Elizabethton wasn’t going to be deterred on Friday night.
Jeriah Griffin intercepted a Dobyns-Bennett pass in the closing minutes and Elizabethton was able to ice out a 14-7 victory over the Class 6A Indians in Kingsport.
With the win, the Cyclones remain undefeated on the season.
It was an epic battle from the opening kick.
Elizabethton held the ball for the first nine minutes of the game but was unable to come away with points.
After the Cyclone defense jumped on an Indian fumble a couple of plays later, the second quarter started with both teams fumbling on the same play with the Cyclones keeping the ball at midfield.
That allowed Will Bowers to put EHS on the board first with a 25-yard field goal.
The Elizabethton defense forced DB off the field on fourth down twice in the latter stages of the half to hold onto a 3-0 lead at the break.
Dobyns-Bennett’s offense came out of the locker room quickly to open the third quarter as they used a nine-play drive to cover 71 yards and take a 7-6 lead after Tylen Taylor caught a Will Hurd 17-yard touchdown pass.
The Cyclones answered with a 12-play drive of their own, but they had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Bowers as EHS trailed 7-6 going to the fourth.
On the final play of the third quarter, Zach Wallin intercepted a DB pass to set Elizabethton at near midfield to open the fourth.
Four plays later, Elizabethton saw Griffin score on a five-yard touchdown run and then he added a two-point conversion to give EHS a 14-7 lead with 10:37 to play.
The Indians moved into EHS territory on a 14-play drive, but Griffin’s interception in the endzone ended the drive.
Zeth Mullins had a pair of key runs that allowed EHS to run out the final four minutes to secure the win and set off the celebration amongst the Cyclone faithful.
Mullins finished with 149 yards on 22 carries for EHS, while Kaleb Holzer had 12 carries for 56 yards.
Rhett Slagle went 11-of-15 for 168 yards, while Griffin had five catches for 76 yards. Mullins added two catches for 47 yards.
Hayden Jobe finished with 81 yards on 12 carries for the Indians.
As a team, Elizabethton outgained DB 395-213.
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