The Alcoa Tornadoes took down the Pearl-Cohn Firebirds 27-0 in the TSSAA Class 3A state championship at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tennessee, on Friday, Dec. 6, 2019. (Photo by Danny Parker)
BY DAVE LINK
COOKEVILLE – Restock. Reload.
It’s the machine called Alcoa football.
The Tornadoes rolled to their fifth consecutive state title Friday night with a 27-0 victory over Nashville’s Pearl-Cohn in the 2019 Class 3A BlueCross Bowl at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.
And they have no plans for a letdown in 2020.
“Next year, do the same thing, baby,” junior linebacker Cam Burden said. “Do the same thing.”
Burden was the game’s Most Valuable Player, posting eight unassisted tackles, two sacks, and three tackles for loss.
Alcoa (14-1) won its state-record 18th state championship and its 11th under head coach Gary Rankin.
“We’ve got a good bunch coming back,” said Rankin, who now has 15 titles as a head coach in his career. “We’ve got to find a few linemen, but we’re really a young football team, basically. If we can keep them all together and keep them working, we’ve got a chance maybe next year.”
Junior quarterback Sam Vaulton rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries, many coming on read-option plays.
Vaulton completed 4 of 12 passes for 48 yards and a touchdown.
Junior tailback Ahmauud Sankey rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries for the Tornadoes.
“We watched film on them the whole week,” Vaulton said, “and every time we saw their defensive end, he went upfield, I’d keep it and go right in between, and the offensive line made great holes for us. Ahmauud coming back and forth, they think he’s going to get the ball because he’s an explosive playmaker, so when he don’t get the ball, they all run towards him and I just keep it and the line makes holes for us.”
Pearl-Cohn (14-1) was Class 4A state runner-up in 2015 and had the respect of Alcoa.
The fewest points the Firebirds had scored this season before Friday was during a 14-0 victory over East Nashville on Oct. 4.
Pearl-Cohn finished with seven first downs and 105 total yards – 70 rushing yards and 35 passing yards.
The shutout was Alcoa’s 10th of the season.
“Nobody shuts out Pearl-Cohn, basically,” Rankin said. “They’ve got too many athletes, too much speed. Our front three and four just did a tremendous job. Our defensive coaches are some of the best in the state. There’s no doubt about that. A little surprised we shut ‘em out even though we did.”
Alcoa scored touchdowns on four of its five first-half possessions while taking a 27-0 lead.
After their first drive stalled, the Tornadoes stopped Pearl-Cohn’s opening drive and got a short field.
Vaulton took advantage, scoring on an 18-yard run. Zeke Rankin’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 10 minutes, 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
“The first drive I started off a little rough,” Vaulton said, “so I came to the sideline, and everybody was talking to me and letting me know, ‘Get up, you’re fine.’ So the next drive, the first play I take it for a touchdown. It really boosted my confidence and it helped this team get some momentum going forward.”
Alcoa moved 52 yards on nine plays for its second score.
Junior Tristen Blankenship, who’s 6-1, 220 pounds, plowed through the Firebirds’ line for a 1-yard touchdown run. It was 14-0 with 1:46 to go in the first quarter after Rankin’s PAT kick.
Isaiah Cox’s 50-yard run set up Alcoa’s third touchdown, a 35-yard run by Sankey.
Rankin’s PAT attempt was blocked, and the Tornadoes had a 20-0 lead with 8:33 left in the half.
Alcoa started its last drive of the half at its 13 with 4:46 left.
The Tornadoes needed seven plays to score.
Junior Brayden Anderson made a leaping sideline catch on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Vaulton, and Rankin’s PAT kick gave Alcoa the 27-0 lead.
The first half ended when Pearl-Cohn quarterback Martino Owens was sacked for the second time.
The Firebirds had five first downs and 83 total yards at halftime (66 rushing, 17 passing).
Alcoa had 12 first downs and 256 total yards at the half (219 rushing, 37 passing). The Tornadoes finished with 18 first downs and 357 total yards (309 rushing, 48 passing).
Burden credited Alcoa defensive coordinator Brian Nix with a solid game plan.
“Coach Nix, man, he’s been in the film room every day,” said Burden, a transfer from Sevier County whose father, P.J., was MVP when Sevier County won state in 1999. “We knew every play they were running, so having a coach like that really means a lot.”
Pearl-Cohn went three and out on its first possession after halftime.
The Tornadoes started at their 44 and moved to Pearl-Cohn’s 4, where they faced a fourth-and-2 situation.
Blankenship was stopped short of the first down as the Firebirds stopped Alcoa for the first time.
Pearl-Cohn forced a three and out late in the third quarter, and Rankin’s punt from the 36 was downed at the Firebirds’ 1-yard line.
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The Firebirds gained a first down on a pass interference penalty and punted.
“Defense, it all comes down to the coaches,” Burden said. “If they’ve got the right game plan and we do our jobs, that’s how we stop people.”
Alcoa started at the Firebirds’ 35 and drove to Pearl-Cohn’s 14, but Rankin missed a 31-yard field-goal attempt with 6:51 left in the game.
Rankin had a punt blocked late in the game by Don Burleson.
Pearl-Cohn began its final drive at the Tornadoes’ 21 and was stopped on fourth down when Owens was sacked by Taharin Sudderth for a 7-yard loss.
Owens suffered a leg injury on the play and was carted off the field.
Alcoa ran out the clock.
“These guys (from Pearl-Cohn) were an amazing team coming in,” said junior defensive end Grey Carroll, a Mr. Football finalist. “They were rolling and we knew we could never take it off the gas. We had to go a million miles per hour every play.”
Look for the Tornadoes to do the same next season – and perhaps win another state title.
“They’ll be here next year, same time,” Alcoa senior cornerback/linebacker C.J. Armstrong said. “We’ve got some dogs on our team.”