Pioneers race past Volunteer

With the rain pouring down on a wet and muddy Friday night in Church Hill, Crockett turned to sophomore running back T.K. Hill to carry the Pioneer offense against Volunteer.
The conference’s leading rusher answered the call, piling up 182 yards on the ground and adding three touchdowns in a 42-21 Crockett win.
The Pioneers wasted little time getting their offense moving early in the first quarter, needing just eight plays on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 advantage over the Falcons.
On Crockett’s first possession of the game, a 42-yard run from Hill set the Pioneers up at the 2-yard line. The sophomore back finished the drive a play later by plunging into the end zone for the contest’s first touchdown.
Moments later the defense recovered a Falcon fumble just inside Volunteer territory and again needed just four plays to capture the second touchdown of the game. That score came on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Burger to James Midkiff.
Volunteer wouldn’t go quietly however. On their next possession, the Falcons put together an impressive drive spanning 16 plays and 80 yards, eventually finding the end zone to cut the Crockett lead to 14-7.
The long drive would be the only score of the second quarter and the teams would go into the half with Crockett maintaining a seven-point advantage.
Volunteer intercepted a Pioneer pass on the opening drive of the third quarter, but the Crockett defense would stymie the Falcons, eventually turning them over on downs.
The offense would soon capitalize. The first score of the second half came on a 19-yard pass and catch from Burger to Day to stretch the Crockett lead to 21-7.
Crockett’s Jeremy Collins recovered a Falcon fumble on the ensuing possession to set the Pioneers up for another score.
It would be Hill again plunging into the end zone from a yard out to push the Crockett lead to 28-7.
But Volunteer refused to go down quietly, bouncing back on their next possession with a score on a 21-yard run from Jovell Tremblay to send the contest to the final quarter with the score standing at 28-14.
The Falcons would make the game really interesting moments later when they nabbed the first score of the fourth quarter on a 9-yard touchdown pass to cut the Crockett advantage to just seven points.
That would be as close as Volunteer would get as the Crockett offense regained control of the game and finally dealt the Falcons a couple of final blows.
The first would come on a 12-yard Burger touchdown run and the latter on Hill’s third score of the game, this time from 2 yards out to give the Pioneers a 42-21 advantage.
That’s how the score would stay as the win pushed Crockett’s overall record to 5-3 on the season and 2-2 in the conference.
Hindered by the poor conditions, the Pioneers only threw for 61 yards on five completions but rushed for 199 yards. Both teams also lost two fumbles and combined for 15 penalties.
The Pioneers will have their first open date of the season next week before finishing off their regular season schedule at Tennessee High on Oct. 24 before concluding their season with the Musket Bowl against rival Daniel Boone on Oct. 30.