Chattooga Indians… Winning Breeds Winning

It was Homecoming week in Chattooga County and the Indians held Spirit Week to kick off the festivities. All On Georgia, in conjunction with Zaxby’s of Dalton and Principal Jeff Martin, named Beth Dodd as Spirit Queen, at the pre-game pep rally. The Homecoming Court was crowned before kick-off and included Freshman Princess Chastity Evans, Sophomore Princess Meagan Perry, Junior Princess Cyndi White, and 2^nd Runner Up Zoe Cook, 1^st Runner Up Leanna Porter, and the 2015 Chattooga High School Homecoming Queen, Chelsey Bailey.

As the crowd sang the Alma Mater, the football players took to the field looking to rebound from a painful 18-23 loss last week to Pepperell in a game where the Indians won in every stat except the one that counts; points. The visiting Armuchee Indians knew they were in for a long rainy night but came prepared to put up a fight. The first quarter included two stingy defenses and not a lot of offensive action. Late in the quarter, Chattooga put together a solid drive capped off by a 4 yard touchdown run from Isaiah Foster. A new look on the PAT team resulted in a 2 point conversion and a 8-0 Chattooga lead. In the second quarter, the Indians in red slowly began to pull away. With Isaiah Foster getting the bulk of the carries, #2 put together another 100+ yard game, carrying 26 times for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns. Foster added another 50 yards from his lone reception on the night. With a mere 7 seconds of the 2^nd quarter left on the clock, quarterback, Isaac Foster, found brother Isaiah on a deep post route in heavy traffic. Isaiah found a few blockers and then let his legs do the rest as he sent the Indians into half time with a 24-0 lead. Early in the second quarter, Isaac Foster tacked on a rushing of his own with a 2 yard run. Cam Evans hit Isaac on a short pass for the PAT 2-point conversion.

The halftime show featured the Chattooga Marching Indians, led by Drum Major Elizabeth Dawson, and included an enthusiastic Alumni Section to entertain the home crowd. When the home team took the field after the half, the light rain that had held off allowing for a perfect pre-game homecoming ceremony, picked up and turned to a steady rain. Chattooga’s defense played like a team that was trailing 24-0 instead of the team with a comfortable lead. Holding Armuchee to just 46 yards on the ground and 56 yards in the air, the Chattooga defense, led by Darion Foster and T.J. Adams, stifled the Indians in blue at every corner. Combining for 15 tackles and a sack, Foster and Adams were relentless in hunting down the nimble Armuchee quarterback, Bret Cordle, and piling up a stagger 28 negative yards in sacks and tackles-for-loss. Chattooga’s offense also found a steady gear as they leaned on their massive offensive line, averaging 275 pounds, as they pounded the middle of Armuchee’s outmatched defense. Isaiah Foster added his 3^rd and final touchdown of the night late in the 3^rd quarter with an 8 yard run and the Indians decided to work on their kicking game for the PAT. While the kick missed it’s mark, the plan did not. Kicker/Punter, C.J. Martin settled into his role nicely by nailing the next two PAT kicks in the 4^th quarter and his punts averaged 42 yards. The change in field position was instrumental in keeping Armuchee facing a long field and an uphill night.

As the final quarter started, Chattooga turned to a host of back up players to improve their depth. The 30-0 lead was stretched by Zay Underwood who carried 9 times for 66 yards and a 12 yardscore. Martin’s kick split the uprights for a 37-0 lead. With just under three minutes remaining and the Armuchee offense pulling out all stops, Defensive end, Dee McCutchins again demonstrated his J.J. Watts impression by leaping in front of a Bret Cordle pass and streaking 58 yards for the pick-six. Martin again hit the PAT for a 44-0 lead that was threatened as Cordle found Thomas Reese down the Chattooga sideline for a pass that set the visitors up in the Chattooga red zone for the first time in the evening. The Chattooga defense was tested repeatedly as the final three plays all went for negative yards. A high snap over Cordle’s head left Armuchee with a final desperation pass to the end zone that was snatched out of the air by Travell Bankston to seal the win.

BOX SCORE

CHATTOOGA                                                                           ARMUCHEE

RUSHING — Armuchee, (#1) Bret Cordle 20-69, (#14) Charlie Waters 1-2, (#11) Brody Everett 2-6, (#12) Seth Stanley 1- minus 13, team 1- minus 15.   Chattooga, Cam Perry 1-3, Isaac Foster 10-54, Isaiah Foster 26-178, Caleb Pledger 1-0, Zay Underwood 9-66, Darion Foster 2-10, Cameron Evans 3-4.

PASSING — Armuchee, (#1) Bret Cordle 6-18-56-2.  Chattooga, Isaac Foster 5-6-103-0.

RECEPTIONS — Armuchee, (#14) Charlie Waters 2-5, (#5) Noah Studdard 3-19, (#44) Thomas Reese 2-28.  Chattooga, Dee McCutchins 2-21, Cameron Evans 1-32, Isaiah Foster 1-50, Trey Bowman 1-0.

PUNT RETURNS — Armuchee, none.  Chattooga, Kam Martin-McClinic 1-0.

KICKOFF RETURNS — (#2) Blake Williams 1-16, (#6) Cole Phillips 1-0, (#28) Will Phillips 2-27, (#44) Thomas Reese 1-7.  Chattooga, none.

INTERCEPTION RETURNS — Chattooga, Dee McCutchins 1-58, Travell Bankston 1-5.

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Chattooga Indians Defense Statistics —

Total tackles — Darion Foster 9 (6 solos , 3 assists), T.J. Adams 6 (4s, 2a), Tyler Griffin 4 (3s, 1a), Nick Hawkins 4 (2s, 2a), Isaiah Curtis 3 (2s, 1a), Lane LeBlanc 3 (3a), Nick Groce 3 (3a), Dee McCutchins 3 (1s, 2a), Caleb Pledger 1s, Mike Adams 1s, Kam Martin-McClinic 1s, Zay Underwood 1s, Isaac Foster 1a, Tyler Bledsoe 1a, Xavier Reece 1a

Tackles for loss — Nick Hawkins, Darion Foster 0.5, T.J. Adams 0.5

Sacks — Darion Foster 0.5, T.J. Adams 0.5

Interceptions (yards) — Dee McCutchins (58t), Travell Bankston (5)

Pass breakups — Isaac Foster 2, Nick Hawkins, Isaiah Foster