MT 8-29-24

The Marion Tribune, Thursday, August 29, 2024— 11A Coffee County Fair SPONSORS 2024 9LVLW WKH &RႇHH &RXQW\ )DLU $XJXVW WK 6HSWHPEHU WK PLATINUM GOLD SILVER BRONZE Thank You Sponsors Together, for generations to come. General Contractor C ONTRUCTION Pick up your Fair Book today! MANCHESTER TIMES THE Whitwell blanks Huntland in season opener HUNTER COOKSTON Writer T he Whitwell Tigers traveled to Huntland for their fi rst game of the season and blanked their hosts 27-0. On the second play of the game, Brandon Easterly connected with Adam McDougal, how- ever, the pass was over- thrown and intercepted, letting Huntland drive down the fi eld. On third and goal from the 5-yard line, the Tiger’s Garrett Miller got in the back fi eld to get a crucial tackle for a loss. Huntland went for it on fourth and goal where Whitwell senior Blaine Henry was able to get the sack. The Tigers’ second possession was better as it was capped o ff by a 46-yard rushing TD from Brandon Easterly. The point after touch- down (PAT) was suc- cessful, making the score 7-0 at the end of the fi rst quarter. In the second quarter Blaine Henry was able to get a fumble recovery. Whitwell was not able to capitalize, as they gave the ball back to the Hor- nets after not converting on fourth down. The rest of the quarter was quiet until 2:15 was left in the quarter. That is when the Tiger faithful saw Bran- don Easterly take the ball 40 yards to the endzone for his second rushing TD of the game. The PAT was no good, leaving the Tigers going into half- time with a score of 13-0. Huntland started o ff with the ball coming out of the break. On third down the quarterback for the Hornets threw an in- terception where Landon Smith got his fi rst pick of the season. The fi rst of- fensive play in the second half resulted in a TD as running back Wyatt Da- vis took it 21 yards to the house. Whitwell was suc- cessful with their 2-point conversion attempt mak- ing the score 21-0. The Hornets marched down the fi eld midway through the third; however, the drive came to an end af- ter Blaine Henry got a sack on fourth-and-four. The third quarter came to an end with the score being 21-0. In the fourth quar- ter, there was not much of anything, until half- way through the quarter when the Tigers marched down the fi eld one fi - nal time. As if two rush- ing TD’s was not good enough, Easterly broke four tackles on his way to his third rushing TD of the night. The PAT was no good making the fi nal score 27-0. Head coach Owen Kilgore got his fi rst ca- reer win under his belt. After the game he had this to say about the win. “It was good to start the season o ff with a win. I believe the guys played really hard and did some good things from start to fi nish. There is a lot to clean up and things I can do better as a coach. Huntland has a tough team to prepare for and they play a very physi- cal brand of football. Our team always knows it’s going to be a four quar- ter game when you play them. We have to learn from this game and im- prove each week if we want to be the team we think we can be at the end of the season.” The Tigers will go on the road to Greenback in a match- up on Friday, August 30 that will start at 6 p.m. Whitwell was ranked sev- enth in Class 1A in the fi rst Tennessee Sports Writer’s poll, one spot ahead of South Pittsburg after they were defeated by Oliver Springs 27-7 on opening day. Final stats: Whitwell: 323 total yards of offense – 213 rushing and 110 passing Huntland: 147 total yards of offense – 86 rushing and 61 passing Passing: Easterly; 110 Receiving: A. McDougal – 16; B. McDougal – 42; Davis – 13; Smith – 12; Morgan - 27 Rushing: A. McDougal – 3; B. McDougal – 17; Easterly – 161 and 3 TDs; Smith – 3; Davis – 21 and 1 TD; Beason – 1; Roberts - 7 –Photos courtesy of Kristie Eggert College Football this weekend All times listed are CST Thursday, August 29: Western Carolina at 24 NC State 6 p.m. on ACCN UAPB at Arkansas 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville St. 7 p.m. on CBSSN North Carolina at Minnesota 7 p.m. on FOX Murray St. at 11 Missouri 7 p.m. on SECN North Dakota St. at Colorado 7 p.m. on ESPN Friday, August 30: Lehigh at Army 5 p.m. on CBSSN Florida Atlantic at Michigan St. 6 p.m. on BTN Saturday, August 31: 1 Georgia vs 14 Clemson 11 a.m. on ABC/ESPN3 Virginia Tech at Vanderbilt 11 a.m. ESPN UT Chattanooga at 15 Tennessee 11:45 a.m. on SECN ETSU at Appalachian State 2:30 p.m. on ESPN+ 19 Miami at Florida 2:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN3 Tennessee Tech at Middle TN 6 p.m. on ESPN+ WKU at 5 Alabama 6 p.m. on ESPN Furman at 6 Ole Miss 6 p.m. SECN+/ESPN+ 7 Notre Dame at 20 Texas A&M 6:30 p.m. ABC/ESPN3 Alabama A&M at Auburn 6:30 p.m. SECN+/ESPN+ Southern Miss at Kentucky 6:45 p.m. SECN Georgia State at Georgia Tech 7 p.m. ACCN Sunday, September 1: 13 LSU vs 23 USC 6:30 p.m. on ABC/ ESPN+ Monday, September 2: Boston College at 10 FL State 6:30 p.m. on ESPN