Keesee, Vikings hold off Elizabethton to start 2-0

ELIZABETHTON — Knox Keesee passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and Carter Smith rushed 22 times for 127 yards as Tennessee High improved to 2-0 with a 20-17 victory at Elizabethton's Citizens Bank Stadium on Friday. It was the Vikings' first win in the series since 2008. The teams hadn't met since 2018 prior to last year. "I'm proud of our team," said Tennessee High coach Josh Holt, whose Vikings were without dynamic running back Elijah Plumbar due to injury. "Any time you talk about Elizabethton football – they're gonna be good. They're gonna be really good because they're coached extremely well and those kids buy in." Holt's players are obviously buying in, too. The Vikings won the line of scrimmage, and even on plays when the Cyclones stalemated or generated penetration, Smith seemed to finish through contact for additional yardage. "They did a great job up front," Elizabethton coach Shawn Witten said. "They ran the ball well. They sprinkled in the quarterback on a couple of plays. They were a tough, physical matchup and they had a great game plan." Tennessee High looked like it'd cruise to victory when Keesee ran to the end zone to convert a third-and-goal from the 9 with 5:10 left in the third quarter. The ensuing PAT from Dexter Dishner stretched Tennessee High's lead to 20-3. But Elizabethton quarterback Peyton Lingerfelt connected with Legend Pate for touchdown passes of 20 and 13 yards in the fourth quarter. The Cyclones second scoring strike cut the Vikings' lead to 20-17 with 5:22 left. But it was the last time Elizabethton's offense was on the field. A 14-yard run from Smith, a 13-yard pass to Jackson Reed and a 15-yard facemask penalty on third and long all helped the Vikings run out the clock. "We tried to stay composed out there," Keesee said. "Our key word is finish, and that's what we try to do every rep and every game." Keesee ran eight times for 70 yards. He was 5 of 7 passing for 118 yards. "Knox is just a competitor," Holt said. "He competes, and it brings these other guys along with him. We had a couple of guys cramping, Plumbar was out. Carter Smith played a heck of a game." Keesee threw a 57-yard TD pass to Bo Utsman with 2:44 left in the first half and a 17-yard scoring strike to Brenton Baker with 8:16 left in the third quarter. But a Tennessee High turnover and a 22-yard loss due to an errant shotgun snap on a fourth-and-three at the Elizabethton 41 with 7:18 remaining helped dramatically shift momentum. "It's good to see us finish the way we did," Witten said, "but we're in a tough spot right now and we've gotta find a way to come out with a big win next week." It looked like the game would be scoreless at halftime. But the turtle derby turned into a shootout of sorts during the final three minutes of the first half. Tennessee High, out of a timeout, opened the scoring with the 53-yard touchdown pass to Utsman. The Vikings converted a third-and-7 on the scoring strike – a long, toss in stride to an open receiver. Elizabethton answered with a 49-yard field goal by William Bowers on the final play of the first half. The field goal was set up by a 23-yard completion from Lingerfelt to Ryan Jones. There was 13 seconds left on the clock when the play began, and the clock never ran during the play. It seemed all but implausible that Elizabethton, without a timeout, could complete a 23-yard flea flicker and dash downfield and get on the ball to spike it in nine seconds, but four seconds were put on the game clock after the confusion created a clock stoppage. If Bowers' boot had ultimately factored into the outcome, it would've been especially hard for Tennessee High coaches and players to digest. But the Vikings immediately regained momentum in the second half. Keesee faked a handoff to Carter Smith and ran for 38 yards to the Elizabethton 42-yard line on the first play of the third quarter. Three plays later, he converted a third-and-six with a 19-yard pass to Baker. Three plays after that, he converted a third-and-eight with the 17-yard TD pass to Baker. Keesee executed a play-action fake, rolled right and calmly threw accurately to Baker in the end zone. Tennessee High started its second drive of the second half at the Elizabethton 24 thanks to an eight-yard punt. Smith ran 18 yards to the 6-yard line on first down. After a Vikings timeout, Keesee ran around left end on a designed run for a 9-yard TD. The PAT was blocked, but the Vikings led 20-3. Lingerfelt ran 10 times for 39 yards. He was 13 of 19 passing for 135 yards. Elizabethton will visit West Ridge on Friday. Tennessee High will travel to Science Hill. Scoring summary Second quarter TH—Bo Utsman 57 pass from Knox Keesee (Dexter Dishner kick), 2:44 E—William Bowers 49 FG, 0:00 Third quarter TH—Brenton Baker 17 pass from Knox Keesee (Dexter Dishner kick), 8:16 TH—Knox Keesee 9 run (kick blocked), 5:10 Fourth quarter E—Legend Pate 20 pass from Peyton Lingerfelt (William Bowers kick), 10:52 E—Legend Pate 13 pass from Peyton Lingerfelt (William Bowers kick), 5:22