After missed opportunities and poor execution led to an 11-point halftime deficit for the Soddy-Daisy football team Friday night, instead of making adjustments, Trojans coach Justin Barnes and his staff decided to double down on their faith in their athletes and the game plan.
That move paid off in a big way as the hosts rallied in the second half to beat Rhea County 17-14 in a Region 4-5A matchup, breaking a streak of five straight wins for the Eagles and moving Soddy-Daisy one step closer to a region title.
Barnes' message to his players at halftime, when they trailed 14-3?
"We just have to execute," he recalled after the game.
"We missed a couple of assignments on both sides of the ball, and knew we didn't need to make any adjustments," Barnes said. "We've got a great group of guys, and when we play and execute, we're a dang good football team."
The first half was full of missed opportunities for Soddy-Daisy (4-3, 2-1) on offense. The Trojans' opening drive stalled at Rhea's 2-yard-line and they had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Cooper Hamilton.
Later in the half, the Eagles (4-4, 2-2) fumbled on two straight possessions to set the Trojans up in Rhea territory, but the offense failed to score any points.
Rhea senior quarterback Zack Pemberton was phenomenal in the first half, running for touchdowns of 3 and 31 yards and totaling 101 yards on eight carries to give his team the two-score halftime lead.
The Trojans flipped the switch in the second half. After scoring on a 4-yard run by Landen Reece midway through the third quarter to pull within four, Soddy-Daisy's defense locked down the Eagles' potent triple-option offense, holding them to just 62 total yards in the second half, with Pemberton rushing 14 times for just 15 yards.
Said Barnes: "To be able to hold an offense like that to zero points in the second half was just an unbelievable job by our defense and our coaches."
With Rhea still clinging to a three-point lead midway through the fourth quarter, it was again Reece who scampered 67 yards down the sideline to paydirt, giving the Trojans their first lead since the opening drive. The defense sealed the deal, holding off the Eagles just outside the red zone.
After a nonregion game against Signal Mountain next week, the Trojans need a victory against Walker Valley in their final regular-season game coupled with a Knoxville Catholic win over Lenoir City to secure the region title.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.