Mistakes Do In Patriots vs Cocke Co, 38-33

Despite dominating Cocke County in every aspect of the game, Jefferson County brought home a loss Friday night. “You cannot win football games making that many mental mistakes” Head Coach Kenny Cobble said of his team’s performance. While Cobble did not like the way his team played, he shouldered the blame, “I put that on me” he said. Cobble added, “I’ve got to get them ready, we’ve got to eliminate those mistakes and I have to be the one to help them get there.”

Jefferson County did have the statistical edge in every category. The Patriots rushed for 160 yards to just 84 for the Fighting Cocks. Through the air the Patriots amassed 357 yards, while Cocke County had 256 yards. But unfortunately for the Patriots they led in the turnover department as well. Jefferson County had 4 turnovers to the Fighting Cocks’ 1.

Jefferson County trailed 20-10 at the half but came out in the 2nd half with more fight and seemingly more effort. After Cocke County missed a field goal on their first possession of the half, the Patriots marched down the field and with 1:59 remaining in the 3rd quarter. Patriot signal caller, Austin Jenkins, found Noah Carter in the back of the end zone from 15-yards out to cut the lead to 20-17.

The ensuing kickoff led to the Patriots getting the ball back at the 30-yard line. Two plays later with 1:33 left in the 3rd quarter, Spencer Randles, took the handoff 15 yards untouched for another Patriot touchdown and led after 3, 24-20.

The lead would not last long, however, when Jordon Carpenter found Jake Lindsey for a 4-yard pitch and catch touchdown. The extra point was blocked but the Fighting Cocks led 26-24 with 10:49 remaining in the game. Austin Jenkins would again find Noah Carter, this time from 18-yards out to re-capture the lead 31-26 for the Patriots.

Cocke County forced with 4th and 10 with just over 6 minutes remaining, would fake the punt and gain 12 yards to keep the drive alive. The drive would end with Carpenter scrambling for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Fighting Cocks on top for good at 32-31.

After another defensive touchdown for the Fighting Cocks, Jefferson County took over with just 4:01 remaining, trailing 38-31. The Patriots appeared to be poised to at least tie the game with just over a minute and a half remaining. Jenkins found Carter on a hot route up the seam for what appeared to be a big gain. As it appeared on the field that Carter was down by contact at the 2-yard line, the officials were huddled over the ball in discussion. That discussion led to an apparent Jefferson County fumble, recovered by Cocke County and the Fighting Cocks took over from their own 2-yard line.

Jefferson County would force Cocke County to take a safety on fourth down with just 39 seconds remaining in the contest. Jefferson County, with no timeouts and trailing 38-33, drove down to the Cocke County 4-yard line with 13 seconds remaining. Austin Jenkins was forced to try to scramble for the winning touchdown, but came up just short, as the Fighting Cocks held on for a 38-33 victory over the Patriots.

For the second week in a row Jefferson County lost in the final seconds of the game, but JCHS Head Coach sees bright spots through the heartbreak, “As tough as tonight is….and man it is tough to deal with right now, they are just so gutsy and I give them so much credit for fighting through that.”

Jefferson County signal caller, Austin Jenkins, had a career night through the air for the Patriots going 24-35 for 357 yards and 2 touchdowns he would also however, throw 3 interceptions including 2 returned for touchdown. Noah Carter was the leading receiver on the night with 12 receptions for 186 yards. Fellow Junior, Gorel Soumare, added 113 yards on 8 catches while senior Joey Jennings had 4 grabs for 58 yards.

The Pats used a “spread it around” rushing attack led by senior Spencer Randles. Randles, had 13 carries for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jenkins added 47 yards on 5 carries, while Noah Carter and Dakota Cody each had 20 yards on 2 and 4 carries respectively. Treyson Mills added 16 yards on just 2 carries while Michael Hackney had just 2 yards on 3 carries. The Jefferson County defense would allow 340 yards on the night.

Jefferson County returns home to take on rival Morristown West at Leroy Shannon, kickoff is at 7:30.