ROGERVILLE — The visiting Providence Academy Knights dominated the Rogersville City Warriors 44-22 Tuesday night in Big Red Valley to secure a home playoff game next week.
The Warriors will now travel to Johnson City to face those same Knights in the Northeast Tennessee Conference playoffs on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
“We didn’t start too well. That’s all there is to it. They came out and punched us in the mouth,” said RCS head Forrest Gladson. “We cut it to 14-8, and on the next play they had a big, long run to break that momentum. We did some good things in the second half, but we just got outplayed today.”
The Warriors fumbled the opening kickoff, losing the ball at their own 38. The Knights went quickly down the field to score at the 6:44 mark. The Warriors were forced to punt, and the Knights scored on a 25-yard pass. They made the PAT to go up 14-0. The Warriors moved to the Knights 25 as the quarter ended.
There were two lightning delays before the second quarter got underway.
RCS quarterback Cade Putnal scored from two yards out to put the Warriors on the board. Eli Gonzalez ran in for the point-after, cutting the lead to 14-8. The momentum seemed to be turning the Warriors’ way. On the kickoff, Gaige Brock had a jarring tackle to put the Knights deep in their territory at the 22-yard line.
The Knights broke the momentum by going 78 yards for a score on the first play. The PAT made it 22-8. The Knight defense forced a three-and-out. The Knights scored again, but the score was nullified by a personal foul penalty. They turned the ball over on downs at the Warriors 21. But the Warriors’ drive ended with an interception at the halftime horn.
After a shortened halftime, the Knights struck quickly, taking only 1:45 off the clock for a touchdown and conversion to go up 30-8. The Warriors drove down the field, mostly on the strength of Putnal’s running, but the drive stalled. They turned the ball over on downs. The Knights scored a few plays later on a 74-yard pass and run. The PAT made the score 38-6.
The Warriors opened the fourth quarter with a 54-yard drive, ending in an eight-yard Gonzalez TD run. Putnal ran in for the PAT, making the score 38-16. The Knights then drove 57 yards to score to go up 44-16. The Warriors went on a long drive, ending with a 13-yard Putnal touchdown run as the game ended.
RCS honored eighth-grade football players, cheerleaders and band members, along with their family members, on the field prior to kickoff. It was the Warriors’ final home game of the 2024 season.
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