Smoky Bears Dominate Daniel Boone, Roll to 69-0 Shutout Victory

Chad Wells

Sep 12

5 min read

The Sevier County Smoky Bears (3-0) made a statement in their first home game of the season Friday night, dominating the Daniel Boone Trailblazers (1-3) from the opening kickoff to the final whistle on Hardin-Robertson Field. The Smoky Bears controlled the game from start to finish, cruising to a commanding 69-0 victory inside Lon C. Burchfield Stadium.

"These guys just play, they play up to the standard. I'm more proud of our starters and our older guys for being excited for our younger guys getting that goal line stand there at the end. It's a great team win." Coach Todd Loveday said of his teams efforts on Friday evening.

The Smoky Bears opened the scoring on the second play of the opening drive as Cooper Newman found Parker Newman across the middle for a 25-yard catch and run for the opening Sevier County touchdown. The PAT from Aiden Ottolini was true, and the Smoky Bears were up 7-0.

Another dominating Sevier County defensive performance handed the Smoky Bears the ball inside Trailblazers territory on the 45-yard line.

Nathan Patterson's 18-yard rush up the middle positioned the Smoky Bears at the 27-yard line. Then, Newman connected with Jaxson Perry for a 15-yard pass, advancing the ball to the 12-yard line.

Sevier County employed some trickery on the next play from scrimmage. Newman handed the ball to Patterson, who then passed it to Parker Newman. Parker found the wide-open quarterback, Cooper Newman, standing alone at the 5-yard line, resulting in a receiving touchdown for the senior play caller.

"It's a different feeling, like running into the end zone after catching it but I was like maybe I should have played receiver." chuckled Cooper Newman on the touchdown reception.

Once again, the Sevier County defense would step up, as Noah Mendoza intercepted the Trailblazers' pass on 3rd down and returned it to the Daniel Boone 13-yard line.

The Newman-to-Newman connection struck once again on the short screen pass, which Parker Newman would take for the 13-yard touchdown, with Ottolini once again knocking home the PAT, making the score 21-0.

The Smoky Bears defense forced another 4-and-out following Alexis Martinez's huge hit on 3rd down to separate the Daniel Boone receiver from the football, forcing the incompletion.

Brayden Maples gained 8 yards on first down, P. Newman gained 32 yards on the reception before Perry took the screen pass 14 yards the distance for the Sevier County touchdown. The PAT failed after the Ottolini kick banged off the left upright, leaving the score 27-0 in favor of the Smoky Bears.

Sevier County opened their ensuing drive, and Aven Mitchell gained 23 on the first down screen pass and run down to the 13 before Newman found the wide-open Zach Banks for his 4th touchdown pass of the night. Following the PAT, the Smoky Bears led 34-0 just a minute into the 2nd quarter.

Another four-and-out by the SC defense returned the ball to the offense, placing it on their own 40-yard line.

Mason Akers gained 15 yards on the first down catch and run down to the Daniel Boone 45-yard line. Patterson would bust off his longest run of the game before being forced out of bounds on the Trailblazers' 4-yard line.

Two plays later, Patterson scored a 2-yard touchdown, and with Ottolini's extra point, Sevier County led 41-0.

The Smoky Bears defense made another impactful play when Lucas Lahr recovered the Trailblazers' fumble at the 25-yard line.

On the following play, Newman connected with Banks again, this time for a 25-yard completion resulting in another touchdown for the Smoky Bears. With 7:17 left in the second quarter, Sevier County had a 48-0 lead.

The Smoky Bears' defense once again took control, forcing a 4-and-out and allowing Sevier County to gain possession on the Daniel Boone 39-yard line.

After Newman finished his day, Tate Hutchins took over as quarterback. Maples achieved an 11-yard gain on first down, and then Hutchins connected with Akers for a 17-yard pass across the middle, bringing the ball to the 11-yard line.

On the following play, Hutchins scored with an 11-yard run after a botched snap led to an improvised scramble. The PAT was successfully made again, increasing the score to 55-0 as they headed into halftime.

With Hutchins at the helm to start the second half, the Smoky Bears went right to work as he found Maples on the middle screen, which Maples took 70 yards, dancing in and out of the Daniel Boone defense before reaching pay dirt. The touchdown took the Sevier County lead out to 62-0.

The subsequent Smoky Bears drive mirrored the previous ones, with Hutchins connecting on a quick pass to Bryson Metcalf, who then ran 69 yards to secure the Smoky Bears' 10th touchdown of the night. Ottolini's successful PAT made the score 69-0 in favor of Sevier County.

While the starters took a break, the young Smoky Bears held their ground as Daniel Boone reached the red zone but was ultimately stopped by an interception in the end zone by Boone Sutton, ending the drive and securing a 69-0 homecoming win for the Smoky Bears.

"It's huge; we're always trying to build depth. To get out there, they have to earn it. It's not just everyone's in; they do that through practice. The competition is always ongoing, and if you have a purple helmet, it doesn't matter what class you're in. The best guys are going to play to give us the best chance to win," Loveday responded when asked about getting his younger players much-needed playing time.

Defensively, the Smoky Bears allowed 50 total yards in the contest, including a -2 yard rushing performance. Offensively the Smoky Bears had a combined 506 yards in offense, while scoring touchdowns on their first 10 possessions of the game.

The Smoky Bears will next be on the road this coming Friday as they visit David Crockett (2-2) for a 7 PM kickoff.

Individual Performances:

Passing: Cooper Newman 10-10 / 181 yards / 5 TD's

Tate Hutchins: 3-3 / 156 yards / 2 TD's

Parker Newman: 1-1 / 12 yards / 1 TD

Rushing: Nathan Patterson: 4 carries / 63 yards / 1 TD

Nehemiah Vega: 2 carries / 51 yards

Receiving: Zach Bank: 2 rec / 38 yds / 2 TD's

Parker Newman: 3 rec / 69 yds / 2 TD's

Jaxson Perry: 2 rec / 28 yds / TD

Bryson Maples: 1 rec / 70 yds / TD

Bryson Metcalf: 1 rec / 69 yds / TD