EVENSVILLE, Tenn. - Rhea County junior Jadden Pankey saw the football on the ground and knew he had to get it and go.
Pankey turned on the burners and sparked the Golden Eagles in Friday's 14-0 home win against Fulton in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs, returning a blocked field-goal attempt 93 yards for the first score of the game with 1:31 left in the third quarter.
"I saw the ball on the ground, and I knew I had to race up and scoop it up and try to take it all the way," said Pankey, who has seven interceptions this season and is a threat as a receiver and a kick returner as well.
"That play is one of my most memorable, and I am happy it got my team going and helped lead us to victory. This is a tough team. We fight for what we want, and that's to win a state championship."
While Rhea County's offense was sluggish for the second straight week - the Golden Eagles turned the ball over four times, including twice near the red zone - the defense carried the weight as the team improved to 10-1 and shook off a 28-14 home loss to Marion County to close the regular season.
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area high school football games)
A swarm of green jerseys regularly surrounded Fulton's ball carriers and quarterback as linebackers Drew Fisher and Austin Brackett were all over the field with 15 and 11 tackles, respectively, including two for loss each.
The Falcons (4-5) were outgained 153-146 in total yards. Rhea County's brother duo of Amari and Gavin Roddy had interceptions in each half, and Sir Alloway made a big hit on special teams to jar the ball loose from Fulton's punter.
"After last week's embarrassment, we played with a chip on our shoulder and got back on track," said Fisher, who now has 108 tackles (16 for loss) this season. "We all knew we had to make a statement for next week's game. We were all flying to the ball and did our jobs. I was proud of how tough our defense was."
Rhea County senior Ryan Young ran hard for a 5-yard touchdown with 10:11 left to play, and he finished with 54 yards on 13 carries. Ethan Davis added 60 yards on 12 runs.
The Golden Eagles will host Oak Ridge (8-3) in next week's second round after the Wildcats took down Soddy-Daisy, 30-7.
"Our defense did a great job tonight, and we were able to get some people free with our stunts and blitzes," Rhea County coach Mark Pemberton said. "Eli Johnson, Caden Wicks also did a nice job along with Nathaniel Ferry, who didn't start, but came in and did a great job.
"A lot of guys were doing things right defensively, but we have to get our offense back on track. Hopefully we can put it all together next week."
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.