Champs claim Battle of Bedford

A pair of Cascade defenders put a lick on Community running back Jacob Cowell and cause the game's first turnover. The fumble was recovered by Champion Jordan Lacey. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

The Stable was packed with locals for just the second year of the new rivalry. The Champs took the inaugural Battle of Bedford 63-19 last year in Unionville.

"I look out there and coach (Johnnie) Frost coached with us, two of their coaches played for me and their head manager used to be my head manager and I thought, 'Man, our school colors have changed,'" Cascade coach Kenny Parker said.

"Any time you get a win it's big. The kids are disappointed. They didn't feel like they finished the way they should have. They're a little down right now even though it was a good performance overall for us."

Champion Ricky Hord was electric with the ball in his hands. The junior wingback ran the ball four times for 58 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown run, caught a pair of passes from Jacob Carkuff for scores (66, 11) and returned a punt 48 yards to the end zone.

"He's special, he's a good athlete," Parker said of Hord. "You know what was best about that? Every time he scored, our guys were celebrating. They're not selfish. You can be some of them other guys and be envious. Happy, the whole team."

The Vikings (1-3, 1-2 Region 5-A) struggled to get off the mat in the earlygoing, coming up empty-handed on each of their first four possessions before Justin Stallings went over the top of the defense for a 16-yard TD pass to Zach Haynes with 14 seconds left in the first half.

Viking quarterback Justin Stallings gets a throw off just in time before Champion defensive tackle Justin Bass arrives with a hit. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

Stallings and their passing offense were productive over the first two quarters as he completed 6-of-8 passes for 78 yards.

"It was nice to actually have some success passing," Community coach Johnnie Frost said, "seeing as how we've struggled the last few weeks with dropped balls, blown routes and not getting the amount of time we needed. If we can get that going it will make Jacob Cowell a whole lot more dangerous than he is when people sit on him.

"If our line blocks, it might allow us to score more points and be more successful. We're going to have to score more points it looks like. We've been giving up quite a few. The more you give up, the more you have to score to win."

The Viking aerial attack did open up some holes for before Cascade (4-0, 3-0) made adjustments for the second half. The running back totaled 93 yards on just 13 carries in the opening two quarters. However, that production dipped to eight rushes for 23 yards thereafter.

"He's tougher than nails. He bruised his ribs in the first half, put on a flak jacket and went at it," Frost said.

Both Carkuff and Tyler Bowen intercepted Stallings late in the game when the QB was 2-for-9 passing 39 yards.

"We've got six more weeks," Frost said. "We've got to the things it takes to get better and keep plugging away. The kids have got to learn to play with a little more heart and be mentally tough and resilient. If they choose to do that, we're going to make strides and get better.

"It's just hard when you keep hitting your head on the brick wall but the wall doesn't want to fall. We're going to keep working till we break it down."

Bowen caught an 11-yard TD pass from Carkuff on Cascade's opening drive to give them the early advantage. Three Hord TDs later, the count was 28-6.

Viking defensive back Jacob Cowell (24) breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Tyler Bowen. (T-G Photo by Danny Parker) [Click to enlarge]

Carkuff completed 5-of-8 passes for 116 yards and four TDs. As a team, the Champs had 34 carries for 213 yards in spite of the Viking familiarity with Champion tendencies, which was frustrating for Frost and Co.

"Cascade just executed better than we did, plain and simple. We knew a lot of the plays that were fixin' to happen. We knew in certain situations what they were going to go to, their bread-and-butter, and we still didn't do what it took to get in the right spot to make the play.

"I'm obviously still the student and Kenny's still the teacher."

On third-and-11 with a running clock in the fourth quarter, Stallings dropped back and threw a touch pass to Corey Coppes for the game's final score.

Yellow hankies littered the field most of the evening, preventing a steady flow to the game itself. All told, there were 17 penalties for 165 yards.

Defensively, Tyler Carter led Cascade with 10 tackles and two sacks. Anthony McPheron, Jordan Lacey and Michael Martin followed with eight tackles.

NEXT WEEK

Cascade faces an improved Middle Tennessee Christian next week in Murfreesboro. The Vikings host a physical McEwen team.