by Rusty Ellis
The Smith County Owls won their eighth straight game on Friday, this one in the Region 5-3A Championship game over East Nashville 15-14 thanks to excellent defense and timely scoring.
The two teams traded defensive stops right out of the gate, as Smith County got an interception on the Eagles’ opening drive and took it all the way back to the East Nashville 32-yard line. East responded with a stop on fourth down, but on their following possession, the Owls stopped them on fourth down to take over right away.
6:11 Q1
Bryce Currie makes this big hit for a loss on fourth down, giving the ball back to the Owls.
Smith 0
East 0 pic.twitter.com/dUNY0BRzsq— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) October 29, 2022
The game remained scoreless until East Nashville’s last possession of the first half, as quarterback Zack Beard took it in from a yard out to give the Eagles a 6-0 lead after the missed extra point.
The Owls wouldn’t go quietly into the locker room however, as freshman quarterback Kaden Powell found Johnny Lyda for a deep touchdown that gave Smith County a 7-6 lead heading into the locker room.
The Eagles appeared to take control of the game at the 8:47 mark of the third quarter, as Trequan Waters broke loose on a 67-yard touchdown run to put East up 14-7 after a successful two-point conversion.
East Nashville then recovered a fumble at Smith’s 30-yard line, but the possession went nowhere thanks to Kylan Johnson’s interception near the goal-line.
6:16 Q3
Kylan Johnson makes a much-needed play on defense, as he picks this pass off and gets the Owl offense back in business.
Smith 7
East 14 pic.twitter.com/4D5aMRHCFF— Rusty Ellis (@RustyEllis_) October 29, 2022
The Owls then took the ball all the way down field and with 44 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Bryce Currie carried the ball 14 yards into the end zone for a touchdown. After a successful two-point conversion, Smith County took a 15-14 lead into the fourth quarter.
And thanks to stellar defense when they needed it most, the Owls held on for a one-point win in the Region 5-3A Championship over East Nashville.
Clearly excited over the win, head coach Matt Dyer couldn’t contain his pride for the effort his team put together on Friday night.
“These guys have worked their tails off all this year and last year for this moment,” Dyer said. “They put the work in and played their tails off for four quarters tonight…they silenced all the doubters. If you were outside of this community, nobody gave us a chance to win this game.”
The touchdown pass from Powell to Lyda proved to be the shot in the arm the Owls needed, and it was no surprise to Dyer considering how often they’ve worked on their two-minute drills.
“Johnny Lyda make a heck of a catch and our offensive line protected their tails off during the play,” Dyer said. “Kaden made a great read and a great throw, and it put seven on the board for us during halftime.”
If Smith County wasn’t well-known before this game, they are now. A win over a highly-ranked opponent like East Nashville draws more attention than ever before to Carthage, and Dyer says he hopes that people keep overlooking them.
“I hope they keep doubting us,” Dyer said. “I hope they do, because we’re coming for them, and I hope they know it too.”
Smith County will host Sycamore next Friday at 7 p.m. for the first round of the Class AAA TSSAA playoffs.
