By Michael Lindsay
Cookeville and Sparta added another illustrious chapter to their storied rivalry Friday evening as the visiting Cookeville Cavaliers left White County with a 42-35 victory.
“Obviously, this is a rivalry game that you circle every year,” said Cookeville head coach Taylor Hennigan. “It’s the most fun game I ever played in as player here (at Cookeville) and that’s probably going to be hard to top as one of the most fun games to coach in. When you’re a rebuilding program, any win is a good win.”
Friday’s victory snaps a 2-game losing streak by Cookeville (2-1) to White County (2-1) and is the Cavaliers’ second win of the season.
“I’m really happy for our seniors,” Hennigan said. “When you’ve put in a ton of work, it means a lot.”
A potent Cookeville ground game saw quarterback Blake Owen rush for 110 yards and 4 touchdowns while running back Thomas Johnson posted 140 yards and a touchdown. The Cavaliers racked up 434 yards of offense including 356 on the ground.
“Our physical running game was big,” said Hennigan. “I think everybody in the area knew what play was coming on both sides of the ball.
“There’s guys you can see with Thomas Johnson, Caden Outlaw and Issac Frye, but the unsung heroes are huge,” Hennigan added. “Our offensive line is lightyears better than we were a year ago. We’re more confident in our scheme and play calling.”
Owen was also 3-4 for 78 yards and a touchdown through the air.
White County junior quarterback Tripp Pinion posted 297 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns in the loss.
Owen found the end zone first for Cookeville late in the first period as he scored via a 10-yard touchdown rush to give the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead with 2:19 remaining in the first quarter.
Sparta answered less than 2 minutes later as DeMarious Dowell rushed for a 10-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 at the end of the first period.
Owen again gave the Cavaliers the lead with 4:37 remaining until halftime as he punched in a 1-yard touchdown to put Cookeville ahead 14-7.
White County answered on the first play from scrimmage after as Pinion took a 59-yard run to the house. Following the failed PAT, Cookeville still held a 14-13 lead.
“You’ve got a dynamic runner over there (in Pinion),” Hennigan said. “I told our team to keep playing. Offensively, we need to answer.”
Answer they did as Cookeville found the end zone through the air less than 2 minutes later. Owen hit an uncovered Presley Jared down the left sideline for a 57-yard touchdown pass to give the Cavaliers a 21-13 halftime lead.
Cookeville pushed ahead by two possessions midway through the third quarter as Owen scored his third rushing touchdown of the evening with 7:09 left in the period from 23 yards out to give the Cavaliers a 28-13 advantage.
White County answered on their ensuing drive as a long run by Jojo Dowell set up a 3-yard Pinion touchdown rush. The Warriors trailed 28-20 with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.
Sparta caught Cookeville on the second play of the fourth period as Pinion broke loose for a 33-yard touchdown run and a successful 2-point conversion to tie the game at 28 with 11:29 remaining.
Cookeville responded with Owens’ fourth touchdown of the evening with 7:20 left as he punched in a score from 2 yards out to put the Cavaliers ahead 35-28.
Following Owens’ touchdown, Pinion again rose to the occasion and scrambled for a 54-yard touchdown run with 6:55 remaining to tie the game at 35.
With the game knotted at 35, Cookeville took over and drove down the field while chewing up clock until Johnson broke loose for a 41-yard touchdown run down the left side to put the Cavaliers up 42-35 with 1:17 remaining.
White County took over deep in their own territory with multiple timeouts trailing by 7.
The Cavalier defense stood strong on the game’s last possession as they stopped White County as time expired to defeat the Warriors, 42-35.
“Obviously, we’re trying to slow down Pinion,” Hennigan said. “We had a plan in place to let him run around a little bit but not make a big play. I thought we executed that pretty well at the end.”
Cookeville’s offensive hero Blake Owen made the game’s final tackle on defense.
“To come up after that tackle and see everybody rushing the field was amazing,” Owen said. “I really thought they were about to come back; we couldn’t stop them. We mustered up our defense and managed to stop them (at the end) and I can’t believe it. That was a great game.”
For Cookeville, Friday’s win marks their first back-to-back victories since 2020. The 2-1 Cavaliers open Region 4-6A play next Friday as they host Lebanon.
White County falls to 2-1 overall and plays their inaugural Region 4-4A game next Friday as they host the 3-0 Stone Memorial Panthers.
