Nick Stevens tackles a Roane player
Photos courtesy of Patty Haught
By Gaylen Duskey
realfang@citlink.net
Playing with a patchwork offensive and defense line Calhoun struck with two lightning bolt touchdowns to hand Roane County a 13-0 loss Friday night.
The Red Devils' offensive and defensive fronts were both hit hard by injuries and had to go with several different combinations against the big and veteran Roane County front.
But that patchwork line worked like a dream as it kept the Raiders off the board and allowed the Red Devils to get enough offense to keep the ball away from Roane for much of the game.
Calhoun scored quickly when Randy Fluharty fielded a Roane punt at his 15 and roared 85 yards for a touchdown.
Randy Fluharty returns a punt for a Calhoun TD
That would have been enough to win the game but another lightning bolt score - a 51-yard run by quarterback Zach Moore - was enough to give the Red Devils some breathing room.
Roane County rolled to a huge statistical first quarter advantage despite trailing on the scoreboard thanks to Fluharty's punt return.
But in the second quarter the players on the line got used to working with one another and as a result the Red Devils' offense picked it up a notch while the defense found the solution to Roane running back Eric Jarvis and at halftime, thanks to Moore's 51-yard gallop, it was 13-0.
The scoring ended there but not before Calhoun's offense took control, marching several times deep into Roane territory only to come up empty.
Darrenger Fluharty runs the ball
Calhoun fans, players, coaches huddle at the end of the game
The second half was controlled by the Red Devils as the young line took control as Roane players seemed to tire and lack the fire they had earlier.
Statistically the game was very close with Calhoun holding a slight edge in total yardage (290-235) and Roane having the advantage in first downs (14-13) but a lot of that may have to do with a plethora of flags that saw the Red Devils whistled eight times for 80 yards (much of that on holding calls) while the Raiders had nine penalties for 85 yards.
Individually the game was a match-up between the leading runner in the LKC (Fluharty) and the second leading runner (Roane's Eric Jarvis).
Fluharty had a slight edge with 193 yards on 26 carries despite losing several rushing yards to holding penalties while Jarvis had 132 yards on 23 attempts.
Fluharty, however, added some spice to things with a pass interception he returned for 20 yards and the exciting 85-yard scoring punt return.
In many ways Roane was its own worst enemy with four turnovers - one fumble and three pass interceptions (Randy Fluharty, Darrenger Fluharty and Sean Gungle).
Calhoun fumbled twice (once inside Roane's 15-yard line) and had one pass intercepted.
The Raiders never really threatened to score but that was thanks to an excellent Calhoun defensive effort.
The closest the Raiders may have got to pay dirt was when Eric Jarvis broke loose in the secondary only to be pulled down on a one-handed tackle by Nick Stevens.
Calhoun, now 5-2, travels to Wirt County this coming Friday. Roane County drops to 2-6.
Kason Hupp runs the ball after the game
Payton Bunch and Turner Garretson
play a little football after the game
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