Coalfield vs Stone Memorial Game Preview
By Greg Addington
First and foremost, everyone at Coalfield School and CHS Athletics sends our condolences to the Stone Memorial family on the passing of SMHS junior wide receiver Grant Bullock, who tragically lost his life in an accident back on August 17th.
The Panthers fell to Grace Christian Academy last week at Panther Stadium in Crossville by a final score of 34-6. Stone turned a Ram fumble into six points when senior Isaac Dunaway made the end zone recovery. The Rams would then score 34 straight points to claim the opening night victory. Stone’s offense runs the spread and is led by sophomore quarterback Bryant Carter, who threw for 70 yards on 9 of 22 passing against GCA. Senior running back Zach Street will lead the Panther ground game which gained 213 net yards against Grace. Defensively, Stone runs a base 3-4 with linebacker Grant Finley and defensive end Cedric Little among the ones to watch when Coalfield has the ball.
Last week, Coalfield edged past Wartburg in an instant classic 18-12 on Rochelle Field. Senior Isaac Vanwitzenburg picked off a Tyler Davis pass with 42 seconds remaining in the game and caught the game winning touchdown pass from Cole Hines on a slant with just 9.8 seconds left. The win extended the Jackets win streak over the Bulldogs to 10 games in the series. Seth Lowe ran for 150 yards on 15 carries and Daniel Schaar led the way defensively with 15 tackles, two for loss and a sack. Freshman quarterback Cole Hines managed the game well, threw for two touchdown passes with no turnovers.
Coalfield gets a boost this week with the return to duty of senior quarterback/defensive back Peyton McKinney, who had to sit out last week. His return opens up the offense and also improves the defensive secondary. The Jackets missed his athleticism on both sides of the ball last week against Wartburg, but will have McKinney on board going forward.
Coalfield faces Stone Memorial High School on Friday night in Crossville. Kickoff time will be 7:30 eastern/6:30 central time.