Number 10!
The Trousdale County Yellow Jackets defeat the Adamsville Cardinals to win the 2013 TSSAA 2A State Championship.
The win caps off a perfect season at 14-0.
The Yellow Jackets road to the Blue Cross Bowl was eventful. A signature win over Gallatin and a close victory over DeKalb County set the tone for the purple and gold in the playoffs. Wins over Goodpasture and Marion County in the first and second rounds set up a showdown with Knox Grace in the semi-finals. With Knox ranked #1 most of the season, Trousdale County traveled east and earned a spot in the championship with a 34-27 win.
The 2013 Blue Cross Championship was played on a very cold day in Tucker Stadium at Tennessee Tech. After deferring the opening possession, Adamsville kicked off. Trousdale moved down the field but fumbled at the Cardinal 38 yard line. After holding Adamsville to one first down, Trousdale drove down the field and turned the ball over on downs at the Cardinal 13 yard line to end the first quarter.
On the next possession, Adamsville scored on an 89 yard pitch and catch. The point after failed and Adamsville led 6-0 with 9:48 to go in the half. After exchanging possessions, the Yellow Jackets scored on a Maquel Claiborne 18 yard pass to Josh Jackson. Christian Lauderdale converted and TC led 7-6 at the half.
Holding Adamsville to a 3-and-out, Trousdale marched down to score again. Kenyan Harper accounts for 70 of 81 yards in the scoring drive. Zach Blackwell ends the drive with a 1 yard score and Lauderdale converts to make the score 14-6 Trousdale with 6:55 left in the third. On the next Yellow Jacket possession Adamsville gets a fumble recovery and 25 yard return in route to their second score. With 1:15 left in the 3rd Adamsville would trail only 12-14 after a failed two point conversion.
Both teams traded possessions to begin the 4th quarter. With 6:16 left to go in the game Claiborne would score on a 2 yard rush and Lauderdale would convert. Following a six play 65 yard drive Trousdale led 21-12. Adamsville would take the ball deep into Trousdale territory before Harper would return an interception from the 7 yard line to midfield. From there the Yellow Jackets would run out the clock to get the victory by a final score of 21-12.
The title is the 10th football championship in school history. Junior Kenyon Harper was named the game’s Offensive MVP. He led all players with 177 yards rushing on 24 carries and had 2 receptions for 55 yards. For Head Coach Kevin Creasy it is the third championship in his sixth season.
“We wanted to dance with what brought us here and give them a big dose of Kenyon Harper,” said Creasy. “We were fortunate that we had other players we could depend on to make big plays today.” The Yellow Jackets were led by Seth Holder with 8 total tackles and Tadrian Seay with 4 tackles for a loss totaling minus 29 yards. “I thought that our defense played a great second half and we had great play from the guys up front.”
The future looks bright for the Yellow Jackets. Even though Trousdale County says goodbye to seven seniors, four on the interior offensive line, they will return many starters on both sides of the ball. They should again be a force in District 8A next season.
Congratulations to the Yellow Jackets and another Gold Ball. Thanks for the perfect season.
