By Ken Lay
It took a late touchdown run for the Christian Academy football team to keep its perfect record intact.
The Warriors trailed throughout much of the game before claiming a 36-32 victory over Webb School of Knoxville on a homecoming Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
On its final possession, CAK faced a 23-29 deficit against the winless Spartans in the Battle of Dutchtown, but the Warriors would tally with quarterback Seaton Moffett scoring on a short touchdown plunge with 1.8 seconds remaining to take a 35-32 lead. Kicker Bennett Jelks added the extra point to provide the final margin.
Moffett’s game-winning touchdown run culminated a big night that saw him complete 14-of-28 passing attempts for 103 yards. He threw one touchdown pass and lofted one interception. He also caught a touchdown pass. In addition, Moffett had an impact in the ground attack for the Warriors (6-0 overall, 3-0 in Division II-AA East Division play) as he totaled 75 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
CAK coach Chad Speck said that he’s grown accustomed to Moffett performing at his best in the team’s biggest games.
“Big-time players make big-time plays. You’ve heard it said all the time,” Speck said. “The way he ran the ball was big-time.”
The Warriors may have finished ahead on the scoreboard, but the win was anything but easy against the Spartans (0-6, 0-4) in the annual West Knox County rivalry game.
Webb jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter as Bryce Teutimez kicked a 41-yard field goal with 4 minutes, 47 seconds remaining in the opening frame.
A short time later, the Webb defense came up with a turnover as Reggie Bishop picked off a pass from Moffett. The Spartans would eventually cash in on the turnover when Matthew Rogers scored on a 4-yard touchdown run, making the score 10-0.
Webb would extend its advantage to 17-0 early in the second stanza when quarterback Garrett King threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Mali Blake.
CAK got on the board midway through the second quarter when Moffett caught a touchdown pass from Sawyer Anderson on a double-pass trick play, making it 17-6.
The Warriors pulled to within 17-9 when Jelks booted a 25-yard field goal on the final play before halftime.
CAK trimmed its deficit to 17-15 midway through the third frame after Jelks recovered a fumble and Moffett connected with Baker Sterchi on a scoring strike.
The Spartans scored with 3:58 left in the stanza when King threw a scoring pass to Antwan Hill with 3:58 to go in the quarter.
CAK, however, would answer a short time later on an 80-yard touchdown scamper by Isaac Kannah.
The Warriors took their first lead of the contest on a touchdown plunge with 9:36 left in the fourth quarter before Webb regained the lead a short time later on a 4-yard plunge by King, setting the stage for CAK’s late-game dramatics.
Speck, who was pleased with the win, said he knew things wouldn’t come easily for his squad.
“We knew we would be in for a battle,” he said. “Webb is a physical and well-coached football team.
“They’ve gotten better every week on film. You can see it.”
