CHURCH HILL — The Volunteer Falcons are still looking for the season’s first victory after falling to the Class 5A David Crockett Pioneers 35-7 at home on Friday night in nonconference football action.
The Falcons went into the game without starting quarterback Jameson Mowell, who was injured last week. That pressed running back Keelin Releford into service at quarterback, but he was injured on the Falcons’ first drive and did not return to the game.
The Falcons received the opening kickoff but lost a fumble on the second play from scrimmage. Both teams had trouble moving the ball early; each had to punt twice in the first quarter. Owen Fleenor took Releford’s spot at quarterback. The game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter.
Both teams had a three-and-out to open the second quarter. Isaiah Ward took a turn at quarterback for Volunteer. The Pioneers scored with 4:59 remaining in the half when quarterback A.J. Wynn scored from four yards out. Dawson Callahan’s PAT put the Pioneers up 7-0. Ward ran hard and led the Falcons to two first downs, but a block-in-the-back penalty hindered the drive. Ward punted short and Lamarkus Dunn returned it to the Falcons 26. Wynn found Zeke Slone with a 13-yard TD pass as the buzzer sounded. Callahan’s PAT put the visitors up 14-0 at the intermission.
The Pioneers marched 70 yards to open the second half. Wynn found Slone again, this time from five yards out. The PAT put the Pioneers up 21-0. Nathan Simpson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Crockett 34, but two plays later the Falcons lost a fumble. The next Crockett drive included a holding penalty on the Falcons and two penalties on the Pioneers, one nullifying a touchdown. The Pioneers eventually cashed in, with Jon Hall scoring on a 7-yard run.
Trailing 28-0, the Falcons inserted Brock Mowell at quarterback. He was able to complete two passes and drove the Falcons to the Crockett 34 before the Falcons turned the ball over on downs. The Pioneers ended the quarter with one more touchdown and led 35-0 headed into the final period.
The Falcons got on the board early in the fourth quarter with a 78-yard drive. Brock Mowell passed to Simpson for 10 yards. Fleenor had a big 47-yard run. Caden Lafollette had two carries to move the ball to the Pioneers 10. Brock Mowell scrambled his way into the end zone. Jackson McLain added the point after to finish the night’s scoring. The Falcons had one more drive and drove 44 yards to the Pioneers 6-yard line before turning the ball over on downs.
“On the first series, you lose your No. 2 quarterback, so we had to move running backs around and put stuff in we had never ran before… You know, they played hard. We’ll have to put some stuff in and get ready for the next game,” said Falcons’ coach Mike Castle.
Volunteer (0-5) will host 3A Unicoi County (4-1) on Friday, Oct. 11, in another nonconference bout. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
“I think Keelin’s better, and Brock came in and helped us a little bit at quarterback, so I don’t know what we’ll do there yet,” Castle said of his QB situation. “They played hard.”
For the past two weeks, the Falcons and Volunteer Sports Network have collected and donated items to the Greeneville and David Crockett communities impacted by storm damage from Hurricane Helene. They’ll continue those efforts this week for Unicoi County, one of the region’s hardest hit areas.
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