SEQUATCHIE COUNTY 42, HOWARD 6
The Stars: Hunter Davenport and Austin Stephens spearheaded the rushing attack for Sequatchie, combining for 332 yards and six touchdowns.Up Next: Sequatchie County (11-0) will host Notre Dame (7-4) in the second round next Friday. Notre Dame beat the Indians 38-0 in last year’s playoffs.
Friday's second-round Tennessee playoff pairings
(All kickoffs at 7 p.m. local time)CLASS 6A Bradley Central (9-2) at Blackman (8-3)CLASS 5A Farragut (10-1) at Rhea County (9-2) Walker Valley (7-4) at Ooltewah (9-2)CLASS 3A East Ridge (6-5) at Red Bank (8-3) Notre Dame (7-4) at Sequatchie County (11-0)CLASS 2A Watertown (10-1) at Marion County (10-1) Meigs County (10-1) at Forrest (10-1)CLASS 1A Fayetteville (9-2) at South Pittsburg (10-1) Whitwell (6-5) at Columbia Academy (10-0)DIVISION II McCallie (7-4) at Brentwood Academy (7-2) Baylor (7-4) at MUS (10-0)
DUNLAP, Tenn. - Sequatchie County did exactly what an undefeated No. 1 seed should do in the first round of the state playoffs - win comfortably.
The dominant Indians offensive line allowed backs Hunter Davenport and Austin Stephens to have a field day against No. 4 seed Howard in a 42-6 Class 3A victory Friday night.
"We haven't taken anything for granted all season, and that really helped us tonight," Sequatchie County coach Adam Caine said. "We had a great regular season last year, and we went into the playoff game and got trounced. That really hurt us and put a damper on the season, so we were worried coming into this thing. The last thing I told the team was let's focus on how we play football, and that was the key tonight."
Stephens earned most of the yards in Friday night's contest, but it was Davenport who finished the drives. In fact, the Sequatchie running game was so effective that starting quarterback Ethan Barker threw only two passes the entire night.
The momentum for the Indians (11-0) began building after back-to-back fumbles by Howard (4-7) to start the night. Sequatchie County couldn't score the first time, but Davenport finished off its second chance from a yard out.
The senior found the end zone two more times in the first half, and the Indians built on their 21-point halftime lead the rest of the way by pounding the run and draining the clock.
Stephens finally cashed in during the fourth quarter with a touchdown that brought his totals to 199 yards on 28 carries, and Davenport stole the scoring glory with his five touchdowns and 133 yards.
"He's an absolute beast," Caine said about Davenport, who earlier in the day was announced as a semifinalist for both back and lineman of the year in the Mr. Football 3A listings. "He's everything you'd think want when it comes to being a football player."
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com