Fulton vs West Postgame

West Has Fulton On Ropes, But Lets Falcons Free, 14-13 (Knoxsportsonline):

Scott Cummings was being praised for his call at the end of the first half that got his Knox West team back into the game, but in the end he was doing a "mea culpa" for not giving the Rebels a chance to win.

"I take the blame,'' said Cummings, after his team fell to rival Knox Fulton, 14-13. "I made two of stupidest calls I have ever made at the end. All I had to do was run two dives into the line and we kick a field goal and win.''

West, which fell behind 14-0, used a hook-and-ladder play that was brilliantly executed on the final play of the first half to pull within 14-7 at halftime. The Rebels then got two George Bullock field goals from 31 yards out each in the third quarter to pull within one.

West was in position at the end when the riverboat gambler in Cummings spurred him to try for more after reaching the Fulton 26 with 2:30 to play.

Instead of setting up for the field goal try, Cummings called a sweep and his team was called for an illegal chop block and set back to the 36. Then, on third-and-13, Christian Francis was sacked for the seventh time at the 46 and the Rebels were left to attempt a halfback pass from Mickey Chait to Stephen Gyebison on fourth down to end the threat. A dive into the line even from the 36 would have given his team a chance, said Cummings.

"We have two of the best kickers in the state (Bullock and Tanner Thompson). Either one of them can make it from 50 yards,'' said Cummings. "I just didn't give them a chance.''

The hook-and-ladder came when Francis fired a pass to Alex Miller 10 yards downfield. Miller then turned and lateraled to Thompson who had a clear lane the last 30 yards down the sidelines.

"We practice that every Thursday,'' said Cummings, "but this is the first time we used it."

"We should have been in a prevent there,'' said Fulton coach Buck Coatney. "That's my fault. We didn't make a play there, but we did there at the end.

"I knew West was a very good football team so for them to play us tough like this was not a surprise.''

Coatney used a little trickery of his own to score with 25 seconds left in the first half. Ben Winters tossed the ball to Dametrius Thomas, who moved to his right, stopped and threw back to Winters, who sprinted the opposite direction and caught a wide-open pass from Thomas for a 16-yard score.

"That's the second time we're run it this year,'' said Coatney, "but the first time it's worked."

The other Fulton score was a gift, set up by a fumble recovery by Quintest Vinson at the Rebel 1 in the first quarter.

West falls to 1-4 and has lost to four ranked opponents -- Sullivan South, Maryville, Knox Farragut and Fulton.

Players and parents from Sullivan South were on hand for the game to show their appreciation of how West handled the death of South lineman Jake Logue at the same field on Aug. 21. A large rock is painted with Logue's number 54 in South's colors. South had a bye week and play rival Dobyns-Bennett in a home game next Friday.

West and South will play again next year in Kingsport, but Cummings would not commit beyond that.

"We already play Fulton non-conference each year and, given how tough our district is, I'm not sure I want to commit to playing a program as good as South every year. That might make me look not so bright,'' said Cummings.

Fulton improves to 4-2 with its two losses coming to No. 1 3A power Alcoa and to District 3, 2A rival Austin-East. The Falcons stay on the road for their fifth game in the first six, traveling to Knox Gibbs. West plays at William Blount next Friday.

Knox Fulton 14, Knox West 16

......................................KF....KW
First Downs......................9.......7
Rushes/Yards Gained..25-74..38-124
Passing Yards...............113.......129
Total Offense..................187.......253
Passes A-C-I.............16-7-2.....9-6-0
Fumbles/Lost................0-0.........2-2
Punts/Average............4-30.7...3-38..3
Penalties/Yrds............4-44........3-38

Score by quarters:
Knox Fulton...............6....8....0....0 -- 14
Knox West................0....7....6....0 -- 13

Scoring Plays:
Fulton -- Dametrius Thomas, 1 run (kick blocked)
Fulton -- Ben Winters, 16 pass from Thomas (Thomas run)
West -- Alex Miller and Tanner Thompson, 40 pass from Christian Francis (George Bullock kick)
West -- Bullock, 31 field goal
West -- Bullow, 31 field goal

Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Fulton: Thomas 8-49; Cotner 2-9; Winters 10-9; Golliday 3-8; Chapman 2-(-1).
West: Freeman 10-78; Simmons 11-62; Francis 16-(-9); Gyebison 1-(-7).

Passing:
Fulton: Winters 6-15-2, 97; Thomas 1-1-0, 16 TD.
West: Francis 5-7-0, 114 TD; Chait 1-2-0, 15.

Receiving:
Fulton: Pitchford 3-42; Thomas 1-32; Allen 1-13; Bridges 1-10; Winters 1-16 TD
West: Miller 3-60; Thompson 1-29; Gyebison 1-29; Freeman 1-11.