Published: November 03, 2009 01:29 pm      

Jets come up one yard short of playoff berth

The Cumberland County High School Jet football team were only one yard short of a Class 5A playoff berth, after dropping a 21-14 decision to White County Friday night.

Trailing 21-14 late in the fourth quarter to the Warriors, the Jets took over at the Sparta 35 after holding the hosts to three plays and out.

The Jets behind the running of Terryl Bowen and Tyler Howard matched down the field, before Howard was stopped one-yard short of a first down with just seconds left in the game, allowing the Warriors to earn the berth in the playoffs at Anderson County (7-3) on Nov. 6.

"I hurt for the kids so badly. We had some good things happen this year. We worked hard to get better at it. The seniors are a really a good group of kids. It was an honor to work with them," said Jet coach Russ Partin, whose team finished 2-8 on the season and 0-4 in the district.

The 2009 seniors were Anthony Barnes, Alex Cotter, Eric Davis, Eric Fitzgerald, Daniel Forte, Matt Greene, Josh Hodgin, Aaron Kirkland, Brandon Lindsey, Andrew Phipps, Justin Piercy, Cody Smith, Cody Suggs, Cody Vance and Joseph Wyatt.

The Jets matched a 2-8 season set in 2005.

The loss overshadowed an outstanding night for two Jets - quarterback Terryl Bowen and running back Tyler Howard.

Bowen rushed for 239 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown, pushing the junior signal caller over the 1,000-yard rushing plateau for the season (1,184 yards on 191 carries with six touchdowns) and completed three of seven passes for 22 yards with two interceptions.

"Terryl played three quarters with an injured shoulder. That limited us to what we could do. We had to run," added Partin.

Howard rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown to finish the year with 678 yards on 146 carries with eight touchdowns.

CCHS' defense had another outstanding night, holding the Warriors (1-9, 1-3) to 128 yards rushing on 34 carries and 67 yards passing on eight of 11 attempts with three touchdowns. Aaron Murray was the leading rusher with 73 yards on 13 carries, while Ethan Tolleson caught two passes for 35 yards with one TD and Jordan Armstrong had two receptions 20 yards with one TD.

The Jet offense came out flat in the first quarter, rushing for 13 yards on five carries, while Bowen completed one of three passes for one yard with one PIC by Armstrong, which led to the Warriors' first score.

Dakota Rucker recovered a first-quarter fumble for the Jet defense, while Brandon Lindsey, Barnes, Cody Vanc, Cody Smith, Jonathan Cummings, Tyler Wallace and Steven Hill made key tackles for the defense.

Sparkman passed 25 yards to Tolleson with 11:52 left in the second quarter to cap a four-play, 28 yard-drive set up by Armstrong's 37-yard return and a 15-yard penalty on the Jets on the return. The PAT was no good.

The Jet offense clicked on its second possession after the ensuing kick went out of bounds.

Bowen and Howard did all of the running, picking up 37 yards on seven carries, while Bowen was two of four passing for 21 yards, but a second PIC by Travis Howard killed the drive.

After holding the Warriors to three plays and out, CCHS took over at the Jet 13-yard line.

Howard capped the six-play drive with a 19-yard run to tie the game at 6-6 with 2:31 left in the half. Keyes booted the PAT for a 7-6 advantage.

The offensive line of Cotter, Fitzgerald, Hodging, Aaron Miller and Roger Norris open holes for Vance, Bowen and Howard tote the football.

After a short kickoff return, the Warriors took over at the Warrior 38.

Ten plays later, Sparkman passed eight yards to Armstrong for a 12-7 advantage. Murray tallied the two point conversion for a 14-7 advantage with 17 seconds left in the half.

Daniel Gonzales returned the ensuing kick 17 yards to the Jet 34, but CCHS only ran two plays before the half ended.

Kyle Pritchard returned the second half kick 36 yards to the Jet 47, but the CCHS offense was unaable to capitalize on it and were forced to punt; however, a Piercy fielded a low snap and was stopped for a nine-yard loss at the Jet 45.

White County then drove the distance in 10 plays to take a 20-7 lead with 5:06 left in the third quarter on a 10 -yard pass from Sparkman to Armstrong. The PAT was good for a 21-7 advantage.

Sparkman completed four of four passes for 27 yards in the drive.

After an exchange of possessions, the Jets took over at their 16-yard line. With his teammates as escorts, he raced 84 yards to end zone with O.9 seconds left in the third quarter to slice the lead to 21-13. Keyes then booted the PAT to make the score 21-14.

It was time for the Jet defense to rise to the occasion as they have all season.

They held both White County's possessions to three plays and out.

CCHS' first possession of the final quarter was stopped at the Jet 32-yard line, but the second was a thing of beauty.

With the running of Bowen, Howard and Vance and the blocking of the offensive line, CCHS moved down the field. Bowen carried the ball six times for 34 yards, with Vance one carry for eight yards and Howard five carries for 28 yards, but his last carry as time ticked off the clock, was stopped one-yard short of a first down at the Warrior five.

White County was penalized to the three and then ran one play to kill the clock.

In the second half, CCHS' offense produced 188 yards on 25 carries, while holding the Warriors to 39 yards on 14 carries and 22 yards passing on five of six passes.