The only difference in Friday night’s football game at Citizens Bank Stadium from the last three games was all the seniors who were honored for their contribution to various athletic programs and the band.
Otherwise, the Cyclones quickly took care of business against another Mountain Eight football foe in Chuckey-Doak with a 43-6 spanking to remain perfect in conference play with one game to play.
“It was great to see tonight as we wanted to send these seniors out the right way,” said Cyclone head coach Shawn Witten. “We wanted to represent those guys well and their families and show how much we really appreciate all the hard work.
“We’ve got a great football team and are headed in the right direction.”
Once again it was a fast, and furious start for the Cyclones (6-0, 8-1) as sophomore Corey Russell was back at his antics ripping off a 45-yard scoring run a couple of minutes into the first quarter with Dylan Nordby taking care of the point-after to make it 7-0 quickly in favor of the Cyclones.
Russell took it to the house again on the second Cyclone possession when he carried the football across the goal line from 24 yards out. Nordby blasted the PAT for the 14-0 lead.
While the Cyclone offense was clicking, the defense was making some of its own noise by shutting the Black Knight attack down as the Cyclones led after the opening 10 minutes, 14-0.
When Russell wasn’t running the Black Knights silly, he was taking snaps from the quarterback position and found senior wideout Conner Johnson for an 11-yard scoring toss with four minutes left before the half. Nordby remained perfect, and the Cyclones were cruising at 21-0.
After Chuckey-Doak’s Max Mueller had a 45-yard field goal attempt blocked with 1:24 remaining in the half, the Cyclones showed their offensive efficiency by utilizing three plays to score once again before the half.
Carter Everett picked up six yards on the ground before setting up the perfect gadget play when he handed the ball to Russell who flung the ball down field to Johnson for a 43-yard touchdown pass with 53 ticks remaining before intermission.
Nordby blasted the ball through the uprights for a 28-0 edge at the break.
Witten said that Russell is so multi-faceted that throwing the football is another asset he brings to the Cyclones.
“Corey has an arm,” added Witten. “He’s a really good baseball player and has a really quick release. He is a weapon wherever he is at and like I said last week there is no way to stop him.”
The start to the second half wasn’t better for the Black Knights as they took the opening kickoff and went three and out to give the ball back to Elizabethton quickly.
It was a quick possession for the Cyclones as Everett found another senior, Jacob Turner, open in the flat and Turner did the rest covering 35 yards for the score.
The two-point conversion failed, and the scoreboard read 34-0 in Elizabethton’s favor.
Elizabethton tacked on a score late in the third quarter when senior running back Logan Norman cashed in from the four-yard line with 1:47 remaining in the quarter.
Once again the conversion failed, and Elizabethton led 40-0.
Chuckey-Doak found a little something to cheer about on the ensuing kickoff when Jacob Willet took the kick at the ‘Doak nine-yard line and 91-yards later was standing in the end zone with the only score of the night for the Black Knights.
Mueller’s PAT was blocked, and the scoreboard showed the Cyclones up 40-6.
The Cyclones final score came via the foot of Nordby who showed off a strong foot with a 25-yard field goal with 9:06 to give the final margin of victory for the Cyclones.
While Witten was singing the praises of his senior players, one player was returning the favor to his head coach.
“It means a lot to us,” said senior tight end Evan Sewell. “Without Coach Witten’s direction and his ambition for us to be successful, we wouldn’t be here without him.
“It’s all on him. He expects a lot of us, and we have got to fulfill those expectations.”
The Cyclones hit the road next week for the final regular-season game at Northview Academy in Kodak.