White County Takes Down Cookeville, 28-21

By Michael Lindsay

The White County Warriors won their second straight Battle of Highway 111 on Friday as they won at Cookeville, 28-21.

Warrior senior quarterback Tucker Pinion went 9-19 for 165 yards and a touchdown through the air and tacked on 102 rushing yards and a score on the ground. Cole Sims rushed for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 26 seconds left.

Cookeville struck first as Davin Morton took an outside 82 yards down the home sideline for a touchdown, giving the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter.

White County responded a quarter later as Sims punched in a 3-yard touchdown with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 7-7. The Warriors converted four fourth downs on the drive.

Neither team found the end zone for the rest of the first half as they entered the locker room tied at 7-7.

The Cavalier special teams unit stepped up midway through the third quarter as they blocked a Warrior field goal to keep the game tied at 7-7. Cookeville retook the three plays later as Morton broke loose on a 58-yard touchdown run to put the Cavs ahead 14-7 with 5:21 left in the third period.

White County answered early in the fourth quarter as Pinion took a bootleg 9 yards to the left pylon for a touchdown, tying the game at 14-14 with 11:15 remaining.

Cookeville wasted no time retaking the lead as Isaac Andrews took the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a Cavalier touchdown, giving them a 21-14 advantage with 10:55 to go.

The Warriors went to the air to tie the game again as Pinion hit Bryson Hogg on a 48-yard touchdown strike with 6:24 remaining to tie the game at 21-21.

Cookeville drove into Warrior territory before White County forced a turnover on downs at their own 44-yard line with 4:08 remaining. A combination of Sims and Lex Winfree in the backfield marched White County down the field until Sims punched in a 7-yard touchdown with 28 seconds remaining to give White County a 28-21 lead.

The Warriors held off Cookeville on the final play to preserve their 28-21 victory and improve to 3-0 on the season.

White County opens Region 4-4A play next week at home against Livingston Academy (3-0) while Cookeville travels to Gallatin (3-0) in Region 4-6A competition.