Elizabethton left it all out on the field.
The Cyclones were on the wrong end of a heartbreaking 21-14 decision to Tullahoma in double overtime on Saturday in the BlueCross Bowl Class 4A State Championship in Chattanooga at Finley Stadium.
The loss denied Elizabethton three straight state championships.
“It was a great performance by both teams,” Elizabethton head coach Shawn Witten said. “It came down to the last play with lots of gut-wrenching performances. This was obviously disappointing, but I’m super proud of our guys. We accepted challenges all year long.”
Points for both offenses were hard to come by as neither team was able to break onto the scoreboard.
Tullahoma put the first points of the day up when Ryan Scott scored on a seven-yard run in the opening minute of the second quarter.
Elizabethton responded in a big way as the EHS offense went on a 13-play drive that covered 80 yards while eating nearly seven minutes off the clock. The drive was capped as Jake Roberts caught a three-yard pass from Bryson Rollins. The extra point tied things up at 7-7 at the half.
Points remained at a premium in the second half as both teams saw promising drives come up empty.
Jake Roberts ended the first Wildcats drive with an interception at the goal line. Neither team was able to take advantage of promising drives over the rest of the half – including a huge defensive stop by the Cyclones on fourth-and-goal at the one-yard line with just over two and a half minutes to play.
EHS was unable to get within striking distance as the game ended regulation tied at 7-7.
In the first overtime, Rollins capped off Elizabethton’s first offensive series with a one-yard touchdown and Sean Smithdeal added the extra point.
Tullahoma, however, responded on their first play of the possession as Keishawn Cummings scored on the first play of the drive.
In the second overtime, Tullahoma scored in three plays as Jacob Dixon scored on a Scott pass from five yards out.
Elizabethton, however, was unable to force overtime as their second possession was stopped with a turnover.
Rollins had a strong showing in his final game in the orange and black as he had 35 carries for 138 yards, while also going 16-of-26 for 131 yards.
Teddy Orton had 50 receiving yards, while Dalton Mitchell and Cade Russell had 30 and 26 receiving yards, respectively.
Scott was 12-of-16 passing for 124 yards while adding 16 carries for 88 yards on the ground.
As a team, Elizabethton had 300 yards of total offense compared to 337 yards from Tullahoma.
