CCHS looks to rebound against Hardin Valley

When Scotty Dykes walked into the Cocke County field house for practice on Monday, he brought a very simple message with him.

“Everything we want is right in front of us,” he told his players. “Here are our goals; how do we achieve them?”

Indeed, everything Dykes has wanted for his team — namely a top seed in the region and a home playoff game — is still available to CCHS this season.

While frustrating, the two losses Cocke County has suffered have not put a dent in its region record since neither program has been a region opponent.

“We still know that,” said Dykes, “and the guys seem to be in good spirits, so we’re going to keep building on that.”

This week, that building looks like preparing for a Hardin Valley team that will visit Cocke County out of Region 2 class 6A.

The Hawks are 0-2 coming off losses to Karns (29-14) and Morristown East (34-17) to start the first season under new head coach Tyler Wynn.

Wynn is a Carson-Newman graduate, where he played both football and baseball.

He has coached at the high school and collegiate level in various spots in Georgia, as well as Florida, most recently as the offensive coordinator at Valdosta (GA) High School.

And while CCHS will prepare for what is different about the Hawks’ offensive attack under their new regime, they will also look to fix some self-inflicted mistakes.

Two of those are completion rate and the amount of push on the line of scrimmage.

“We’ve got to compete this week at the quarterback position,” Dykes said plainly. “Make sure we’re doing things soundly, make sure our fundamentals and footwork are good, and we’ve got to have our mental makeup right.

“Got to understand where the ball needs to go based on pre-snap alignment, then make sure we’re making the right read. Then we have to deliver the football and get it to our playmakers.”

For Cocke County, those playmakers include guys like Tucker Hembree, Taylos Thomas and Eli Roberts.

But CCHS will be missing Raeshon Palmer, whose senior season drew to an unexpected close last week when he was diagnosed with a torn ACL.

Dykes also said Jarvis Scipio is questionable after an injury against Gatlinburg-Pittman, so CCHS will need to move things around in the secondary to account for their absences.

“We’ll have to move guys around, shuffle people in, and make sure they’re aware of what we’re doing,” he said.

As far as Hardin Valley’s offense is concerned, Cocke County will have to be mentally prepared for what the Hawks will run under their new regime.

“They present some issues in their alignment,” said Dykes of his film review. “They do a lot of shifts in formations with motions and post-snap alignments, so that’s something we’ll have to be aware of.

“I’m sure they’re looking for mismatches in teams getting adjusted to what they’re doing, so we have to be cognizant of where the eligible receiver is going to be, where the tight end is going to be, things of that nature.”

For that aspect, Dykes said his linebackers and defensive backs will have to be focused on one thing above all else: communication.

“We’ve got to make sure those guys know who is eligible and who may be in an overload set,” he said. “So communication will be key this week.”

He also noted that the Hawks’ pre-snap adjustments can present issues in the run game, meaning Cocke County will have to be keyed on the right guys and not get distracted by the movement.

“A lot of it seems to be smoke and mirrors, but then you’ll have RPOs and things coming off it,” Dykes said. “They do a lot of things where we have to be sound in what we’re looking for.”

If Cocke County can do those things, it will give itself a better shot against HVA on Friday.

But in order to focus on this week, Dykes was clear on what has to happen.

“Forget about the last two weeks,” he said. “Come out and see the opportunity that’s in front of you, and take advantage of it. Play good football and let’s see what happens.”