Seniors Shine on Senior Night

It was senior night in Dumplin Valley on Friday night as seniors from football, band, soccer, volleyball, and golf were all recognized before the Patriots’ football game against Cherokee. So how fitting it was, for seniors to lead the Patriots to victory over the Chiefs in a battle of two teams that were 1-6 overall.

Spencer Randles led the Jefferson County offensive attack, as the senior rushed for 153 yards on just 14 carries. It was an important win for the Jefferson County seniors in their final home game, but it meant a little more to head coach Kenny Cobble, “It is particularly special for me because those are the kids that came in with me.” Cobble in his 4th year as JCHS head coach added, “We’ve kind of been through everything together.”

Scoring did not come easy for either team in the first half as Jefferson County struck first when Senior Gio Morales booted a 29-yard field goal with 10:07 remaining in the 1st half to put the Pats up 3-0. Just over a minute later Sophomore , Johnathan Royster, would step in front of a Chiefs’ pass and return it to the 6-yard line. A block in the back penalty would push the Pats back to the 17-yard line, but three plays later Noah Carter would find pay dirt from 5-yards out to push the JCHS lead to 10-0. The Chiefs’ would add a field goal late in the quarter and the Patriots would take a 10-3 lead in to the half.

The Jefferson County defense held the Chiefs to -6 total yards in the first half, however the Patriot offense only mustered 88 yards in the first half. The second half was a different story, as the Patriots would total 247 yards in the second half and would score three times.

The first score came when Randles ripped off a 41-yard run to pay dirt and Cobble says he could see that coming in the locker room at halftime, “Spencer came in and really dug into it running the football.” He added “He was an emotional presence at halftime and then came out and put it on the field.” Randles would add another Touchdown run later in the half from 7-yards out.

Randles was not the only senior who would get in on the scoring act. Joey Jennings, caught a 31-yard pass from Austin Jenkins to round out the scoring on the night. “It was amazing” said Jennings, “ Austin told me from the start that he was going to throw it to me, to just go out there and run my butt off…..So I did.”

Jennings also said that being Cobble’s first full class, he will take life lessons with him in the future. “He has taught me a lot, He taught me how to shake a hand the first time I met him.” He closed saying, “He’s just a great man and I will continue to love him for the rest of my life.”

Austin Jenkins led the Pats through the air accounting for 87 yards on 6-12 passing with a touchdown. Jennings would add 43 yards on 2 catches, while Carter had 2 catches for 9 yards. Jalen Allen would make his first catch of the season and the 235-pound senior rumbled 30 yards.

The road gets tough for Jefferson County next week as they travel to Sevier County to take on the Smoky Bears. Kickoff is set for 7:30