Stephen has covered sports in the tri-state area for the Times Free Press for more than 25 years and was named Sports Editor in February of 2015 after 10 years as assistant sports editor.CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Like most prep football coaches, Scott Cummings prides himself on being the man his players look to for answers. Whether that means making the right midgame adjustments or helping them cope with personal problems off the field, Cummings recognizes his role as a leader of young men.
But late last Friday night, standing in front of his Cleveland players - along with students in body paint, as well as parents and community supporters - the veteran coach realized that for once he had no answer for the situation they were suddenly facing.
In the span of six quarters the Blue Raiders had gone from the state's No. 4 ranking in Class 5A, a team averaging 47 points per game and brimming with confidence that the program would return to state-title contention, to a group that wondered what hope they had even to make the playoffs.
Doubt began to creep in during the second half of a lopsided loss to rival Bradley Central when starting quarterback Dallas McCrary, who had moved back from Colorado to finish his prep career where it began and was on pace to throw for 3,000-plus yards, was lost for the season with a torn ACL.
McCrary had been so good that even Cummings, who prefers the run-first veer offense, had relented and allowed the Blue Raiders, who were also stocked with several big-play receivers, to throw the ball all over the field.
Then last week, on Cleveland's first offensive play against McMinn County, backup quarterback JaShawn Hill, arguably the team's best athlete, also went down with a torn ACL and a bone fracture in his knee. Sophomore Jackson Moore, who hadn't taken a meaningful snap before that game, filled in admirably in the loss. As the game wore on, Cummings began to think ahead to how the team could rally around Moore, but in the fourth quarter the sophomore was lost for the season when he broke his non-throwing arm in two places.
After the game the Blue Raiders, including their head coach, gathered in the end zone closest to their locker room. Cummings looked out over his players and, recognizing the dazed expressions staring back at him, decided simply to speak from the heart.
"We're going through some trials right now that nobody could've anticipated. The only way we're going to get through this is together," said Cummings, his voice shaking with emotion. "I need you. You need each other right now. It hurts. Guys, I love you, but right now I don't have the answers."
Reminded of his postgame speech, Cummings said there was no need to sugarcoat the situation in the moment.
"It's important to be honest," he said this week. "Kids are smart and they can read through adults when they're not telling them the truth. I just wanted them to know that I was hurting, just like them.
"In 24 years of coaching, 15 as a head coach, I've never experienced anything like this. I had never lost a quarterback to a season-ending injury before, and now we've lost three in two weeks. It deflated all of us. It's mind-boggling."
Cummings admitted he didn't sleep at all Friday night and barely slept the following day. But knowing how hard the team had worked to make this a special season, he and his staff did come up with a plan by Sunday afternoon.
The Blue Raiders are a team built on speed. Faced with the decision of whether to make wholesale changes in their style and become a smash-mouth offense, Cummings instead opted to continue finding ways of getting the ball to the team's athletes in space, where they can create big plays. That will begin with moving all-region receiver Skyler Davis behind center.
"It's a way to have a playmaker get his hands on the ball and also someone who can still distribute it to some of our other receivers and put them in positions to succeed," Cummings said. "We're doing things that should take an entire offseason to change. It's a complete overhaul.
"Besides teaching our kids some tough life lessons, I also realized that we're only halfway through the season. It took me a couple of days to really get past what all we had been through, but we came up with some answers that hopefully will help us still become the team we set out to be this year."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.