Falcons Down Pioneers 30-14, Sets up 2nd Round Matchup with Red Bank

Like Old Times for Fulton (KNS Article):

Micah Pitchford finally discovered the elation of a November victory.

Only a freshman logging mop-up minutes during Fulton High School's 2007 run to a state runner-up finish, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Pitchford is playing a major role nowadays.

He had five catches for two touchdowns and 80 yards against visiting East Ridge on Friday night, and teammate Dametrius Thomas added 121 yards rushing in the Falcons' 30-14 first-round win the Class 4A playoffs.

"It feels good to win my first playoff game," said Pitchford.

Fulton (8-3) missed the postseason last year for the first time since 1992. Next week, Fulton will travel to Red Bank (11-0), which beat Gibbs, 48-8, on Friday. Fulton coach Buck Coatney had no reservations about playing away from Knoxville.

"You don't have the distractions of sitting around. You get on the bus and travel," said Coatney. "So, we welcome it."

East Ridge (7-4) never mustered a passing game to balance its rushing success, finishing 0-for-9 with two interceptions. BreVante King was the bright spot, rushing for 125 yards and two scores. He was nearly unstoppable out of the Wildcat package.

"We've been working on that the last couple of weeks," said East Ridge coach Mike Martin. "We were saving it for the right time."

Fulton looked poised to blow out East Ridge. Brad McKeehan kicked a 25-yard field goal on Fulton's opening drive of the second half for a 24-7 lead.

But King, who gave East Ridge its first half touchdown on a 4-yard run, continued his rushing prowess with a 3-yard touchdown with 4:54 left in the third. He carried four times in the seven-play drive for 52 yards.

East Ridge's Donnie Garner intercepted Fulton quarterback Ben Winters, who played almost perfectly in the first half, with 11 seconds left in the quarter. The East Ridge possession lasted until the 6:02 mark in the fourth.

It ended in disaster. King had a touchdown run wiped off by penalty. Josh Francisco's 32-yard field goal attempt hooked left.

Thomas sealed the win with 30-yard touchdown run, but Fulton's pass game got it done early. Fulton staked a 21-7 halftime lead behind Winters' 85 yards and three touchdowns on 8-for-9 passing.

Four plays after Fulton recovered East Ridge's fumble on the opening kick, Winters hit Pitchford on a 6-yard touchdown pass.

The Pioneers shanked a punt on their ensuing possession, and Winters made them pay with a 35-yard scoring strike to Pitchford with 6:18 left in the first quarter. Just like that, 14-0.

"He put it on the money (tonight)," said Pitchford. "I told him if he throws it, I'm going to go get it."

Winters, also a linebacker, intercepted a East Ridge pass with 5:25 before the break and returned it 20 yards to the Pioneers 10. He found Javonte Cotner for a 8-yard touchdown pass on third and goal.

Penalties and no viable pass threat prevented East Ridge from answering.

"I was proud of the way we battled. That's a good football team," said Martin. "They've been here and done it.

"We're trying to get where Fulton is."

Fulton Goes to the Air, Whips East Ridge 30-14 (Knoxsportsonline):

Ben Winters threw three touchdown passes and connected on 15 of 19 passes for 139 yards Friday night to key Knox Fulton to a 30-14 victory over Chattanooga East Ridge in a TSSAA Class 4A first-round playoff game.

"It was a good win for us,'' said Fulton coach Buck Coatney. "We really got our passing game going. If we can keep doing that, it will take pressure off our running game.''

Dametrius Thomas complemented Winters' passing by running for 121 yards with 30 of those yards coming on Fulton's final touchdown.

Two of Winters' TD passes went to Micah Pitchford, while the other was to Javonte Cotner.

Fulton's defense forced East Ridge to got 0-for-9 passing with a pair of interceptions.

Fulton (8-3) advances to face unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Red Bank (11-0) next Friday in Chattanooga. Red Bank manhandled Knox Gibbs, 48-8, on Friday.

Ben King scored both East Ridge TDs on runs of 4 and 44 yards. He finished with 125 rushing yards on 17 carries.

Here are statistics from the game:

Knox Fulton 30, East Ridge 14

........................................ER.....KF
First Downs.......................11......14
Rushes/Yds gained.....45-202..29-122
Passing Yds......................0.......139
Total Offense..................202.......261
Passes A-C-I................0-9-2..15-19-1
Fumbles/Lost..................3-1........1-0
Punts/Average..............2-16.5...1-35.0
Penalties/Yards............8-55......4-35

Score by quarters:
East Ridge..................7....0....7....0 -- 14
Knox Fulton...............14....7....3....6 -- 30

Scoring Plays:
KF -- Micah Pitchford, 5 pass from Ben Winters (Brad McKeehan kick)
KF -- Pitchford, 35 pass from Winters (McKeehan kick)
ER -- Ben King, 4 run (Francisco kick)
KF -- Javonte Cotner, 7 pass from Winters (McKeehan kick)
KF -- McKeehan, 25 field goal
ER -- King, 44 run (Francisco kick)
KF -- Dametrius Thomas, 30 run (Kick Failed)