This year’s Battle of the Bridge was a nail biter with Loudon eventually winning 7-6. Being featured on Rivalry Thursday, the last play left Lenoir City fans disappointed thinking we’d end up winning. Both team captains were called to the center of the field where the traditional coin toss was held, the Loudon Redskins won the coin toss meaning Lenoir City received the ball first.
Cris Salinas kicked off for the Redskins. Luke Chadwick (11) passed the ball to Trea Jones (11), Trea didn’t get far and was tackled by Loudon’s defense making it second down. Hoping to get a first down, Lenoir City players got in formation, but soon a flag was called for a false start. With 8:35 left in the first quarter, kicker Riley Pickett (11) had to punt the ball. It was now the Redskins ball, but with 6:16 left the Redskins kept going past the first down, meaning they also had to punt. Finally with 2:51 left on the clock, Lenoir City managed to kick a field goal, leading 3-0.
With the start of the second quarter, the Panthers had the ball once again. Luke Chadwick searched for a teammate who was open to pass the ball to, but was soon sacked by Redskin players. At fourth down , the Panthers kicked and Loudon had the ball. Loudon was at their second down and quarterback Bronson Scrivner threw the ball to teammate Eli Kelso, however he wasn’t able to catch the throw due to being tackled by Lenoir City player Evan Brown (12). Loudon constantly got tackled the closer and closer they neared the end zone. They eventually made it a yard away from the end zone, when Lenoir City players tackled Loudon’s quarterback, making him drop the ball. Lenoir City player Darius Bass (12) picked up the ball hoping to make a touchdown. Refs soon blew their whistles and called it a down. With 2:52 left in the second quarter, Loudon quarterback Scrivner threw the ball to player Bodee Anderson who was tackled and dropped the ball. Bass was quick to pick it up and ran to the 30 yard line. Unfortunately, there was a flagged call. With 30 seconds left, Alex Weathersbee (12) was able to run with the ball up to the 35 yard line. With very little time left, the Panthers had no choice but to go for a field goal. Pickett kicked successfully, ending the second quarter with the score 6-0.
At the start of the third quarter, its Loudon’s ball. Five minutes into the 3rd quarter, Scrivner throws the ball to Kelso who tries to catch it at the 35 yard line. He misses it, causing Loudon to go into their 3rd down. With three minutes left of the 3rd quarter, Scrivner once again throws the ball to Kelso. He dropped the ball but quickly picked it back up and ran; soon after Kelso was suddenly tackled. Refs blew their whistle calling the play an incomplete pass. Kelso made another incomplete pass with 2:32 left, when Lenoir City player Jaxson Utter (12) managed to knock him down at the end zone.
With the 3rd quarter ending, the score remains 6-0. With one quarter left, Lenoir City relied on their defense. With 7:42 left in the fourth quarter, many began to believe Lenoir City would win this year’s Battle of the Bridge. That mentality would all change when quarterback Scrivner ran the ball to the 1st yard line. With 1st down and goal, Loudon was able to make their first touchdown of the night. They kicked a field goal raising the score to 7-6. Things weren’t looking so good for Lenoir City. With 1:42 left on the clock, Lenoir City quarterback Chadwick was able to throw the ball to Utter who caught it at the 40 yard line. Chadwick once again was able to throw the ball to Utter who caught it at the 47 yard line with 1:02 left. With seconds left, Channing McCord (12) ran the ball up the middle but was tackled, stopping the clock at 7.5 seconds. Lenoir City decided to attempt a field goal. Pickett kicked, but the ball fumbled resulting in a flag being called. Pickett reattempted his field goal successfully, but the refs called a flag once more due to a false start. Pickett had to, once again, reattempt the field goal. At this moment Lenoir City fans were on the edge of their seats, refs blew their whistles, Pickett kicked, and the kick was blocked. Loudon won this year’s Battle of the Bridge with a score of 7-6. This football game was Loudon’s 6th time in a row beating Lenoir City. Although Lenoir City didn’t win, their players did their best; the fans were proud of every one of them and they all managed to show their support and have a great time.
