PREP FOOTBALL: Tennessee High Rolls Past Morristown West In Playoffs

BY BRIAN T. SMITH
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Tennessee High Vikings quarterback Taylor Harmon needed time.

Harmon saw what he wanted: Vikings wide receiver Darryal Wilson burning down the left sideline, wide open and waiting.

But Harmon needed a little more time.

So he bought it.

Harmon spun out of the pocket, rolled left, eluded the chase and roar of the Morristown West Trojans’ defensive line and found open ground.

Then Harmon unloaded.

Seventy-five yards later, Wilson ran untouched into the end zone.

Tennessee High was up 27-13 and back in control.

And the Vikings were on the road to redemption.

“That was a big, big play,” Tennessee High coach Greg Stubbs said. “That was probably the play of the football game.”

Carried by Harmon’s best outing of the season and near-perfect performance, the Vikings held on to knock off the Trojans 49-35 on Friday evening at the Stone Castle in a Class 4A first-round playoff game before an estimated crowd of 2,000.

“That’s one of those things … that’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” said Harmon, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. “I didn’t complete some passes early. So I got it in my mind: ‘You’ve got to complete some passes.’ … It’s win or go home. So we had to make some big plays.”

The victory avenged the Vikings’ (8-3) disappointing 21-14 home defeat to the Volunteer Falcons last year in the first round of the Class 4A playoffs.

“To redeem what we did last year was big,” Harmon said. “[Former Viking] Thomas Turnbull was in the stands tonight. [The win] was for him, too. To see him come off the field like he did last year – I couldn’t let it happen to these guys again.”

While Harmon ripped the Trojans (6-5) apart through the air, Tennessee High running back Keenan Shepard threaded and shredded Morristown West on the ground.

Shepard rushed for 205 yards and five touchdowns on 30 carries, and he accounted for 18 of the Vikings’ first 21 points.

“Taylor opened the running game up by throwing the ball,” Shepard said. “And as soon as he started throwing the ball, they backed off me.”

Morristown West quarterback Sean Jones completed 6 of 10 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns, and keyed a gutsy second-half rally by the Trojans. Running back J.J. Goforth added 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns on nine carries for Morristown West.

The Vikings dominated the first two quarters, scoring 21 unanswered points and taking a 21-6 lead into halftime.

But the Trojans responded with 29 second-half points, as Jones abused Tennessee High’s defensive secondary with deep out routes and crossing patterns.

“It’s a game of field position. And in the first half, they had all the field position,” Morristown West coach Lamar Brown said. “I give coach Stubbs and his coaching staff credit. They called the right plays and they stuck us in a big hole. Our kids fought … we just couldn’t get off the field on defense.”

Tennessee High struck first, taking a 6-0 lead on a 6-yard scoring run by Shepard.

Shepard cut right on third-and-five and dove into the end zone with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The score capped a six-play, 35-yard drive by the Vikings, one kept alive when Harmon hit fullback Matt McClellan in the left flat for a 13-yard pass on fourth-and-3.

Morristown West fumbled the ensuing kickoff and recovered the ball at its own 2-yard line. But two plays later, the Trojans fumbled again. This time, the Vikings capitalized, as Tennessee High defensive back Corey Young scooped up the loose ball and returned it to Morristown West’s 7-yard line.

Shepard then gave the Vikings a 13-0 advantage on a 3-yard run up the middle with 59.4 seconds left in the first quarter.

And Shepard’s third touchdown of the first half – a 5-yard burst toward the left corner of the end zone – made it 20-0 Tennessee High with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter.

The Vikings now head to Greeneville (9-2) for a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, Nov. 14 in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

“I take my hat off to the kids,” Stubbs said. “This was make your mark night and we did that.”

btsmith@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2569

Morristown West 0 6 14 15—35
Tennessee High 14 7 14 14—49
Scoring Summary
TH – Keenan Shepard 6 run (Ben Perrin kick)
TH – Shepard 3 run (Perrin kick)
TH – Shepard 5 run (Perrin kick)
MW – Tyrell McKinney 31 pass from Sean Jones (kick failed)
MW – J.J. Goforth 34 run (Kurt Duncan kick)
TH – Darryal Wilson 75 pass from Taylor Harmon (Perrin kick)
TH – John Ellis Davis 6 pass from Harmon (Perrin kick)
MW – Goforth 29 run (Duncan kick)
MW – Laith Callahan 30 pass from Jones (Duncan kick)
TH – Shepard 1 run (Perrin kick)
TH – Shepard 1 run (Perrin kick)
MW – McKinney 20 pass from Jones (Jones pass from Fredricks)
Team Stats
First Downs: MW 10, TH 15; Rushes-Yards: MW 25-130, TH 38-303; Passing Yards: MW 210, TH 244; Comp.-Att.-Int.: MW 6-10-0, TH 13-16-0; Fumbles-Lost: MW 4-1, TH 2-0; Penalties-Yards: MW 4-45, TH 6-40; Punts-Average: MW 5-32, TH 3-33.