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It was a great season of high school football for Rutherford County, but it all came to an end this past weekend. Thomas Jefferson hosted for the third straight week in the playoffs, but the visitors from Alleghany got the winning touchdown with less than three seconds left in a 35-28 outcome.
Alleghany was a very big and physical team. They showed their toughness on their final drive of the night, when Fabian Santos (6-4, 215) made a catch and two Thomas Jefferson defenders hit him at the same time. Santos stayed upright and covered 54 yards until he was chased down at the Gryphons three yard line with seven seconds left in the game. The Trojans decided to go for the touchdown and Erick Solis couldn’t be stopped from scoring the game-winner in a heartbreaking loss.
It was heck of a playoff game! Thomas Jefferson took the lead initially on a Mason Martin 24 yard touchdown scamper. Alleghany tied it back up, but a 54 yard touchdown pass to speedster Tyler Mitchell gave them the lead back before the Trojans tied it at the half.
Alleghany goes up by a touchdown to begin the second half and Thomas Jefferson’s Coty Flynn blocks a punt, while Mason Fenner picks it up and runs it in for a score. Alleghany would go up by a touchdown again, but the Gryphons answer with a Fenner 13-yard TD catch to tie the game at 28 with 3:55 remaining.
Thomas Jefferson got the ball back with two minutes left but went three and out.
In the end, Alleghany’s time of possession and number of offensive plays really dominated the game (72-36 plays).
“I have no regrets.” TJCA Football Coach Jerry Cash said. “I thought we played with as much effort as a football team could play with, we just got a little whipped upfront tonight.”
When talking about the season, Cash was pretty straight forward about what they accomplished. “You either win it all or you experience the feeling that we are going through tonight.” Cash said. “When we look back, we will realize that we had a pretty good year and Im proud of what we have done.”
There are a lot of things to be proud of when it comes to this senior laden group. A huge crowd was on hand despite the bitter cold night and it’s the most I have ever witnessed at TJCA.
Their first ever win didn’t come until 2010 with Tony Helton at the helm. Over the last three season with Jerry Cash as head coach, the Gryphons have sported a 24-14 record. In year one, six wins, followed by eight and then ten this season.
Most Outstanding this season: (Team MVP)
Thomas Jefferson: Tyler Mitchell, Michael Minder, Bradley Freels, (Mason Martin), Mason Fenner, Steven Hargro, Trey McGhee, Brooks Corder, Coty Flynn, Seth McGraw, Derek Skipper.
R-S Central: Tyran McEntyre, Trey Clark, Tyrese Tate, (Matt Atchley), Juwan Watkins, Desmond Whitesides, Eli Shipman, Kaleb Hines, Andrew Steptoe, Kannan Brock, Ivan Gutierrez, Nick Johnson, Devin Adell, Brice Hamrick, Trevon Carson, Ramon Rodriguez.
East Rutherford: (Calvin Camp), Kameron Garrison, A.J. Simmons, Saibyn Ruff, Tray Greene, Jarvis Hutchins, Carlos Curreton, Dillon Berryhill, Tyson Blanton, Micah Deyton, Donald Terry, Harrison Wilkerson.
Chase: Stephan Phillips, Malik Young, Tyrell Boykins Austin Smith, (Bruce Squires), Jalen Jackson, Zach Anderson, Trent Head, Brandon Lewis.
Player of the year: Matt Atchley. You could go Calvin Camp, Mason Martin, Kameron Garrison or even Trey McGhee. However, nobody meant more to a team then Atchley did to R-S Central. The heart and soul of the Hilltoppers did a little bit of everything. He rushed for over 1100 yards, scored ten touchdowns and had eight interceptions on defense.
Thanks to all the young men, coaches, volunteers, and chain gangs who made this season possible!
