EVENSVILLE, Tenn. – It was fitting that the tie-breaking score that lifted Knoxville West past Rhea County came from the Rebels’ defense.
Eagles quarterback Zack Pemberton was sacked in his end zone with 5:29 to play, and West held on to defeat the Eagles 15-13 in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night at Rhea County.
West (7-4) advances to the next round, while the season is over for Rhea (5-6).
The game started out as if it was going to defy the odds and be somewhat of a high-scoring matchup. The Rebels relied this season on a defense that had given up an average of 14.6 points per game coming in, and the Eagles were known for their clock-eating offense, but each team scored a touchdown on its first possession and Rhea added another at the 8:56 mark of the second quarter.
However, things began to change in favor of West at that point, not long after an hour-plus weather delay. Christian Simon ran for both of Rhea’s touchdowns and had 111 yards on 12 carries after scoring from the 14, but he was limited to 28 yards on seven carries the rest of the way.