge (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 4
Friday, Sept. 18: Hancock County* (Home)(Homecoming), 7:30 p.m.
Week 5
Friday, Sept. 25: Chuckey-Doak (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 6
Friday, Oct. 2: Cloudland* (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 7
OPEN
Week 8
Friday, Oct. 16: North Greene* (Away), 7:30 p.m.
Week 9
Friday, Oct. 23: Cumberland Gap (Home), 7:30 p.m.
Week 10
Thursday, Oct. 29: Unaka* (Home) (Senior Night), 7:30 p.m.
*Denotes Region Game
(New Region includes Cosby, Hampton, North Greene, Unaka. The top two teams at the end of the regular season will go to the Class 2A playoffs)
By PAUL MEADOR
NPT Sports Editor
So Close! Eagles Clipped By Rams
By PAUL MEADOR
Newport Plain Talk Sports Editor
COSBY-The playoff atmosphere was there. And, the Cosby Eagles (8-2, 4-1) late game heroics were there. But, it simply wasn’t meant to be as a Cosby 25-yard field goal attempt with 20 seconds remaining inched wide left, giving the Grace Christian Rams (9-1, 4-1) a one-point victory, 13-12, at the Eagles Nest Friday night.
The outcome left the Eagles, Rams and Hampton Bulldogs sharing the Region 1-A regular season championship. But, by virtue of overall records, the Rams will head into the playoffs as the Region 1-1A top seed, followed by the Eagles at No. 2, the Bulldogs at No. 3, and the Cloudland Highlanders at No. 4.
The loss was a tough one to take for the Eagles.
“This one leaves a bad taste,” said Eagle Head Coach Tyler Shelton. “I know you’re supposed to let it go, and get on with getting ready for your next game. But this one may sit on me for a while.”
The difference in this one was turnovers, and a two-point conversion attempt late. Turnovers proved costly for the Eagles. They had one fumble, which Grace Christian took advantage of for their first touchdown, and two interceptions, one in the end zone that fell just short of a wide open Robert Herzog. The Rams, on the other hand, had only one turnover, an interception in the first half that the Eagles were unable to take advantage of.
The two-point conversion attempt came with 4:18 left in the game. Cosby had just scored their second TD of the night, and trailed 13-12. The Eagles lined up as if they were going to kick the extra point to tie the game. Instead, holder Jordan Cates took the snap from J.R. Proffitt, placed the ball down as if Robby Whitted was going to kick it, but instead, flipped the ball over his shoulder to Whitted, who took off running to his right. The officiating crew immediately blew the play dead, ruling that Cates had placed the ball on the ground, effectively killing the play.
“That was my fault,” said coach Shelton. “I’m not exactly sure what the call was, but that play was my call, and I shouldn’t have made it. I got a little greedy. If I could take it back, I would. That was a mistake on my part.”
The Eagles defense, as they have done all season, was up to the task, holding the Rams vaunted rushing attack to just 67 yards on 25 carries. That says a lot since the Rams had two 1,000-yard rushers, Phillip Hester and David Amos, coming into the game. Instead, Hester was held to 52 yards on 16 carries while Amos was held to 15 yards on nine carries.
“Our defense has done it all year, and they did it again tonight,” said coach Shelton. “It was our offense that couldn’t get going. I really don’t think our offense work up until the fourth quarter.”
In the early going, the Rams ran right into the Eagle’s game plan.
“We wanted to smack them in the mouth early,” said coach Shelton. “and we did that. We didn’t give them anything in their first two possessions. The momentum was on our side, things were going our way. Really, we took care of them until late in the second quarter, and that’s when we made our second mistake.”
The first mistake came after a seven-minute drive that took Cosby from their own 30-yard line to the Grace 19. Herzog got behind his usual double-team on a fade route on the right corner of the end zone. But, quarterback Trenten Dunn’s pass fell short, and into the arms of Amos for the interception.
On their ensuing possession, the Rams got a big play when quarterback Logan Little hit Amos out of the backfield, and watched as Amos ran the sideline 80 yards to the Cosby 5. But, the Eagle defense rose to the occasion, and kept the Rams out of the end zone, stopping them at the one-yard line on a fourth down play.
Then came Cosby second mistake. Dunn hit Cates in the right flat on a five-yard pass play. Cates, trying to stretch out for more yardage, had the football slip away, which was covered by the Rams at the Cosby 21. On their very first play, Hester took it to the house for the first score of the game with 2:15 remaining in the half. Steven Johnstone’s extra point was good, and the Rams were in front 7-0.
The Rams made it 13-0 in the third quarter. Cosby took the opening kick to start the second half, but was unable to move the ball. On their first possession of the second half, the Rams needed just eight plays, including a 22-yard catch by Amos and a 19-yard run by Hester, to find the end zone again. Amos capped the 57-yard drive with a three-yard run. The extra point was no good, but the Rams were in control 13-0 with 6:06 remaining in the third quarter.
That would be the end of the Rams scoring, and their momentum, as the game shifted Cosby’s way for the remaining quarter-and-a-half.
