‘Disaster’ averted
- Updated: October 5, 2024
Cherokee County’s defense makes stand, gets key turnovers to turn away Anniston in Class 4A, Region 6 battle.
This week’s area scoreboard
THURSDAY, Oct. 3
Talladega 28, Munford 14, FINAL
Donoho 33, Fayetteville 14, FINAL
FRIDAY, Oct. 4
Alexandria 28, Hokes Bluff 27, FINAL
Cherokee County 14, Anniston 0, FINAL
Central-Clay 29, Elmore County 7, FINAL
Tallassee 35, Cleburne County 7, FINAL
Coosa Christian 43, Cleveland 0, FINAL
Weaver 42, Glencoe 20, FINAL
Handley 38, Bullock County 21, FINAL
Jacksonville 44, Springville 14, FINAL
Jacksonville Christian 52, Clay County Christian 12, FINAL
Westbrook Christian 48, Ohatchee 27, FINAL
Oxford 27, Pell City 0, FINAL
Piedmont 61, Locust Fork 14, FINAL
Pleasant Valley 20, Cedar Bluff 19, FINAL
Horseshoe Bend 42, Ranburne 27, FINAL
Glenwood 68, Randolph County 40, FINAL
J.B. Pennington 42, Saks 14, FINAL
Southside 27, Mae Jemison 6, FINAL
Spring Garden 46, Appalachian 21, FINAL
Wadley 49, Woodland 14, FINAL
White Plains 24, Ashville 20, FINAL
Open: Lincoln, Wellborn.
By Shannon Fagan
WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – Cherokee County football coach Jacob Kelley said the Warriors flirted with disaster in their Class 4A, Region 6 battle with Anniston on Friday.
They had an interception, a missed field goal, lost a fumble, and had a few costly penalties.
Even with the miscues, Cherokee County improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in region play with a hard-fought 14-0 victory over the Bulldogs.
The Warriors have their defense to thank for Friday’s win. The unit posted its third shutout in the past four weeks, and they’ve given up just 12 points in the past five weeks.
But on Friday night, Anniston (2-4, 2-2) made the Warriors sweat it out.
“We flirted with disaster a little bit, but the name of the game is winning, and when you can win the ugly ones, that says a lot about the fight in the kids,” Kelley said. “I feel like, for the first time in a while, we faced a little bit of adversity, maybe more than normal.
“Hats off to Anniston. I feel like their kids played their tails off. They wanted to get back in this region hunt, and hats off to that coaching staff, too. I thought they did a great job of getting them prepared.
“I feel like we were on defense the entire second half. We couldn’t really get off the field, but then, when they got in the red zone or moved it a little bit, I feel like we did a good job of stopping them.”
The Bulldogs had their best scoring opportunity with 10:16 to go in the fourth quarter. They
marched to the Warriors’ 2-yard line, but on fourth and goal, Damon Pope was stuffed for no gain.
“That fourth-down stop, and that was huge,” Kelley said. “If it goes 14-7, it might be a different ball game.
“We’re banged up a little bit, but we played our tails off.”
Anniston head coach Rico Jackson gave credit to the Warrior ‘D.’
“They fly around,” Jackson said. “We had our chances. We got down to the goal line, and we just couldn’t get in.
“You’ve got to keep working. It is frustrating. That’s two weeks we’ve been held without scoring.
That’s something we’re going to get corrected. It’s just a want-to, and we’re going to keep working to make sure it happens.”
The Warriors scored the only touchdowns in the game in the first half.
Tae Diamond took a first-quarter handoff 72 yards for the first score. Ben Frampton’s extra point provided the Warriors’ a 7-0 lead with 7:14 remaining in the opening quarter.
Tristan Brown accounted for the other Warrior touchdown on a 26-yard run with 7:28 remaining in the first half.
The Warrior defense made those two scores stand. Not only did the unit make a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, but senior defensive lineman Caleb Harbour recovered a fumble on Anniston’s first drive of the game.
Fellow senior lineman Tae Diamond forced a fumble, and senior linebacker Tyson Wood recovered it on Anniston’s final drive of the first half to preserve the lead.
Diamond also led the Warrior offense with 145 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown. Brown delivered 39 yards on seven totes with a touchdown.
“It was a good defensive battle on both sides,” Diamond said. “At the end of the day, we did what we needed to do to come out with the win.
“We had some pretty good drives on offense. They weren’t the best, but we got into scoring position. We did what we needed to do on (two of those) drives, and it worked out for us.”
Both Diamond and Kelley also gave credit to Pope for his elusiveness. He split the quarterback duties on Friday with Jamorris Young, completing eight of 15 pass attempts for 86 yards. Pope also accumulated 39 yards on 14 carries.
“When we broke them down (on film), we saw what 17 (Young) brings to the table and what 2 (Pope) brings to the table,” Kelley said. “We were able to get to 17 early on. They probably thought 2 would give them a little bit more time, and he did.
“By the end of the fourth quarter, we were gassed. It was hard to get pressure. It was hard to get them down. He did a great job of evading.”
INJURY NOTE: There was a scary moment with 2:33 remaining in the game. Anniston senior receiver Nicholas Warren caught a pass and took a hard hit. He lay motionless for a few minutes while
medical officials tended him and was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Jackson said he felt Warren would be fine.
“He took a hard hit,” Jackson said. “I thought it was targeting, but they didn’t call it. He hit his head on the turf.”
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