KINGSPORT—When you have Indians on the attack, the best thing to do is keep shooting until the last man standing is you.

That was exactly what happened at J. Fred Johnson Stadium on Monday evening as the Elizabethton Cyclone junior varsity continued to grow in handing the home-standing Dobyns-Bennett Indians a 23-21 defeat in thrilling fashion.

The victory avenged a Labor Day loss the Indians pinned on the Cyclones at Citizens Bank Stadium, 42-35.

“It doesn’t happen often that you come over here and get a win at any level,” said Cyclone head coach Brian Jenkins. “We got out to a 9-0 lead and thought maybe it’s our time, but then we kind of just shot ourselves in the foot several times.

“The kids responded, never quit, and made the plays when we had to and that is what it takes to win.”

One of the biggest gunslingers of the night was Cyclone quarterback Jaxton Holly who kept loading and firing his gun at the Indians for four quarters.

Holly finished hitting 29-of-48 passing attempts for 406 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions—one going 96 yards for one of the Indian scores.

Not only was Holly loaded the barrel, but the Cyclone defense was circling the wagons to keep the Indians playing between the 20’s pretty much the entire night.

The defense actually got the first score of the night for the Cyclones when Cameron Harris and Zach A. Hartley wrestled Indian quarterback Hayden Cassell down in the end zone for a safety and the 2-0 early lead.

It would take only one snap for Elizabethton to quickly build a 9-0 lead as Holly connected with Austin Outland for a 54-yard touchdown pass as Holly finished off the possession by booting the point-after attempt.

The Indians pulled it together to go on an eight-play drive that culminated when Cassell found Jeremiah Cutshall for an eight-yard scoring strike. Jarah Brown’s PAT was good and the scoreboard read 9-7 in favor of the Cyclones.

The first quarter ended with the same 9-7 score.

Dobyns-Bennett snagged its first lead of the contest one minute and 53 seconds into the second quarter with the Cyclones driving when Nick Bristol read Holly’s eyes the entire play from scrimmage and stepped in front of the ball racing 96 yards to the Indian end zone.

Brown’s PAT made it 14-9 D-B.

Neither team could muster any further offensive damage and the half ended 14-9.

The Indians took the opening second half kickoff and marched briskly down the field to build their advantage to 12, 21-9, when Cassell found Cutshall for their second hookup of the night—this time from 54 yards. Brown’s boot split the uprights.

Elizabethton was determined to not go silently into the night.

A Marquise Cole block of a Cassell attempted punt gave the Cyclones excellent field position at the D-B 21-yard line.

Two plays later, the Cyclones narrowed the gap to 21-16 when Holly found one of his favorite targets of the night in Keelan Hall for a 23-yard touchdown with 5:09 left in the third quarter. Holly’s PAT was true.

With the score tight, the fourth quarter was set for a final showdown.

The defenses of both teams rose to the occasion with each team shutting the other down on two possessions before the Cyclones started their final march for the win.

Starting on their own 18-yard line with 4:19 left to play, Holly and troops put together one last surge working their way downfield to the D-B one-yard line with 51.8 seconds left to play to call a timeout to set the right play.

Cameron Trimm turned into a cannonball blasting into the Indian end zone for the game-winning score with Holly sealing the deal with his PAT.

The Indians mounted one last attack moving the football to the 39-yard line of Elizabethton before safety Evan Carter picked off Cassell at the 10-yard line with three seconds to play to set off the Cyclone celebration.

With the win, the Cyclone JV stands at 10-4 on the season.