Piedmont too much to handle for Cherokee County

Another great high school football season has arrived for us here at WEIS Radio and we were happy to kick off our coverage this year at the appropriatly named Field of Champions that is home to the back-to-back defending Class 3A State Champion Piedmont Bulldogs, and we were graced with another addition to their rivalry with the Cherokee County Warriors out of 4A.

Out of the gate, both teams were certainly looking to play into things they may have gotten a chance to see when they both had their own challenges in Week 0 against Georgia teams Rockmart, which saw Piedmont lose 36-22, and Cedartown, with Cherokee County losing that one 41-14. Whether both coaches were able to get those gameplans updated and rolling the exact way they wanted to, at the end of the day it was a magnificent effort from Piedmont that resulted in a familiar result to previous years in this series with the Warriors that sealed the deal with a 42-20 Bulldog win.

To really put all of this into a better perspective though, you have to give credit to Cherokee County for doing all they could to tame the beast in the 1st half and no doubt they did it pretty well. Scouting out Piedmont’s offense, particularly with preventing the Bulldogs to put up their ill-fated attempts at 2-point conversions following touchdowns, played a huge factor in keeping the game within 12 points at halftime. That, of course, along with a pair of scoring efforts from the Cherokee County offense, a 5 yard run from senior QB Tyren Dupree and a 63 yard completion from Durpee to senior RB Sidney Perry.

More than likely though, the lack of that complete defensive shutdown from the Warriors played the biggest part in the game being so far out of their hands throughout the game, as Piedmont managed 4 touchdowns in that 1st half off the backs of senior QB Cardavion Myers on the offensive end, with a pair of touchdown passes of 58 yards to TJ Fairs and 45 yards to Darrien Bossie along with a 49 yard rushing score, and the little brother junior defensive back Carl Myers with a 47 yard pick 6 off of Dupree in the 2nd quarter. And the younger Myers was a big factor in the many tipped passes, massive pressure, and everything in between that kept Cherokee County from really finding a great identity in that first half of play.

The tough break for Cherokee County came in the second half when 2 more touchdowns, a pair of passes from Myers to Jenkins and Fairs in the 3rd, and a 42 yard field goal in the 4th from Piedmont paired with the 2 in the 1st half starting with the Myers to Bossie TD with 12 seconds left in the 1st quarter resulted in a total of 30-straight points for the Bulldogs that wouldn’t be answered until 8:20 left in the 4th when Perry broke off a 65 TD run.

That was the only answer Cherokee County could muster in the second half thanks to an impressive defensive showing from Piedmont that looked all around ready to chew up what was left of the Warriors chances, and by the time that final horn came, it was another year of Steve Smith’s young men concocting a win as they have become so great at doing since Smith’s arrival at the school.

With the win, Piedmont goes to 1-1 on the season while the loss will bring Cherokee County to a tough 0-2 start to the 2017 campaign. Both teams will be following this battle next week with some opening region battles as the Class 3A, Region 5 Bulldogs will face off against the Glencoe Yellowjackets (2-0) and the Warriors of Class 4A, Region 5 get to tackle a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinals as they welcome region rivals the Hokes Bluff Eagles (2-0).

As for us at WEIS Radio, we will be enjoying a different Region opening game as we head over to Gaylesville High School to see the 0-1 Trojans play host to the 0-1 Spring Garden Panthers. Week 1 is a tough wrap for all the county teams, and enjoy below some offensive stats from the Cherokee County-Piedmont game as well as results from other teams in the county.

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OFFENSIVE STATS

Cherokee County- 101 passing, 185 rushing
Piedmont- 274 passing, 367 rushing

PASSING LEADERS

Tyren Dupree (Cherokee County)- 7-for-18, 101 yds, 1 TD
Cardavion Myers (Piedmont)- 7-for-11, 274 yds, 4 TDs

RUSHING LEADERS

Sidney Perry (Cherokee County)- 5 rushes, 87 yds, 1 TD; Tyren Dupree- 15 rushes, 46 yds, 1 TD
Cardavion Myers (Piedmont)- 13 rushes, 156 yds, 1 TD; Lee Stanley- 14 rushes, 123 yds

RECEIVING LEADERS

Sidney Perry (Cherokee County)- 1 reception, 63 yds, 1 TD; Chance Latty- 3 receptions, 38 yds
TJ Fairs (Piedmont)- 2 receptions, 98 yds, 2 TDs; Darrien Bossie- 3 receptions, 87 yds, 1 TD

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OTHER COUNTY SCORES

Cedar Bluff Tigers (0-1)- 20-13 OT Loss vs North Sand Mountain
Sand Rock Wildcats (0-1)- 35-21 Loss vs Plainview
Spring Garden Panthers (0-1)- 35-6 Loss vs Beulah
Gaylesville Trojans (0-1)- 39-0 Loss vs Section