MT. JULIET – Cane Ridge repeatedly put the ball on the ground to help Mt. Juliet put the ball in the end zone as the Golden Bears held on for a 31-28 victory at Elzie Patton Stadium/Roger Perry Field in a televised season opener that lasted nearly three and one-half hours Thursday night.
The Ravens lost four fumbles, including one in the game’s first minute. Mt. Juliet scored 21 points on drives that began with a fumble recovery. The Golden Bears had a 17-point lead in each of the final three quarters but needed junior linebacker Brooklyn Nguyen’s interception near the Cane Ridge sideline with 12 seconds left in the game to secure the victory.
On the previous possession, Mt. Juliet’s Jon’Mikael Crudup sacked Joshua Reese on fourth down.
“That was not Cane Ridge football,” Ravens coach Eddie Woods said. “We have only four starters returning on offense and we lost a lot of leadership. Our quarterback is a young guy and is not the leader we need right now.
“It’s also hard to make those kinds of mistakes (turnovers and 100 yards in penalties) early in the game and overcome them.”
Both teams reached the playoffs last season and lost to the teams which played for the Class 5A championship. The teams combined for 53 passes on a night when the temperatures stayed near 80 degrees.
On the first play of the game, Mt. Juliet senior linebacker William Czerniak recovered Reese’s fumble at the Ravens’ 27. One play later, junior quarterback Tyler Travers lobbed a pass to Baylor Osborne in the end zone to give the Golden Bears a 7-0 lead just 20 seconds into the game.
Travers threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Brady Jones later in the first quarter. The Golden Bears took their first 17-point lead midway through the second quarter when Daniel Echeverria hit a 35-yard field goal, a kick that eventually provided the winning points.
Echeverria also had eight punts for an average of 36 yards per kick.
“We were very excited in the huddle with the quick touchdown, we thought this game would be a walk in the park,” Travers said. “Our defense was really tired in the second half but it was our fault on offense; we kept getting three-and-outs.”
Travers said that he tried to prepare for the heat after having a fever of 103 degrees three days before the game. He said he drank 1½ gallons of water and received an IV the day before the game and drank another 1½ gallons of water on the day of the game. Despite that preparation he said he felt sick late in the first half and at halftime.
Travers completed 10 of 22 passes for 80 yards and one interception. Six Mt. Juliet players caught at least one pass.
On the first play of Cane Ridge’s first possession of the second half, Kai Perry recovered a fumble at the Ravens’ 13. Two plays later, Harrison Edwards ran 8 yards for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead.
Cayson Walz recovered a Cane Ridge fumble in the first quarter.
Receiver Marte’on Matthews seemed to have put the Ravens in scoring position late in the third quarter with a 44-yard catch and run, but Golden Bears cornerback Deon Waller chased down Matthews and forced a fumble, which he recovered at the Mt. Juliet 19. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Crudup ran 36 yards up the middle for a touchdown to give Mt. Juliet a 31-14 lead. Freshman Tate Merbitz kicked the extra point.
Edwards led Mt. Juliet with 66 yards rushing on 17 carries and Crudup added 64 yards on 13 carries.
“We don’t talk about three-and-out with our defense, we talk about two-and-out or one-and-out by creating turnovers,” said Mt. Juliet Coach Trey Perry. In a postgame interview Perry dedicated the win to longtime high school football sportswriter Donovan Stewart, a close friend who died this month.
“They never panicked but neither did we, especially with so many new faces starting for us. We got a lot of experience tonight though.”
The Ravens had much more success throwing the ball. Reese completed 23 of 34 passes for 289 yards and all four Cane Ridge touchdowns. KaDarean Fletcher had a touchdown catch in each of the final three quarters and finished the game with six catches for 90 yards.
“I don’t celebrate touchdowns, I only want to celebrate wins,” Fletcher said. “When my quarterback sees me open and throws the ball, I just make the play.”
Mt. Juliet also plays its next game at home, Friday, Aug. 25 against Hunters Lane. The Golden Bears’ first road game is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 1 at Gallatin but Sumner County schools are having maintenance issues with their stadiums which could affect the date and site of games.
Cane Ridge will play at Ravenwood on Friday, Aug. 25 followed by another Thursday game on Aug. 31 at home against Antioch.
MT. JULIET 31, CANE RIDGE 28
CR 0 7 7 14 – 28
MJ – 14 3 7 7 – 31
Scoring Summary
First quarter
MJ – Baylor Osborne 27 pass from Tyler Travers (11:40), Daniel Echeverria kick
MJ – Brady Jones 14 pass from Travers (3:40), Echeverria kick
Second quarter
MJ – Echeverria 35 field goal
CR – KaDarean Fletcher 28 pass from Joshua Reese (1:11), Jamie Herrera-Nava kick
Third quarter
MJ – Harrison Edwards 8 run (8:12), Echeverria kick
CR – Fletcher 15 pass from Reese (7:12), Herrera-Nava kick
Fourth quarter
MJ – Jon’Mikael Crudup 36 run (11:52), Tate Merbitz kick
CR – Marte’on Matthews 22 pass from Reese (7:27), Herrera-Nava kick
CR – Fletcher 18 pass from Reese (4:42), Herrera-Nava kick
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