WOLVES ESCAPE OWLS; Black-and-Gold offensive miscues, 4th quarter Liberty Creek touchdown leads to SCHS demise
By Terry Collins Courier Sports
GALLATIN — The Smith County High Owls football team had its first road trip of the year with a game at Liberty Creek in Gallatin last Friday night.
Both teams were 0-2 entering the game as the Owls had only scored six points in each of their defeats.
The Wolves used a strong running attack to grab the victory by a final score of 23-12 in a game that was played for the most part in a steady rain.
“I’m proud of our guys for fighting the whole game,” said Smith County High head football coach Matt Dyer, “Coach (Bill) Alexander and his staff do a great job with the Liberty Creek program. They are a bigger school with a lot of players. Our guys played hard for four quarters and that’s what we ask our guys to do every week. We are getting better each week and showing improvement every game. The biggest thing as a young team is to gain experience and confidence, that’s what our guys are doing. They are gaining more experience each week and fighting and playing hard each week.”
Liberty Creek had 43 rushes for 252 yards in the game and only attempted three passes in the contest.
Mack Tuggle led the way for the host with 21 rushes for 175 yards and two touchdowns.
Tuggle also had a 73 yard kickoff return which setup Liberty Creek’s first touchdown and also added an interception on Smith Co.’s final offensive play.
The Black-and-Gold was led by Riley Martin who has 16-of-22 through the air for 198 yards and two touchdowns.
Jermaine Cason led the Owls’ receiving corps with six grabs for 73 yards including Smith Co.’s first passing touchdown of the season for 45 yards.
The Owls 0-3 start matches the 2020 season’s beginning.
“Playing bigger schools and good competition early in the season will get us ready for region play and playoffs,” said Dyer. “We did some good things offensively throwing the ball and we moved the ball on the ground well at times as well, just not consistent enough. We just need to execute more consistently. We are dealing with some injuries and moving some guys around to get better looks. We’ll continue to get better each week with more experience.
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