Tuscola dominates both sides of the ball in victorious home opener

Sep. 8—Tuscola football returned to C.E. Weatherby for the first time this season on Friday night, earning a dominant 42-6 win over South Caldwell.

"Our kids played great, unselfish football all around," Tuscola Coach Jonathan Crompton said. "It was a very, very good, flawless Tuscola football game."

Tuscola's defense was near unbeatable on Friday night. That was made even clearer on South Caldwell's final possession of the game.

With the Mountaineers leading by 36 points and about three minutes left, the Spartans had gotten the ball down inside the five-yard line of Tuscola.

The Mountaineer defense stood strong once again, coming up with four straight goal-line stops to get the ball back to the offense for the victory formation.

"You're playing an offense like this that is going to get into a phone booth and try to run the football. Our guys bowed up," Crompton said. "It's a great way to end the game. Our defense played awesome tonight."

It wasn't just late that the Tuscola defense refused to allow a score. On the very first drive of the game, South Caldwell seemed to just continue to march downfield. After an 11-minute drive, it came down to a fourth and one at the Tuscola 10-yard line.

The Mountaineer defense stood strong, forcing a one-yard loss and getting the ball to the offense for the first time.

Despite being on the field for 11 straight minutes, the defense showed no signs of wearing down — something the Mountaineers have prided themselves on this season.

"We see it in the fourth quarter on film that we're the more conditioned team," Crompton said. "Our kids practice hard. It's like golf. You don't win the golf tournament on Thursday, but you could lose it on Thursday. You win it on Saturday and Sunday, which are the third and fourth quarters."

It didn't take long for the Mountaineers to jump into the lead. Tuscola ran the ball three times to close out the first quarter. Opening up the second quarter, the Mountaineers decided to go to the air.

Senior quarterback Jett Bartley connected with junior Isaiah Hyatt about 30 yards downfield. Hyatt put on a pair of jukes, leaving South Caldwell defenders diving and falling all over the sideline as the junior scampered in for the 42-yard touchdown.

The passing game wasn't a primary focus for Tuscola on Friday night. It was all about what the defense was giving them. The Mountaineers threw just three passes, while rushing 32 times for 259 yards as a team.

"It's fun. Tuscola does run the football," Crompton said.

But deep passes early were part of the game plan to keep the defense honest.

"They tried to press us early, so we were going to take our shots," Crompton said. "That was the plan all week. I trust our receivers versus anybody. We made them pay early, so they backed up and we ran the football."

On the next drive for South Caldwell, junior Elijah Pruitt jumped into the passing lane for his first of two interceptions in the game. It was the second straight two-interception game for the junior. He also broke up four passes against the Spartans.

"It's hard to say enough about that kid and how he plays," Crompton said. "He's a ball hawk in the secondary. It's not just him. Eventually, people are going to start throwing away from him, and our other guys are right there for the taking too."

He's not just a defensive threat earlier. On the subsequent Tuscola drive, Bartley completed his second pass of the game, this time for 33 yards to Pruitt, who bobbled the ball a bit around the five-yard line before securing the catch and falling into the end zone.

"That was a hell of a catch over the shoulder after Isaiah's phenomenal play to make two guys miss early in the second," Crompton said.

Tuscola got great field position for their next drive after South Caldwell attempted a fake punt deep in their own territory. The tackle after a seven-yard gain set the Mountaineers up at the 25-yard line.

A few plays later, sophomore Sam Trantham punched it in from seven yards out for the 21-0 lead. Trantham finished the game with 147 yards (11.3 per carry) and two touchdowns.

After halftime, Tuscola would extend the lead to 28-0 on a touchdown run from Bartley. The senior finished the night completing two of three passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 71 yards (5.5 per carry) and a touchdown.

"For any defense, including ours if we're playing a quarterback like that that can throw it with pinpoint accuracy and also run, that's hard," Crompton said.

Along with Pruitt's pair of picks, junior James Launer also grabbed an interception for the Mountaineers. Launer returned his 25 yards for a touchdown.

While often overlooked, senior kicker Aidan Tucker had a phenomenal game. He went 6-for-6 on extra points and racked up five touchbacks and seven kickoffs.

"That's a load off of our defense to not have to worry about where they're starting when we're getting touchbacks," Crompton said.

On one PAT, Tucker had gotten his step-up started a bit early. Despite that, he trusted his coaching and his holder and just continued on through with the kick, nailing the PAT. Crompton called it the kicker's best play of the game.

"Every point matters. It doesn't matter how big the win," he said.

The win marked Tuscola's first home game of the season, and the crowd was rocking.

"Our cheerleaders were great tonight. Our student section was great tonight. Our sideline was rowdy. It's always fun when you play at home," Crompton said. "It's always fun to see our kids enjoying themselves with family and friends after games."

Now, the Mountaineers look ahead to a second-straight home game, this time to open conference play. Tuscola hosts 2-1 North Henderson on Friday. The Knights are coming off their first loss of the season, a 32-27 defeat against Hendersonville.

"They've taken the coaching. They understand what we want. It's growing each week," Crompton said.