NEWPORT-Faced with their toughest task of the 2009 seasonto date, the Cocke County High School Fighting Cocks succumbed to the SevierCounty Bears on Friday night.

Sevier County, the state's tenth ranked team in Class 6Aby the Associated Press, battled with the Fighting Cocks for a quarter, beforerunning away with 40 unanswered points to win 47-6 in an Inter MountainAthletic Conference (District 2-AAA) contest at Hedrick Field.

Cocke County (0-4, 0-2) challenged Sevier County (5-0,2-0) early on, before succumbing to a faster and stronger Bears team, whichcapitalized on quick scoring drives the entire game.

"What we did tonight was we came out tonight andspent our tank," Cocke County coach Casey Kelley said. "We played withheart, we played hard, we fought and we scrapped. We did absolutely everythingwe could to execute our offense tonight.

"We still had a couple of miscues on offense, acouple of fumbles that resulted in a score or two for them, but this teamfought hard," Kelley said. "Coach Brewer told me that we gave themeverything we wanted tonight, especially in the first half."

Cocke County fell behind 7-0 only 47 seconds into thegame after the Bears marched 65 yards in four plays. Quarterback Zach Flynn,who led Sevier County in rushing, scored from 23 yards out to cap off the firstof six scoring drives that took less than 2:30 off the clock.

After marching with their next possession inside theCocke County five, the Bears appeared to go for the early kill, only to fumblenear the goal line. The turnover allowed the Fighting Cocks to march 93 yardsin seven plays for their lone touchdown of the game.

The drive, aided by a pair of personal foul penalties bythe Bears, was capped off by a 58-yard pass from Casey Ragan to Krys Cates with2:26 to play in the first quarter.

Sevier County then scored on their next four drives toend the half, posting a 33-6 lead at intermission.

The Bears did most of their damage on the ground, runningfor 356 yards on 33 attempts in the game. Sevier County came into the game witha vaunted passing attack engineered by Flynn, something that Kelley thought histeam shut down in the game.

"We were able to shut down their passing game,"Kelley said. "Considering how strong their passing game is, we playedstrong against their passing game."

With the focal point of the Cocke County defense on theSevier County rushing attack, the Bears were able to strike early and oftenwith the read option attack with the quarterback operating out of the shotgun.Sevier County's rushing total marked the third consecutive week that CockeCounty has allowed over 300 yards on the ground.

"What we're unable to do is match-up speed withanybody," Kelley said. "Sevier County was a faster football team thanus.

"I think we underprepared a little bit for theirzone read option that they do out of the gun," said Kelley, who noted thatthe Bears were able to sustain drives, especially after converting on a pair ofkey third down conversions in the first half. "Their zone read optionquarterback keeping the football is what hurt us in the first half; I think wemade some adjustments in the second half to take care of that."

Despite trailing 33-6 after halftime, the Fighting Cockstook the opening kick and marched into the Sevier County red zone, whereanother event exacerbated the long run of struggles this season inside theopponent's 20-yard line.

Ragan was running for the end zone on an option play onfourth-and-two when a Sevier County defender put a helmet solidly on the ball,forcing it to land six yards deep in the end zone. Jeremiah Foster picked upthe fumble in the end zone, allowed his team to set up blocks and returned thefumble 106 yards to extend the lead to 40-6 with 8:05 to play in the thirdquarter.

Sevier County added their final score of the night with3:25 remaining, when backup quarterback Danny Chastain hit Brian Gilson from 21yards out to end a six-play, 85 yard drive that gave the Bears a 47-6 lead.

Cocke County did suffer a scare late in the game whenBrandon Davis had to be removed from the field in an ambulance after sustaininga neck injury. Kelley said after the game that the move was largelyprecautionary.

"(Davis) was fine, he had some tingling in the neckarea," Kelley said. "Anytime you have a situation like that, it isbetter to be safe than sorry. At that stage in the game, we weren't going totake any chances on him.

"He got a slight head injury last week and with twoweeks in a row, it was a no-brainer to send him to the hospital," Kelleysaid.

District 2-AAA Round-up: After two weeks of District2-AAA competition, the race is beginning to take shape. In other conferencegames on Friday, Morristown West blanked South Doyle 27-0, Jefferson County won7-3 over Seymour and Morristown East took down Cherokee 25-21.

Sevier County, Morristown West and Morristown East aretied for first overall in the district with a 2-0 record, with Jefferson Countyin a tie for fourth with Seymour at 1-1. Cocke County, Cherokee and South Doyleare tied for sixth at 0-2.

Up Next: Cocke County again hits the road for a two-gameroad trip. The first game on the road is a non-conference showdown inMaynardville with Union County High School.