KINGSPORT—The T.A. Dugger Junior Cyclones were firing on all cylinders Thursday as they visited conference foe John Sevier to open the season

Behind an all-out team effort, the Jr. Cyclones rolled past the Jr. Warriors, 44-6.

“We are really proud of our guys tonight,” said T.A. Dugger head coach Travis Smithdeal. “It was a big team effort and team win, but we have a long ways to go. It is a long season with a lot of other good teams to play.”

It didn’t take the Jr. Cyclones long to find the end zone. TAD quarterback Dalton Mitchell connected with teammate Cade Russell on a screen pass that Russell took 18 yards up to the Warriors 1-yard line. From there, Russell easily walked in for a touchdown on the next play. Mitchell would keep the ball into the end zone for the 2-point conversion giving T.A. Dugger an 8-0 edge with 6:31 left in the first quarter.

After forcing the Jr. Warriors to go three-and-out, the Jr. Cyclones took over on Sevier’s 40. On the first play of the drive, TAD’s Nate Stephens sped to the end zone on a 40-yard carry that was followed up with Jr. Cyclones Teddy Orton running in the 2-point conversion. The Jr. Cyclone led 16-0 with 4:09 left in the first.

The T.A. Dugger defense stepped up again with Will Taylor blowing up the Jr. Warriors’ offensive line for a sack before recovering a fumble on a following play to give the Jr. Cyclones the ball on their own 45. The ensuing drive ended with TAD’s Hayden Nave scampering to the end zone from 37 yards out to give his team 24-0 early in the second quarter.

The Jr. Cyclones struck again with Mitchell hitting teammate Josh Sweeney on a corner route for a 2-yard touchdown pass to make it a 30-0 game.

T.A. Dugger scored one more time before the half. The scoring drive was set up by an interception from Peyton Johnson. The interception paid off as Mitchell hit Kordell Kandoje on a deep pass for a 27-yard touchdown. With Sean Smithdeal kicking through the point-after attempt, the Jr. Cyclones led 37-0 at intermission.

The Jr. Cyclones’ final touchdown came from Russel, who on a long 31-yard run that saw the running back break roughly three tackle, put TAD on the 5-yard line. From there, Russell easily made it into the end zone. Smithdeal made easy work of the PAT, and the Jr. Cyclone led 44-0 with 3:41 left in the third.

The Jr. Warriors only touchdown came as Sevier’s Caleb Bowers ran in a 2-yarder.

The Jr. Cyclones will be back at it next Thursday as they host Ross Robinson.