Science Hill and Elizabethton’s football teams will meet for the 100th time when the Cyclones visit Kermit Tipton Stadium on Friday.
Hilltoppers coach Stacy Carter probably felt like he’d aged a hundred years in the opening four minutes of last year’s 27-7 loss at Elizabethton. A barrage of Science Hill gaffe’s vaulted Elizabethton to a 21-0 lead with 7:58 left in the first quarter.
“I mean, heck, we gave ‘em three turnovers last year before you turn around on a snap, a punt and a pick-six,” Carter said. “If you do that, you can’t beat anybody.”
It was the fifth win in the last six meetings for Shawn Witten’s Cyclones after they’d dropped 10 straight to the ’Toppers.
Sustaining that trend will be a chore for Elizabethton. Science Hill bounced back to beat Anderson County the following week and ended the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
Quarterback Spencer Taylor took over after a 2-3 start to engineer the wins streak.
“We won the last five before we lost to Maryville (in the playoffs), and he played really good in that second half against Maryville the first time (in a reserve role),” Carter said. “The second time he threw it well against ‘em, but they just dominated us and ran it down our throats.”
Taylor has proven pass-catchers in Steven Famoyin and 6-foot-5 Sullivan East transfer Corbin Laisure, who has committed to Colorado.
Elizabethton coach Shawn Witten, and understandably so, invariably notes Science Hill’s speed, skill and depth. This year’s no exception.
“Science Hill creates a lot of tough matchups,” Witten said. “They’ve got weapons. The quarterback got experience last year. They’re deep at the running back position.”
Indeed, Carter has a stable of running backs. Senior Baylor Necessary, junior Ian Mathes, sophom*ore Nalique Anderson and junior Daniel Boone transfer Aiden Perry are all talented enough to start.
“We like those four running backs,” Carter said. “We got a good one from Daniel Boone. Ian can run. We haven’t run Baylor much in scrimmages, but he can run it.
“Anderson weighed 241 in the spring and now he’s about 218. He’s a big kid – he’s a man. He’s very athletic. Really, if you put him at middle linebacker, him and Baylor would probably be the two best out there.”
Elizabethton has weapons in quarterback Rhett Slagle, athlete Jeriah Griffin and power back in Jaiden “J. Bird” Wallin, a 5-foot-10, 220-pound back who carried 12 times for 45 yards last year against the ‘Toppers at closer to 250 pounds.
“Jeriah’s their best player,” Carter said. “If the big running back gets going, he’ll run over you. He did last year. You’ve gotta get him before he gets started.
“Slagle’s a good player. I think he’s very talented. He’s very accurate.”
Carter is also high on Elizabethton defensive end Ben Adams. So is Witten.
“Ben’s got a high motor,” Witten said. “That’s the way he is 24/7. His engine never stops.”
And Adams is as good of a teammate as he is a player.
“He’s such a likeable kid,” Witten said. “He plays about as hard as anyone we’ve got. Him and (Mason) Ball last year did a great job of wreaking havoc at defensive end.
“Guys like Ben are what sums up high school football. It’s not always about being the biggest, the fastest or the strongest. Ben’s an undersized outside linebacker/defensive lineman, but man, he flies all over the field.”
Carter likes Science Hill’s chances against the Cyclones if it’ll stay out of its own way.
“We think Baylor’s as good as anyone around,” Carter said. “We think Spencer throws it well. We think Steven Famoyin’s good. We know our backs are good. We’ve got a lot of guys that we’ve got faith in, for sure.
“We’ve just gotta execute. We’ve got a good bunch. You just don’t know how good until you play. We’ll see what happens.”
Of course, Witten’s team will walk onto Steve Spurrier Field expecting to win. It beat Science Hill with a relatively green quarterback last year, and now Slagle is seasoned.
“Rhett had a remarkable year last year,” Witten said. “Everything he went through gets us here to this point. He’s learned so much and done a great job of just growing, learning and maturing. I couldn’t be more proud of the steps he’s made this preseason. He’s just been a pleasure to work with.
“And Rhett’s pretty solid, especially when you see him with pads on. He’s put together for a young man that’s just a junior. He’s one of the stronger guys we’ve got on our team. He’s rock solid and he’s as fierce a competitor as I’ve had.”
Griffin has carved out his place in Cyclones lore.
“I’m super proud of Jeriah,” Witten said. “He’s had back-to-back all-state years. He’s gotten better and better on both sides of the ball, and he’s also developed into a special kick returner and punt returner as well.
“He has a good football IQ. He really studies the game and wants to do more. He’s learned so much from the guys before him who have paved the way like Parker (Hughes), Bryson (Rollins), Jake (Roberts) and Nate (Stephens). He’s really tried to hold the standard amongst Cyclones football tradition.”
For a man with players such as Griffin, Slagle and Adams, Witten sounds somewhat skeptical about his squad’s prospects at Science Hill.
“It’s gonna take everything we’ve got in order to pull out a big win tomorrow night,” Witten said. “We’re gonna have to play pretty well. We’re going to have to have a pretty gutsy performance. Our kids are pretty tough. They’re pretty resilient. That’s been a big staple for our program.”
Sound fundamentals have been too, but Witten says that can all go out the window in openers.
“You can practice and try to simulate things all you want to,” he said, “but there’s nothing like getting on the field for the first time under those Friday night lights.”
