No contest: Champs totally own 9-A crown

Share and share alike, right?

Pfft! Not if you're the Cascade football team. They don't know the meaning of the expression.

No, the 10th-ranked Champions are taking their gold ball and going home.

A loss on Friday night would have meant Cascade sharing the District 9-A title with Forrest. But, that was avoided when Cascade led from start to finish en route to a 34-12 victory over Huntland to cap off an undefeated season against league opponents.

The Champions (7-3, 6-0 9-A) have now earned at least a share of three straight league titles and extended their winning streak versus district/region opponents to 16.

"These kids have worked hard, and I'm proud of every one of them," Cascade coach Kenny Parker said. "They're not always doing what I want them to do, and they're not always as focused as I want them to be, but I guess when the time comes, they buckle down and get it done. I can't say enough for them.

"Three or four years ago, we didn't have any gold balls. For this group to have three, it's very nice."

The evening as a whole was a memory the leaders of the team won't soon forget since it was Senior Night. The players handed roses to family members in a pregame presentation with each receiving their own round of applause from the kind folks at The Stable.

Mother Nature did her part in making the evening indelible as well. Shortly before kickoff the skies opened up and rainfall halted but for a few moments at halftime before pounding everything in Wartrace the rest of the night.

"You don't forget these kind of conditions, period. With all those other things built on top of it, it's a memory they'll never forget," Parker said.

As a result, the already saturated, sloppy turf became a mud pit. Several players should boast cleaner pores and smoother skin when they return to school Monday after mud masks provided plentiful exfoliating.

"Muddiest, sloppiest field that I've ever played on or coached on; it was pretty tough," said Parker, whose team didn't turn the ball over once.

"The passing, for the most part, was out. (The weather) made it a total ground game."

With that in mind, Cascade didn't attempt its first pass until its third series, instead relying heavily on the running game and tailback Matt Henderson.

The senior didn't let his teammates down and navigated the slop so impressively he would have made any self-respecting pig proud.

The first five plays of the game were handoffs to Henderson. Sixty-three yards later the Champs were in the end zone. Josh Molder's first of four extra points gave them a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Huntland (4-6, 2-4) didn't go away quietly. Clay Robertson's quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line narrowed their deficit to 7-6 as the two-point conversion attempt failed.

A hitch pass from Cascade quarterback Jared Carkuff to wide receiver Ricky Hord looked like it would go for a minimal gain before Hord reversed field and totally juked Hornet defenders, who left behind prints on the turf that closely resembled chalk outlines. Hord's homicide resulted in a 25-yard touchdown with 11:17 showing in the second quarter.

Five Henderson carries for 48 yards on their next drive set up Tyler Bowen's 4-yard TD reception roughly four minutes later.

The Hornets then reeled off an 18-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up 6 minutes, 59 seconds and ended with Jonah Bradley diving into the end zone from the 2 just 8 seconds before the half to make it 21-12.

The final two quarters were all in favor of the home team.

A botched snap resulted in a partially-blocked Huntland punt with just under two minutes to go in the third period. As the pigskin started to roll to a stop, Cascade's Gerald "Happy" Johnson scooped it up and raced a short 10 yards to paydirt for one of the shortest punt returns for a score ever.

With 4:19 to play, Henderson put the finishing touches on the victory with 4-yard TD run. He finished with 26 carries for 193 yards.

"Matt came to play tonight," Parker said. "Our line did a good job blocking up front. I preached to them all week that we knew what the elements were going to be. When the elements are like this, you've got to win the battle up front. You're not going to be able to finesse people.

"This rain took a whole lot of what we do out, but we were able to run the football. You've got to be able to run the football consistently."

As a team, the Champs rushed for 249 yards on 37 attempts. Carkuff was 5-for-8 passing for 50 yards.

Linebacker Michael Martin topped Cascade's tackles leaderboard with 10. Jordan Lacey added nine stops and Johnson eight.

The Hornets ran it 40 times for 120 yards and passed for 84 yards.

Huntland linebacker/wide receiver Tyler Eddens played with a heavy heart after losing his father earlier Friday.

"Our condolences go out to him and his family. What a courageous young man to step on the game field. I don't know if I could be man enough to do that," Parker said.

With the regular season concluded, Cascade now looks to make some noise in the TSSAA state playoffs. Their regular-season showing earned them a bye in the first week. Parker hopes to use the extra preparation time constructively.

"Hopefully we get some more internal, fundamental type things done during the bye week," said Parker, who hasn't experienced a postseason bye since his days as an assistant coach at Shelbyville Central.

"There could be advantages. There could be disadvantages. If you sit out that first round, it probably means you were going to get a lesser opponent. Where now you're sitting out, somebody else is playing and keeping it going. In the playoffs everybody is tough, and they'll be coming off a playoff victory."

The Champs received a No. 2 seed in their quadrant and host the winner between Silverdale (5-5) and Signal Mountain (9-1) on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.

On the other side of the quadrant, Boyd Buchanan will face the victor of Forrest (9-1) and Marion County (6-4).