By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – The heavy-set offense is what the Cherokee County Warriors have run so well for the better part of the past two football seasons. Many of their opponents simply don’t have an answer for it.
That was the case for the Fultondale Wildcats on Friday night.
Senior running back Jacob Cornejo collected 156 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. He also threw for a 22-yard score to Ben Moseley in the third quarter, and the Warrior defense took care of the rest in a 35-0 victory to remain undefeated on the season.
“At first (two other offensive sets) weren’t really working, but then we put in heavy and they really didn’t have an answer for it,” Cornejo said. “At that point we just started breaking their will. Our defense started doing well, which made them one-sided. They could only throw the ball.”
That had the Warrior defenders licking their chops. Alex Johnson and Cooper Rodgers both picked off Wildcat quarterback Brandon Woodall, and Carson Chesnut recovered a fumble to help preserve the Warrior shutout, their third of the season.
“The defense did a great job of getting lined up and playing physical, being hard to block, and really making them one-dimensional,” Cherokee County coach Jacob Kelley said. “They’ve got some good backs, but we did a good job of forcing them into passing situations. Obviously getting up on them, we forced them to kind of throw it around a little bit. I thought we did a good job of defending what they had, making them one-dimensional and creating turnovers. Those are always good to have.”
As is the Warrior running game.
In addition to Cornejo’s big night, Keyshawn Woods accounted for 94 yards on eight carries. Tae Diamond delivered 47 yards on three totes with two scores. Quarterback Carson Tittle tallied 44 yards on six carries.
“I thought Jacob ran the ball hard. Keyshawn did a great job, and then Tae came in and had some really good runs for us, just being a bowling ball in there,” Kelley said. “Tittle mixed in some key runs, so it was really good to see that.”
Coming off a bye week, the second-ranked Warriors (7-0, 4-0 Class 4A, Region 6) scored on their first possession of the game. Following Ben Frampton’s 52-yard opening kickoff return, Cornejo capped a five-play drive with his 4-yard score. Frampton’s extra point made it 7-0 Warriors.
Johnson intercepted Woodall late in the first quarter, which led to another Cornejo touchdown – this one from 11 yards – to provide the Warriors a 14-0 advantage.
Following a Fultondale punt, Diamond put the finishing polish on a 9-play, 98-yard drive with his 14-yard score, giving Cherokee County a 21-0 edge at halftime.
On Fultondale’s first offensive play of the third quarter, running back Rodreckus Johnson fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Chesnut. Eight plays later, Cornejo found Moseley for a 22-yard touchdown connection to make it 28-0 Warriors with 7:36 left in the third quarter.
Diamond scored on a 29-yard run later in the third quarter for the final.
Woodall led the Wildcats (2-5, 2-2) by completing 12-of-26 pass attempts for 98 yards.
On a night where so much went right for the Warriors, it wasn’t without cost. On Rodgers’ interception late in the second quarter, he injured his shoulder and did not return to action. He was seen in a sling in the second half.
Kelley said it appeared Rodgers fractured his collarbone.
“I hate it for Cooper. He made a great play (on the interception),” Kelley said. “We’ll get him into rehab and hopefully have him back.”
With a playoff berth already in hand, the Warriors can take another step toward their second straight region championship with a win next week at Etowah. The Warriors won a thriller in last season’s battle, 45-42.
“We’ve set ourselves up again,” Kelley said. “We’re a win away from winning a region championship. Next week is going to be big for us. We’ve just got to finish. We’ve got to have a great week of practice and preparation. Etowah always plays us tough. They’re athletic, so we’ve got to make sure we’re locked in and do what we need to do to come out on top and be region champions again.”
“I think everybody’s ready,” Cornejo said. “I think everybody’s prepared for it.”
