PREP FOOTBALL: Tri-Cities Christian topped in title game

BY MAX HRENDA
Sports correspondent
BRISTOL, Va. - Hendersonville Christian Academy used the strength of its big junior running back Taylor Harmon to power past Tri-Cities Christian 36-24 in the Tennessee Association of Christian Schools championship game Friday at Gene Malcolm Stadium in Bristol, Va.

In winning the championship, the Crusaders also avenged their only loss of the season. On Oct. 9, the Eagles beat Hendersonville on a last second touchdown pass to take the game, 30-24.

“The win feels great,” said Crusaders head coach Donnie Karns. “We went up against a great team and a great coach today. I’m still not sure how we did it.”

Hendersonville only outgained the Eagles by 50 total yards (371-321), but it was able to rely on quality play from its defense. Tri-Cities junior quarterback Drew Davenport – who engineered the Eagles’ game-winning drive against Hendersonville in October – was under constant pressure and threw three interceptions on the day.

“It’s nothing to hang his head about,” said Tri-Cities head coach Scott Allgood. “[Hendersonville] is very well-rounded. With that kind of attack, you know, it’s hard to play at all.”

Though the defense contributed to the win, Harmon was the unquestioned leader of the Crusaders’ attack. Harmon finished the game with 20 carries for 127 yards and a score, and caught two balls for 31 yards and a score.

“Taylor played power football,” Karns said. “He put his head down and kept moving forward. That’s pretty tough to do on this defense.”

Harmon also added some flair to the defensive side of the game with a one-handed interception, Davenport’s second on the day.

Apart from Harmon, sophomore quarterback Devin Humphress led the Crusaders in yards, going 7-for-13 for 160 yards and two touchdowns. In the running game, Humphress had six carries for 32 yards.

“We’ve got a great quarterback in Devin,” Karns said. “He’s got a big arm and he’s capable of making some really big plays. He’s a big part of our strategy.” 

Crusaders sophomore Ethan Fields was the team’s leading receiver with two catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Eagles, Davenport finished the day 8-for-15 for 141 yards with two touchdowns and three picks. On the ground, he had 42 yards on 13 carries and a score. Senior running back Cooper Singletary
added the bulk of the Eagles’ yards on the ground with 11 carries for 78 yards, while nabbing two catches for 26 yards and a touchdown.

The Eagles got on the board first with a little help from their defense. After forcing Hendersonville turned over on downs on its own 49, it took two plays and a Crusaders penalty for Davenport to lob a 29-
yard strike to senior tight end Dubb Waldecker at the 6:01 mark of the first quarter. After the two-point effort failed, the Crusaders wasted no time getting back in the game. Upon starting his drive on the
Hendersonville 34-yard line, Harmon scampered up the right sideline 66 yards for the score. For his effort, Harmon also punched in the two-pointer to put the score at 8-6 at the 1:44 mark of the first quarter.

The second quarter started quickly as Davenport rushed for pay dirt from two yards out after a little over two minutes had passed. Down 12-8, the Crusaders mounted their drive on the strength of Harmon’s legs and Devin Humphress’ arm before Donovan Humphress snuck in for the score at the 4:42 mark. After Devin found the wide-open Donovan for the two-point play, the Crusaders led 16-12.

After the Crusaders’ defense stopped Tri-Cities at the 1:12 point, Harmon accounted for 53 of Hendersonville’s 58 yards, capping it off with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Devin Humphress with 0:11 left in the half. Tri-Cities caught a break, however, when the Crusaders’ ensuing onside kick backfired and Singletary returned it 49 yards for the score. After the two-point try failed, the Crusaders led 22-18
going into the break.

“We kind of went flat in the first quarter,” Allgood said. “We have to learn to stay hungry for the whole game.”

Hendersonville, on the other hand, came out of the break hungry for points. On their first play from scrimmage, Humphress lobbed a deep pass to sophomore receiver Ethan Fields. Fields took the ball 53 yards for the score. After Harmon plunged in for the two-point try, the score was 30-18.

The Eagles’ next drive stalled early as Davenport threw his first interception on the day on a desperation heave on fourth-and-nine. Sophomore Zach Ashley made the pick for the Crusaders.

After each team had a drive stall, the Crusaders put together a scoring drive in a little over three minutes, which capped off with a 25-yard Humphress pass to Fields for a touchdown.
Down 36-18, the Eagles managed to mount a drive that took them all the way to the Crusaders’ 4-yard line, but the Hendersonville defense held fast and forced Tri-Cities to turn over on downs. After that,
Tri-Cities’ offense began to sputter as Davenport threw his final two interceptions over the next seven minutes.

The final Eagles score came in the closing seconds of the game when Davenport found Singletary for a 17-yard score.