BY BRIAN HAMILTON
CLINTON – The last time Alcoa lost a region game, Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ was atop the Billboard charts and ‘Puss In Boots’ was on top in the box office. That date was October 28, 2011, when the Tornadoes lost to CAK 24-14. That was back before the TSSAA split into two divisions for public and private schools.
Anderson County snapped Alcoa’s 71-game region win streak on Friday night, upending the Tornadoes 31-30.
Alcoa defenders attempt to take down Jayzon Thompson during the Tornadoes’ 31-30 loss to Anderson County. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“I don’t think we played our best game, but that comes back to coaching,” Alcoa head coach Brian Nix said after the game.
Alcoa benefited from a turnover on Anderson County’s first drive and drove it all the way to the Mavericks’ 1-yard line before being turned away on fourth down. J.D. Gillum then found Jayzon Thompson for a 99-yard touchdown to give Anderson County an early 7-0 lead.
The Tornadoes responded on the ensuing drive, as Thomas Manu found Jamir Dean for a 39-yard strike to tie the game at 7-7 as the first quarter came to an end.
Manu found Dean again — this time for a 34-yard touchdown — to put Alcoa in front 14-7 with 5:43 remaining in the first half. The Tornadoes would get on the board again on a 7-yard touchdown run by Manu to extend the lead to 21-7 with 2:16 left in the half.
Just as it looked like Alcoa was going to make quick work of the Anderson County — like most of their region opponents — the Mavericks stood tall and cut the lead to 21-14 just before the half with a 61-yard touchdown pass from Gillum to Deameion Leavell.
Anderson County would cut into the lead even more in the third quarter, as a 41-yard field goal by Jackson Payne made the score 21-17 with 6:43 left in the third quarter. Alcoa would respond on the next drive, however, as Condis Cherry took off for a 40-yard touchdown run to make the score 27-17. The missed extra point by Kyrin Tyson would prove to be crucial in the game, however.
The Mavericks cut the deficit to 27-24 when Gillum found Gabe St. John for a 14-yard score with 6:46 left in the game. Alcoa would try to put the nail in the coffin on its next drive, but had to settle for a 22-yard Tyson field goal with 2:16 remaining.
Anderson County wasted no time on the ensuing drive, scoring in just 39 seconds, as Gillum capped a 3-play, 65-yard drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Leavell for a 31-30 lead.
The Tornadoes were unable to move into field goal range on their final drive and it resulted in its first region loss in 15 years.
“I tried to convince the guys that this would not be a runaway game,” Nix said. “We had chances to pull away, but they kept fighting and probably wanted it a little more than we did tonight.”
Thomas Manu finished the game with 300 yards and two touchdown passes on 16-of-26 passing and ran for another score, while J.D. Gillum threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 9-of-18 passing.
Alcoa will host Cherokee in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs next week, while Anderson County will host Volunteer as a 1-seed in the Class 4A bracket.