The Eagles responded to the Rams second score of the game by introducing them to a steady dose of running back Mitch Miller. On their next possession, the Eagles started from their own 43. Eight plays later, that included six Miller carries for 32 yards, one carry for Nick Koenig for 10 yards, and an 18-yard pass from Dunn to Spencer Grooms, Miller punched into the end zone from six yards out to get the Eagles on the board. Robby Whitted’s extra point attempt missed, but the Eagles trailed by only seven, 13-6 with 1:25 remaining in the third.
The Eagles did it again on their next possession, this one a 12-play 58-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock. Again, the drive featured Miller. The senior running back accounted for 38 yards in the drive on nine carries, including an 11-yard touchdown run to pull the Eagles to within one, 13-12.
After forcing the Rams to punt, the Eagles had one last shot at victory, taking over the football at their own 44-yard line with 2:21 remaining. They soon found themselves in dire straits, however, when Dunn was sacked at the Cosby 34 on a third down play. With just 54 seconds remaining, the Eagles were facing a fourth down and 23. Eagle fans nearly fell out of their seats on the next play as Dunn hit senior Dillon Denton on the Cosby sideline for a 56-yard pass play to give the Eagles first-and-ten at the Grace 11-yard line. With no time outs left, Dunn spiked the ball on the first play to stop the clock. Miller was only able to pick up two on the next play, and the Eagles were forced to line up quickly, allowing Dunn to spike the ball again to stop the clock with 20 seconds remaining. That set up Robby Whitted’s field goal attempt from 25 yards out. Whitted had connected on two 30-yard field goals earlier in the season, but this was a different occasion. Whitted got his foot into it, but the kick, which would have barely cleared the cross-bar, drifted about two feet to the left, giving Grace the 13-12 victory.
“I really feel for that young man,” said coach Shelton. “I know he had to have so many things going through his head before making that kick. He gave it his best shot, but he shouldn’t have been in that position.
“We played hard, we blocked hard,” said coach Shelton. “Our motors were running. Listen, these were two very good football teams banging heads out here tonight. My hat’s off to Grace’s defense. They played well too. We just came up a little short.
“We really missed Justin (Rone) tonight. There were times when you knew he would have made a difference.”
Rone was injured in an automobile accident earlier in the week, and needed surgery to repair a broken leg at U.T. Medical Center Tuesday night. But, Justin and his family made it to the game, and was honored in two ways. First, with his fellow seniors as part of Senior Night festivities. And second, his teammates wore his No. 71 on the helmets, and dedicated the game to him.
HIGH NOTES: In addition to another outstanding performance from the Cosby defense, holding the Rams to just 67 yards rushing, hats off to the Eagle offense’s workhorse, senior tailback Mitch Miller. Having already amassed 1,000 yards on the season going into Friday night’s game, Miller left Grace Christian’s two one-thousand yard rushers in his wake, pounding out 129 yards on 30 carries and two touchdowns. Miller now has 1,133 yards on the season.
Despite two interceptions, Cosby quarterback Trenten Dunn was 7-12 for 122 yards passing. Dillon Denton had two catches for 66 yards, while Spencer Grooms had four catches for 51 yards on the night.
PLAYOFFS
With the conclusion of the regular season, the playoff brackets are now set for the opening round next Friday night. In Region 1-1A, Grace Christian (9-1, 4-1) is the top seed, and will host Coalfield (4-6, 3-3), the No. 4 seed out of Region 2-1A. Cosby (8-2, 4-1) will host Midway (7-3, 4-2), the No. 3 seed out of Region 2-1A. Hampton (6-4, 4-1) will travel to Greenback (9-1, 5-1), the No. 2 seed out of Region 2-1A. And Cloudland (6-4, 2-3) will travel to Oneida (10-0, 6-0), the No. 1 seed out of Region 2-1A. All playoff games kick off 30 minutes earlier than regular season games at 7 p.m.
ON-AIR
Next Friday night’s opening round playoff game between Cosby and Midway will be broadcast live on WLIK, AM-1270, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the pre-game report. Steve Wilhoit will have the play-by-play while Steve Souder provides commentary.
Volleyball: Lady Eagles Fall In Tourney
BY RUSSELL LAWS
Newport Plain Talk Sports Writer
After a huge victory over Austin-East, the Cosby Lady Eagles fell to Knox
Gibbs in opening round action at the District 3-A/AA Volleyball Tournament
at Knox Carter Wednesday, bringing their season to a close. The youthful
Lady Eagles needed four sets to dispatch the Lady Roadrunners in the first
match of the first round Wednesday. The Lady Eagles started off taking the
first two sets, 25-22, 25-11. But, the Lady Roadrunners came back to take
set three, 18-25. The Lady Eagles rebounded, however, to take the fourth
set, 25-22, and the match 3-1, advancing to take on Gibbs. It was not to be
for the Lady Eagles, however, as Gibbs swept in three sets, 25-17, 25-8,
25-8. Cosby’s lone senior, Megan Tinker , playing her final match in
a Cosby volleyball uniform, led the Lady Eagles in the opening match with 10
aces, 8 kills and 7 digs, and had 1 block, 3 kills and 3 digs in the final
match. Maddie Hall had 1 kill, 2 digs and 2 assists for the Lady Eagles in
the final match against Gibbs.
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