Staff Reports

ONEONTA – For a half Friday night, things were going smoothly for the Cherokee County Warriors in their Class 4A, Region 6 football game at fifth-ranked Oneonta on its homecoming. They built a two-score advantage heading into halftime.

But two Redskin touchdowns by junior running back Da’marion “Fluff” Bothwell in the fourth quarter spoiled the Warriors’ chances of remaining unbeaten as they fell by the final of 17-14.

Oneonta (4-0, 2-0) took an early 3-0 advantage on a 27-yard field goal with 4:03 remaining in the first quarter, but the eight-ranked Warriors (3-1, 1-1) responded on Cade Hopper’s quarterback draw for a 43-yard touchdown run. Will Frampton’s extra point provided the Warriors a 7-3 advantage after one.

Cherokee County extended its lead to 14-3 with 4:09 remaining in the first half on a 60-yard Jacob Cornejo touchdown run.

After a scoreless third, Oneonta finally found its offense behind Bothwell in the fourth.

His first score came on a 15-yard run up the middle with 7:14 left. The try for two failed, but the Redskins were just a score away from taking the lead, down 14-9.

Bothwell later caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Landon Abernathy for the go-ahead score with 1:21 to go. He ran in for the 2-point conversion to give the Redskins their first lead since the first quarter at 17-14.

The Warriors had one final chance to regain the lead. They moved the ball inside the Redskin 45-yard line with 49 seconds remaining, but Oneonta’s defense held on a fourth-and-10 with 24 seconds left to clinch the win.

Cherokee County looks to rebound at Hanceville on Friday. Oneonta travels to Fultondale.