Скачать или смотреть Sullivan South at Elizabethton 10/25/19

Game 9
Final: Rebels - 13 | Cyclones - 14

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn.--The Elizabethton Cyclones remained unbeaten and held on to their number-one ranking in Class 4A.

But just barely.

Carson Streseman blocked a game-tying extra point attempt with 2:15 left to preserve a hard-fought 14-13 victory over the Sullivan South Rebels Friday night to wrap up the Region 1-4A regular season title at a rainy
Citizens Bank Stadium.

"We got South's best effort tonight," declared Elizabethton coach Shawn Witten. "We're fortunate enough to come away. We made one play at the end of the game to come away with the big win."

"I'm proud of our guys," said a dejected South coach Justin Hilton. "They came out and fought and bought into what we wanted them to do. That's all you can do is ask them to get down there and give you a chance. And they did."

After forcing the Cyclones' sixth punt of the game, the Rebels took over at their own 41-yard-line and proceeded to move downfield behind the running and throwing of quarterback Ethan Bergeron.

Hilton and his staff made a major offensive change and moved one of their standout offensive lineman, Cam Necessary, to tight end, wearing number 82. The 6-5, 290 pound former tackle proved to be an effective blocker and sure-handed receiver.

Necessary caught two passes--one for 16 yards and the other for 18 yards--as the Rebels marched downfield in the final minutes. For the game, he caught six passes for 104 yards and bore a slight resemblance to former Elizabethton and University of Tennessee standout and future Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Jason Witten.

"He's (Necessary) an athlete," Hilton noted. "You've seen him play basketball. We thought maybe get some mismatches out there. I mean, it's like throwing it to a barn door. Surely to goodness, we can hit it. So we were throwing that thing up to him. He's got great hands and he ran the ball well after he caught it."

Following Necessary and South's huge offensive line, Bergeron carried the ball on seven consecutive plays and bulled into the end zone to bring the Rebels to within 14-13 with 2:15 remaining in the game. All South needed was an extra point to tie the score.

Eli Iacino's kick initially was good, but the Rebels were penalized for illegal procedure and pushed back five yards for another attempt. That set the stage for the play of the game turned in by Streseman who got his hand on the kick and deflected it.

"We made a great play at the end," Witten said. "Carson Streseman came through and blocked the extra point. We had two plays. The penalty to move them back and for us to get another shot at it."

"I've not seen it on film so I don't know," stated Hilton, about the penalty. "But you hate to see it end that way. You know, we felt like we had some momentum if we could have hit that extra point. Tried to get a stop right there and get that thing into overtime. Or maybe get the ball back and see what happened. But hat's off to Elizabethton."

The Cyclones (9-0, 5-0), coming off a thrilling last-second, come-from-behind win over two-time defending state champion Greeneville, drew first blood when Parker Hughes took a short pass from quarterback Bryson Rollins, followed his blockers beautifully and scampered 41 yards for a touchdown to put Betsy up 7-0 with 1:22 left in the 1st quarter.

That was the only score in the first half as the underdog Rebels took the fight to the top-ranked Class 4 team in Tennessee.

South (5-4, 4-2) moved the ball effectively against Elizabethton and struck a big blow in the third quarter when Bergeron connected with Brody Ratliff on a 73-yard pass play to the Cyclones' five-yard-line.

The Rebels knotted the score at 7-7 on Eli Topping's one-yard dive with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter. But Elizabethton displayed its quick strike ability and answered South's touchdown on its next possession.

Cade Maupin broke through the line and raced 73 yards to put the Cyclones up 14-7 with 2:09 left in the third quarter.

Bergeron paced South and arguably played his best game of the season. The sophomore completed 11 of 18 passes for 192 yards and gained 56 yards on 24 carries.

As hard and as well as the Rebels played, the result heartbreaking and difficult to swallow.

"We came to win," explained Hilton. "We didn't come to hope to have a good game. That's why we're disappointed. We came to win a football game. We came to win a conference championship and we were going to coach that way and I think they responded and played that way."

"We came up a little bit short, but they put their heart and their soul into this thing. They believed and they believed and they believed. I can keep saying that I'm proud of them, but I don't know that I would do it justice and I told those guys we've still got a lot to accomplish."

"We've got a big game next Friday and then we've got the playoffs. We can't let this be something we hang our head about. We've got to use it more for a momentum builder and keep going."