Story by Rusty Ellis
The Cookeville Cavaliers are currently on a four-game losing streak after their 28-12 loss to Gallatin last Friday.
The effort wasn’t in question for the Cavaliers against the Green Wave, as it was more about missed opportunities that could’ve changed the outcome of the game.
“I felt like our kids played hard,” said CHS head coach Jimmy Maynord. “The first kick-off, we take the ball down to the 20-yard-line and then we got a penalty…we had opportunities. Offensively, I thought we played pretty well. We had 200 yards passing and 95 yards rushing against a very athletic Gallatin team that put a lot of pressure on us.”
The way Gallatin mixed up their defense was another thing that stuck out to Maynord.
“We did see a lot of different twists, blitzes and different fronts that can cause problems,” Maynord said. “I felt like we played hard there, except we had too far to go. When you have to go 80 yards, the odds are about 80-20 that it isn’t going to happen. That’s the biggest thing; having to snap the ball so many times.”
The Cavaliers had their fair share of bad luck as well, as two loose balls ended up in Gallatin’s hands after Cookeville had chances to recover both.
“We can’t catch a break,” Maynord said. “We kicked off to them, it comes off of one of their front people and we don’t get it. Then, they fumble the ball deep in their territory, and we don’t get it. Defensively, we made some mistakes by being out of position.”
The schedule gets no easier this week, as Cookeville will travel to Alcoa to take on the defending 3A champion Tornadoes. There’s not much else that needs to be said regarding the challenge that the visiting Cavaliers will face, but as far as what sticks out on film, Maynord says it’s the offense that catches his eye.
“His offense has changed quite a bit,” Maynord said. “They’ve got a great quarterback that throws the ball very well. They’ve gotten a lot more diverse in the pass-game than they ever have been…they are huge up-front on the offensive line. That’s the majority of the people they returned from last year, and they are very big offensively.”
Playing big, storied programs is nothing new for Cookeville. This is the same team that played in the same region as Oakland, Riverdale and Blackman, and they’ve played Maryville in the past as well. For Maynord, it’s all about playing the game with effort and seeing what happens.
“We’ve played good football teams around here for a long time,” Maynord said. “We know what to expect. They’re a good football team. Are they better than us? Absolutely they are, and they’re better than most teams in the state of Tennessee…we’re going to take a group up there that’s going to play and do the best we can.”
The Cavaliers and Tornadoes battle on Friday at 6 P.M. Est. The game will be live-streamed on Upper Cumberland Reporter 4 on Facebook.