NO CALL

With the Williamsburg Yellow Jackets trailing 26-13 late in the game against Knox Central, one could sense this game was long from being over. And, it wasn’t. A missed extra point with 1:16 left in the game cost the Yellow Jackets an opening season win as Williamsburg lost to the Panthers, 26-25.
Knox Central actually got away with the win after a “no call” on the conversion. Senior Chase Hamblin was pushed in the back on the play but no flag resulted and the Panthers were able to walk away with the victory in the first Pioneer Bowl at Lynn Camp High School.
Although it came down to one final play, Williamsburg coach Jerry Herron was pleased with his team’s comeback after being down 14-0 early in the first period.
“We had a lot of mental mistakes and stalled in the red zone a few times,” said Herron. “Defensively, we lined up wrong, other than that the kids played hard.”
“We kept battling back and battling back,” said Herron.
The Panthers (1-0) scored on its first possession when quarterback Cory Smith hit Jordan Ellenburg on a 65 yard pass play with 9:43 in the quarter. Then on the Jackets first possession, quarterback Thomas Frazier had a pass picked off by Dexter Carnes. The Panthers drove the ball down the field, led by Brandon Tolliver. Tolliver scored with 3:38 in the quarter to push the Panthers ahead, 14-0.
Once the Jackets got the ball for a second time, it didn’t take long for Frazier and company to strike pay dirt. A 22 yard pass to Will Moses and a 25 yard pass to Hamblin set up the first TD of the game for Williamsburg. Frazier took the ball in for the final 15 yards with 2:39 on the clock.
After holding the Panthers, Williamsburg got the ball back and drove it down the field. The Jackets began at their own 23 yard line. A Frazier pass to sophomore Tyler Brown gave the Jackets a first down at the 39 yard line. Then a pass to Moses pushed Williamsburg down to the 19 yard line.
After getting inside the 13 yard line, the Jackets were called for a hold and the ball was moved back to the 22 yard line. An 11 yard pass to Aaron Root had the Jackets at the 11 yard line but an incomplete pass left Williamsburg 11 yards short of a first down. Hamblin tried a 32 yard field goal that was wide left.
The teams went to the break with Knox Central leading, 14-7.

See, JACKETS, Page C-9
Tolliver and the Panthers struck first in the third quarter for a 20-7 lead but Hamblin answered with a 77 yard kickoff return, cutting the lead back to seven, 20-13 with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
The Jackets missed on a chance to score late in the period when Williamsburg drove down to the 20 yard line before stalling out. A 23 yard pass to Hamblin and 17 yard pass to Alex Patrick where among the highlights in the drive. Williamsburg had to turn over the ball on downs after Frazier was sacked at the 26 yard line.
Another play that may have hurt the Jackets came when Knox Central faced a fourth and 11 from the 48. The Panthers looked to be stopped when the pass fell incomplete, but the Jackets were called for roughing the passer and Knox Central awarded a first down at the Williamsburg 37.
Knox Central went on to score when Tolliver crossed the goal line with 5:30 in the game. The Jackets struck on the first play of the next series when Aaron Root hauled in a 71 yard pass for a score seconds later.
A Knox Central turnover gave the ball back to Williamsburg when Tolliver fumbled with 4:01 left in the contest. Facing a second and ten from the 30, Frazier brooke loose on a 24 yard run to the six.
The Jackets failed to score on the first three plays but a four yard pass to Hamblin in the corner of the end zone allowed Williamsburg to pull within a point.
“Frazier played well,” said Herron. “It was probably one of his better games he has ever played for us.”
“Root dd really well catching the ball, he ran the ball hard,” added Herron. “Chase caught the ball well and played well on special teams.
“We gave them the first two touchdowns by lining up wrong,” said Herron. “Once we settled down and handled them. We gave them new life once with that roughing the passer. We had them stopped but that penalty killed us.”
The Jackets will host the Jellico Blue Devils Friday night and Herron expects the Tennessee boys to throw the football. “They throw it about everytime,” said Herron. “They are probably about 90 percent throwing the ball.”
“They look a lot like us when we first started throwing the ball,” he said. “It should be an interesting game.”

Knox Central 26, Williamsburg 25
Knox Central 14 0 6 6- 26
Williamsburg 7 0 6 12- 25
First Quarter
KC – Ellenburg, 65 pass from Smith (Tolliver run)
KC – Tolliver 12 run (run failed)
W – Frazier, 15 run (Hamblin kick)
Third Quarter
KC – Branstutter, 13 run (run failed)
W – Hamblin, 77 yard kickoff return (kick blocked)
Fourth Quarter
KC – Tolliver, 12 run (pass failed)
W – Root, 61 pass from Frazier (kick failed)
W – Hamblin, 4 pass from Frazier (pass failed)