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WEAKLEY COUNTY INFORMATION

By Jason Peevyhouse Sports Editor

     Domination. An offensive slump. An opponents rally. A final spring to seal the win. Westview's crowd got to see this wide range of scenarios during the Chargers 34-18 victory over the Booker T. Washington Warriors on Friday night in the first round of the TSSAA Class 2A playoffs in Martin.
     After a 32-yard return from Brady Legens to start the game and a penalty to start the game for the Chargers, Westview's offense got their short, first drive started with a 6-yard run by Markei Guy. Josh Williams followed with an impressive run as he broke through the BTW defense for a 47-yard touchdown run. The snap failed to reach the holder on the PAT, but Westview took an early 6-0 lead just 43 seconds into the game.
     Westview's offense did not have to wait long for its second drive as the Charger kickoff team forced a fumble and Travis Edwards recovered the loose ball at the Warrior 24-yard line.
     After the Warriors further aided the Westview cause with an offsides penalty, two plays later the Chargers were in the end zone again as Brandon Pate found an open Cory Davis for a 19-yard scoring strike. Guy added the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0 with 10:54 left in the first frame.
     Despite runs of six yards by Stephen Jones and five yards by Octavious Singleton when the BTW offense finally took the field, the Warriors were pushed back with a pair of penalties and forced to punt.
     However, two five-yard losses negated the following six yard run by Guy and the Chargers were forced to punt the ball right back to the Warriors.
     But, on the first play of the drive, Brandon Box intercepted an errant pass and returned it 23 yards to the Warrior 31-yard line.
     The Chargers handed the ball to Guy on four straight plays during the four-play drive. After a short loss on the initial carry, Guy picked up 18 yards on the second carry and followed that with a four-yard pickup. Guy then capped the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The PAT failed, leaving the score 20-0 with 6:03 left in the first frame.
Westview's defense continued to stop the Warrior attack, forcing another punt.
     However, the Charger offense was dealt its first blow of the night as Josh Williams went down to a knee injury on a two-yard run on the drive's first play. But, Guy picked up the pace, getting a first down with a nine-yard carry.  Though the Charger offense seemed to stall after a penalty, a 28-yard run by Pate took the Chargers away from the midfield area and placed them at the Warrior 22. Two plays later, Pate found Davis again, this time for a 16-yard touchdown pass. Blake Alexander nailed the extra point to increase the Charger lead to 27-0 with 54 seconds left in the first frame.
     But, the Westview offense was dealt another severe blow when Guy was injured on a tackle during the ensuing kickoff.
     BTW finally got its offense going at the start of the second frame. A five-yard pass from Chris Avery to Antonio Knowlton picked up the Warriors first first down of the night. Two plays later, BTW running back Singleton got another first down as his nine-yard run took the Warriors near midfield. Though the Warriors got another first down three plays later when Avery found Singleton for a 12-yard gain, the Charger defense stepped up and stopped the Warriors from advancing further and BTW was forced to punt again.
     The Warrior defense stepped up on the next Charger drive, as DeAndre Buford picked off an errant pass and took the ball to midfield.
     However, a 10-yard penalty on the drive's first play was too much for the Warriors to overcome as they were once again forced to punt the ball away.
     Westview, behind the running of Mathew Tucker was able to get the ball moving as, after a short gain by Pate, Tucker carried the ball four straight times for 24 yards, picking up two first downs along the way. After a short loss and an eight-yard pass from Pate to Brad White, Cory Davis picked up a first down with a 12-yard end-around play. But a 10-yard penalty and a seven-yard loss stalled the Charger drive before the half as they turned the ball over on downs at the 9-yard line with just a dozen seconds left in the half.
The Warriors elected to take a knee and go to the lockerroom for the half.
     As much as it had belonged to Westview in the first half, for the majority of second half momentum would be in BTW's favor.
     A short gain on the opening play of the Warriors first second half drive led to a pair of runs by Jones to pick up a first down. Avery then found Antoniyo Davis for a six-yard pass and another first down. After a nine-yard run by Jones, Avery kept the ball and picked up another first down with a two-yard plunge. Runs by Jones, Avery and Omar Fears took the ball down to the Westview 13-yard line. After the drive seemed ready to stall with a five-yard penalty and a run for no gain, Avery found an open Knowlton for a touchdown pass to make the score 27-6 with 6:05 left in the third frame.
     Westview was able to get the ball moving again during its next drive as Tucker led the way, carrying the ball three times for 22 yards, getting a first down. Pate also got a first down with a 15-yard run of his own. But, a fumble near the Warrior 30-yard line ended the drive.
     Boosted by their defensive unit, the Warrior offense got short runs by Jones and fears that were aided by a pass interference penalty for a first down. The Warriors got another first down on a 30-yard pass from Avery to Knowlton. The Westview defense was able to step up and force the Warriors into a passing situation on third down.  However, the Warriors were able to get on the board again as Avery found Singleton for a touchdown pass with half of a second left in the third quarter to make the score 27-12.
Westview got one of its offensive cogs back early in the fourth quarter as Guy returned to carry the ball eight times. However, the standout running back was limited to 14 yards on those carries. Westview was also able pick up a pair of first downs from other players - on an 18-yard run by Legens and a nine-yard carry by Pate. But the Charger drive stalled after a fumble led to a big loss, forcing Westview to punt.
     Three plays into the ensuing drive, the Warriors got a huge break as Avery found Knowlton for a 60-yard aerial pick up to the Westview 12-yard line. From there, a four-yard Jones run led to an Avery to Knowlton touchdown pass to make the score 27-18 with 3:28 left in the game.
     Momentum stayed on the side of the Warriors as they were able to get the onside kick back. However, after a 20-yard pass from Jones to Knowlton, the Charger defense stepped up and stopped the Warriors at the 16-yard line.
     After an eight-yard run by Guy to start the ensuing Charger drive, the senior tailback broke free for a 76-yard run to seal the win for the Chargers. Alexander's extra point made the score 34-18 with 1:20 left in the game.
     The Westview defense then made sure the momentum the Warriors had through the second half did not return as they kept BTW off the board for the remainder of the game.
Westview will host Milan in the second round of the Class 2A TSSAA State Playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday night at Hardy Graham Stadium on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Martin.
     Milan and Westview have met three times in the past four postseasons with Milan holding a 2-1 advantage. Last season, the Bulldogs defeated Westview 25-7 in the second round of the TSSAA playoffs. In 2002, Milan also defeated Westview in the second round, this time 28-21. In 2001, Westview claimed its only victory of the Bulldogs in the postseason, winning a 40-21 second round game.