Frazier flying high

Fans of Williamsburg and Cumberland couldn’t have ask for a more exciting high school football game last week in the mountains of Southeastern Kentucky. The Jackets and Redskins scored in every quarter as Williamsburg came out of Cumberland with a 48-41 win.
The victory over the Redskins and the Lynn Camp loss to Somerset locked up the number three seed for coach Jerry Herron’s Jackets. They will travel to either Harlan or Somerset for the first-round of the playoffs, Friday, November 3.
Despite big numbers being put up by both teams, the game was never more than an eight-point (14-6) margin and Williamsburg trailed only once (34-33) in the game.
“The kids and the assistant coaches did a remarkable job,” said Herron. “Coach Hatcher’s defense played unbelievable and had great skeams and Coach Woods called some great plays and Coach Root had the guys ready. All my assistant coaches coached their butt’s off and I am proud of them.”
“What can you say about these kids,” Herron said. “These kids absolutely get after it. They are such a joy for us to coach. We love coming to work and we love watching them play.”
“All the way from the seniors to the freshmen,” he added. “They can get injured, they can be bleeding, they don’t want to come out of the game.”
“They are fun to be a part of and I am just glad to be a part of it,” said Herron.
It’s easy to make those remarks when you play players like Thomas Frazier, Chase Hamblin and Aaron Root on offense. The three are among the top 20 players in the state in several categories.
Frazier, the Jackets’ senior quarter back ran for 197 yards on 21 carries and scored the first and last touchdown of the game. He scored the first touchdown on a 65 yard run to put the Jackets ahead 6-0 in the opening quarter then scored on a seven yard keeper with :30 left in the game to help lead his team to the win.
Not only did he have big yardage on the ground, but he threw the ball for 334 yards and finished the night with 531 yards of total offense. He also scored in the opening minutes of the third quarter to break a 21-21 tie.
The game was tied 27-27 heading into the final period when senior Aaron Root scored in the early minutes as Williamsburg moved ahead, 33-27. That touchdown was the first of five to be scored in the final period. It was also the first time of the night that Cumberland had grabbed the lead away from the Jackets.
Root scored on a one-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter only to see Michael Washington catch a pass from Zach Blanton and ramble 61 yards into the end zone with 7:11 left in the game. Jonathan Fields then gave Cumberland a brief 34-33 lead.
Williamsburg reclaimed the lead on its next series as catches by Alex Patrick and Steven Jeffries helped move the ball down the field. Frazier ran the TD across with 5:34 left in the game. A pass to Jeffries on the conversion pushed the Jackets’ lead to 41-34.
Cumberland answered with an impressive drive of their own and scored with three minutes left in the game on a 27 yard screen pass from Blanton to Gilliam. The PAT tied the score for the fifth time, 41-41.
Williamsburg showed they could also move the ball down the field in a matter of seconds. Frazier took the first down play 14 yards, followed by a Root run for 12 yards. A third straight first down saw Frazier break loose on a 12 yard run. A pass to Jeffries for eight yards left the Jackets short of a first-down but Root picked up 17 yards on the ensuing carry to the two yard line. Frazier went into the end zone on the next play for the 47-41 lead. Frazier added the PAT, leaving the Jackets ahead by seven.
Should the Redskins drive the ball down for the final score, they would have to go for two to get the win. That never materialized as Blanton missed on his target two straight times before being sacked for a two-yard loss.
The fourth and 12 pass failed as the Jackets took over and ran out the clock.
“Root played unbelievable,” said Herron. “He just would not go down.”
“Thomas had an unbelievable game,” said Herron. “He got hurt but sucked it up and went back in. He was cramping and in pain, but sucked up and went back in.”
“The kids, you just can’t hold them back, they wanna play, they just love playing football here,” Herron said. “You could see it in their eyes at half-time, it was destiny, they were going to do it.”
“The line did really well tonight,” said Herron. “Anytime we can meet out goals, it’s a credit to our guys up front. We have great backs, great skilled positions but without our up-front guys we couldn’t do it.”
The Jackets will host Lynn Camp Friday night in what promises to be another classic between the two schools.

Williamsburg 14 7 6 21- 48
Cumberland 6 15 6 14- 41
First Quarter
W – Frazier, 65 run (pass failed)
C – Gilliam, 53 run (kick failed)
W – Patrick, 19 pass from Frazier (Root run)
Second Quarter
C – Simmons, 6 run (Blanton run)
W – Jeffries, 10 pass from Frazier (Frazier kick)
C – Washington, 19 pass from Blanton (Fields kick)
Third Quarter
W – Frazier, 3 run (kick failed)
C – Gilliam, 42 run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
W – Root, 11 run (kick failed)
C – Washington, 61 pass from Blanton (Fields kick)
W – Frazier, 2 run (Jeffries pass from Frazier)
C – Gilliam, 27 pass from Blanton (Fields kick)
W – Frazier, 2 run (Frazier kick)