ADDISON, Ala. – Addison hosted their region rival, Cherokee Indians, for homecoming and it turned into a happy night for the home team. Addison ran away with the game and came away with a win by a score of 54-6. Addison also crowned the lovely Bailee Ory, daughter of Bill and Kim Ory, as 2023 Homecoming Queen. Miss Ory is a Senior at Addison and is a standout volleyball player on Addison’s championship volleyball team. Congratulations Bailee on a well-deserved honor.
Addison kicked off to Cherokee, who came into the game 2-0, and it was just the start of what was to become a very long night for the visiting Indians. After gaining a whopping -5 yards on three plays, Cherokee punted to Addison’s all everything Jed Wilkins. Wilkins promptly returned the punt 43 yards, down to the Cherokee 14-yard line. Two plays later, Braden Luker took it in untouched from 13 yards out for Addison’s first touchdown. The extra point was no good and at the 9:40 mark of the first quarter, Addison led 6-0.
Cherokee’s second possession was worse than the first as Addison’s Dawg Pound Defense again smothered the Indians and forced them to punt after they had lost -10 yards. Addison took over at the Indian 45-yard line. After a Luker 5-yard run, Wilkins took it to the house from 40 yards out and stretched the lead to 12-0. Wilkins then found Kaden Dyson for the two-point conversion and Addison led 14-0 with 7:17 left in the first.
An excellent kickoff return from Cherokee put them with a first and 10 at the Bulldog 35-yard line and it looked like they were going to get back in the game. But it wasn’t to be as two Addison sacks, the first by Bradley Willette and the second by Bobby Williams, had them facing a fourth and 26 from their own 49-yard line. Cherokee punted and Wilkins returned it 77 yards for the touchdown. Unfortunately, for the second week in a row, Wilkins had a long kick return touchdown called back by penalty. Addison took over on their own 12-yard line and it didn’t take long for them to hit pay dirt. Hayden Holland gained 8 yards on two carries and then facing a third and 2, Luker rambled 46 yards down to the Indian 34-yard line. Luker followed that run up by darting the final 34 yards for his second touchdown of the night. The extra point was no good and still with 3:57 to go in the first quarter, Addison led 20-0.
Addison’s Tanner Lawrence sacked the Indian Quarterback to put an end to their next possession and Addison took over at the Indian 45. Two plays later and on the first play of the second quarter, Wilkins found Jordan Hubbert on a swing pass and Hubbert found the endzone 47 yards later. Hubbert ran in the two-point conversion and Addison had a commanding 28-0 lead with 11:38 to go in the half.
This is when Addison’s Head Coach David Smothers put in the young ones to get them some experience and they actually played pretty well against Cherokee’s first-string offense and defense. Addison’s Pound Puppies Offense had a 13 play, 55-yard drive for a touchdown to end the first half. Trennon Burns steam rolled his way in for the 1-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first half. The two-point pass from Luker to Dyson was good and at the half, Addison led 36-0.
The second half began and both head coaches agreed on a running clock for the remainder of the game. Addison’s young squad took the ball first and mounted another impressive 13 play 65-yard touchdown drive. It consisted of 12 running plays and 2 pass plays. The final play of the drive was QB Dyson finding Scout Flynn in the corner of the endzone for a beautiful throw and catch for an 8-yard touchdown. The point after was missed and the Bulldogs were leading 42-0 with 3:11 to go in the third quarter.
Addison then had Cherokee pinned literally at their own inch line, facing a third down and 19 to go when Cherokee’s lone happy play occurred. Cherokee QB Jon Schleifer found a streaking JB Dean down the home sideline for a 99.99-yard touchdown pass. There is no doubt that had to be the longest play in Addison’s Stadium history. The extra point was no good and Addison led 42-6.
The Indian happiness didn’t last long as on the ensuing kickoff, Addison’s Luker returned the kickoff 69-yards for the touchdown. Luker basically said, “What you can do, I can do better!” The extra point was no good and with 11:38 to go in the game, Addison led 48-6.
The nail in the coffin for the Indians was on the Indians first play of the next possession, Addison Defensive Lineman Casen Hill lived out every defensive lineman’s dream. Hill tackled the ball carrier three yards behind the line of scrimmage and before the runner hit the ground, stripped the ball from him, recovered the fumble and rumbled, it took a while, 30 yards for the final score. The point after was no good and Addison had a 54-6 lead with 8:08 to go.
Cherokee’s last drive was stopped by a Cole Rodgers interception.
Addison moves to 2-1 (2-0 region) and will travel to Hackleburg for a huge region game. Cherokee will travel to Phillips in Bear Creek, Alabama.
Unofficial stats
Addison had 33 running plays for 236 yards and 6 pass plays for 68 yards. Addison ran 39 total plays for 304 total yards. Cherokee has 16 running plays for -22 total yards. Cherokee had 17 pass plays for 123 total yards (99 yards coming on one play). Cherokee ran 33 total plays for 101 total yards.
Addison’s Wilkins was 1 completion in 1 attempt for 47 yards and a touchdown. Dyson was 2 out of 4 for 9 yards and a touchdown. Elijah Roberts was 1 for 1 for 12 yards.
Luker led Addison with 5 carries for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wilkins had 2 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Hubbert had 10 carries for 42 yards. Burns had 4 carries for 10 yards and a touchdown. Dyson had 3 carries for 11 yards and Jacob Mauldin had 3 carries for 10 yards.
Hubbert led Addison with 1 catch for 47 yards and a touchdown. Jacob McLamb had 1 catch for 12 yards.
On defense, Dyson led in tackles with 4. Willette had 3. Luker, Williams, Lawrence and Hill all had 2.
Lawrence, Willette and Williams had sacks. Rodgers had an interception and Hill had a fumble recovery for the touchdown.
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