NEWPORT-The final home game for the Cocke County Middle
School Fighting Cocks resulted in the team's most successful offensive
performance of the season on Thursday night at Hedrick Field.
Cocke County pounded Seymour Middle with a balanced
offensive attack and rolled up 263 yards of total offense in a 28-6 victory
over the Eagles. The Fighting Cocks remain undefeated with the victory with
only one game remaining in their season.
"We had one of our best games of the year
offensively," Cocke County coach Buddy Hartsell said. "When you are
able to run the ball and pass the ball well, it allows you to dictate the pace
of the game."
Cocke County (6-0) was dominant in their performance
through the passing and rushing attack on Thursday night and scored on their
first four possessions of the game.
After warding off a 15-play, 56-yard drive by Seymour
that chewed up the first 8:04 of the game that ended in a fumble inside the
Fighting Cocks five-yard line, Cocke County began their first of four scoring
drives in the game.
The four scoring drives were an alternation of long,
grinding drives and two short drives with the success of the passing game under
the direction of quarterback Ike Rouleau and receiver Dylan Dockery.
Rouleau was near perfect in the passing game, completing
4-of-5 passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Most of his completions were
to Dockery, who hauled in two touchdown catches for 79 yards.
"Ike has done a good job all year for us at quarterback
and had not played the position until this year," Hartsell said. "His
ability to throw and run the ball has made us a dangerous team and let us be
multidimensional in what we do.
"Having a target like Dylan, who is big and catches
almost everything we throw to him just makes us that much more able to move the
ball on offense," Hartsell said. "When you have a quarterback and
receiver combo like that, it is going to bring good things."
Cocke County's first scoring drive was a grinding drive
on the ground, as the Fighting Cocks went 92 yards in seven plays that took the
team to the end zone exclusively on the ground.
Tailback D.J. Haney, who has had a handful of 100-yard
games this season, carried the ball five times for 62 yards on the drive,
including a 42-yard carry that put the Fighting Cocks inside the Seymour
10-yard line.
Rouleau, who had a hand in all four Cocke County
touchdowns in the game, used an 8-yard run that put the Fighting Cocks on top
7-0 with 4:00 to play in the first half.
Cocke County's next scoring drive, set up by a blocked
punt, took only eight seconds and one play. Rouleau hit Dockery for a 26-yard
touchdown strike, as the Fighting Cocks top receiver battled double coverage
and a tipped pass to haul in the football and scamper into the end zone.
Dockery also added the point after to put the Fighting
Cocks up 14-0 with 1:27 to play in the opening half.
Cocke County opened the second half with another scoring
drive. After driving the ball to the Seymour 39-yard line on third down, the
Fighting Cocks went to the air and when a Rouleau to Dockery pass was
incomplete on third down, they elected to go back to the air on
fourth-and-five.
Rouleau's fourth down pass intended for receiver Ty
Chapman was tipped by the defensive back covering him, but Chapman caught the
ball off the deflection and ran the final 15 yards into the end zone to
increase the lead to 21-0 with 3:02 to play in the third quarter.
On the next Cocke County possession, the Fighting Cocks
took only three plays and one minute to get their fourth touchdown of the game.
Rouleau hit Dockery on a short pass in the flat and the eighth grader broke a
tackle and then ran over a defender in running 53 yards to the end zone with
6:57 to play in the game.
Seymour added their lone score of the night with 3:35 to
play with a 60-yard touchdown run that capped off a five-play, 81-yard drive.
The drive came against Cocke County reserves and the Fighting Cocks had limited
Seymour to only 106 yards prior to the drive.
Taking away the opening and final drives by Seymour,
Cocke County held the Eagles over the course of their other three possessions.
Cocke County takes on Rush Strong Middle
School in their season finale on Tuesday night. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.