Nov. 30, 2009

Warriors headed back to Class 4A state final

By Kurt Duryea

CENTRE — As Cherokee County and Deshler lined up for pre-game warm-ups Friday night, the term “mirror image” came to mind. Stellar defensives, explosive offenses, and spectacular special teams stood poised to make their mark. Bobby Joe Johnson Field oozed with playmakers eager to entertain the overflow crowd.
 
On one side of the battlefield was University of Alabama commitment Deion Belue. The Tigers' star had been given the moniker “Belue Bayou” for the speed he often uses to “blow by” opponents. In the last seven games Belue has returned either a kickoff or punt for a touchdown.

On the opposite sideline stood the Warriors' five-star field general, Coty Blanchard.

The mirror also revealed two of the state's sharpest 4A coaching minds in Cherokee County's Thomas “Tripp” Curry (124-47) and Deshler's John Mothershed (161-39). A classic chess match of wills and wits was about to begin.
 
The Warriors kicked off, keeping the ball away from the fleet-footed Belue. The Tigers fell on Isaac Jones' squib kick at the 37 and were not able to manage a first down. The Warriors also sputtered on their first drive and were forced to punt.

“It wasn't the way we wanted to start but our kids know that it's not how you start, it's how you finish that's important,” Coach Curry said after the game.

Deshler's second possession ended when Belue slipped into the end zone from five yards out, midway through the first. The extra point was no good.

The Warriors responded with a six-play, 65-yard drive that featured a reverse-flea flicker pass from Blanchard, who later found D.J. Fife for a 39-yard gain.

Blanchard scored on the next play, plowing through the middle of the Tiger defense from nine yards out. Jones tacked on the extra point and the Warriors led 7-6 with 4:20 remaining in the opening quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, the Warriors' Dalton Colbert knocked the ball loose and Caleb Hays recovered on the Tiger 27. The Warriors settled for a 35-yard field goal and a 10-6 lead.

Belue took the next kickoff near the 5-yard line and exploded down the sideline. Just when it appeared he had broken into the clear, Caleb Crane delivered a crushing tackle. Belue limped off the field and never displayed the same elusiveness. The Tigers marched down the field and DeAnthonie Summerhill scored on an inside trap play from 12 yards out. Caleb Henry's PAT at 9:19 in the second quarter made the score 13-10.

The Warriors responded quickly. Blanchard eluded the pressure, locked onto his favorite target, loaded and fired a bull's-eye to Gabriel Chambers, who electrified the crowd as he shed two defenders to complete the 69-yard one play drive. With Jones's point-after, the Warriors were up 17-13.

The Warriors put together an 80-yard drive at the end of the half that sent them into the locker room with a 24-13 advantage. With just 1:38 left in the half, Blanchard showcased skills by completing seven passes to five different receivers.

The touchdown came when Blanchard rolled right and found a wide-open Chambers.

“It was short but it was a big series for us,” Curry said. “We opened up our playbook and Coty delivered some big-time passes.”

Cherokee County received the ball to start the second half. The Warriors chewed four minutes off the clock before John West caught a Blanchard pass from the 9-yard line to take a30-13 lead.

“They doubled Gabriel and that left single coverage on West,” Curry said. “Coty got away from their pressure and John did a nice job getting into the end zone.”

Deshler running back James Gardiner got the Tigers to within ten points on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Deshler attempted to draw even closer as they moved into Cherokee territory.

Facing fourth-and-10, Kenny Akin intercepted a Deshler pass and returned it to the 38. The pickoff set up Blanchard's last-ever touchdown on Bobby Joe Johnson Field. It was a spectacular 62-yard romp that saw the senior start right, break several tackles, and out-sprint the rest of the defense for the final margin of 37-20.

“We've got one more,” the Warriors' Brett Burgess screamed as the final seconds ticked off the clock. “Just one more, baby!”

The Warriors will get that chance Friday at 11 a.m. in Tuscaloosa against Jackson (13-1). Tickets are $10 and will go on sale at ticket booths outside Bryant-Denny Stadium beginning at 9:30 a.m.