POWELL — Colton Sane ripped off his helmet, bounced toward his teammates and let out a scream last Thursday night at Powell High School.
The Fighting Cocks had just taken down Knox Catholic, led by 4-star wide receiver Tyreek King, by a score of 17-14 — and Sane was ready to let loose with his feelings.
The moment was arguably the biggest for Cocke County in two days at the Knoxville Classic 7-on-7 event, as CCHS proved its mettle against plenty of top talent from across the area.
Cocke County went 3-2-1 through two days, beating Catholic, The King’s Academy and Hardin Valley.
The Fighting Cocks lost to Oliver Springs and Bearden on Saturday and tied with Morristown East in their first matchup on Friday.
“I think it’s been a really good two days of work,” said CCHS head coach Scotty Dykes last Friday. “I think our kids have improved a ton, that they have understood the concepts and philosophies offensively and defensively.”
In their first game of the event, Cocke County tied the Hurricanes 14-14.
Raeshon Palmer went skyward for an impressive touchdown grab, while the Rooster defense came up with a couple stops late.
In the next matchup, Daniel Price snagged two Spencer Moore passes for scores, while Oren Hazelwood jumped a TKA route to grab the first of multiple interceptions through the weekend.
“I’ve watched Daniel work all summer long with our team and him doing extra work, and I think it showed. To put a linebacker on him is a mismatch all day long, and that’s what we want to do.
“And Oren, he is one of those guys that makes us right. We can put him at safety, corner, slot deceiver, tailback. He just plays so many positions for us, and he’s had a great camp.“
After those two games came the biggest win of the event for Cocke County, which took down the Irish to cue Sane’s reaction.
That kind of passion is something Dykes said he has been wanting to see “for a couple of years.”
“These coaches and I have been pouring into these guys that they can play with these other teams,” he said. “They just have to understand what we are doing conceptually, and they can go out and win football games.”
CCHS looked to continue that the next day, facing Oliver Springs, Hardin Valley and Bearden to wrap up the slate.
The Fighting Cocks were not as successful against the Bobcats or the Bulldogs, as Dykes noted Oliver Springs’ routes and timing.
But they did take down the Hawks 14-4, aided by a connection between Moore and Hembree for six.
After wrapping up the event, Dykes noted that he wants to see better timing between Moore and his slew of receivers, adding that Moore performed well despite having just two days of practice.
He also addressed Cocke County’s defensive effort, saying: “Those guys played their hearts out and played their positions great.”
CCHS will look to bring those traits back to the practice field for the rest of this summer, as Dykes said the team will don full pads in late July.
And once the clock starts ticking toward kickoff against Cherokee, Dykes is hopeful that his team will carry the passion and execution he saw this past weekend.
“We want to carry this to the pads,” he said. “If we can be physical up front, control the line of scrimmage when we’re running the ball, and add it to our passing game, I like our opportunities.
“The caliber of teams we did it against, I think that proved to them what they can do if they execute and do what they are supposed to. I think they got a little belief factor.”
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