After trailing at halftime 24-28, the COMMANDOS played strong in the 2nd half to defeat Cookeville 59-42. With the win, Hendersonville moves on to the 2nd round of the TSSAA class 6A playoffs. The Cavaliers would get the ball to begin the game, and the Black & Gold defense would start off strong by forcing a punt after #74 Alfred Allen got a QB sack followed by a tackle for loss recorded by #25 Jacob Newton. HHS would get going early on offense with first down runs by #7 Logan Spurrier and #14 Issiah Chandler before #2 Drew Hohenbrink connected with #8 Brent Rowe for a 10 yard touchdown giving HHS a 7-0 advantage. CHS would respond as they moved the ball down the field eventually scoring with a 6 yard TD run to tie the score. Chandler would score on the next drive with a 1 yard run to put the COMMANDOS back in front, but once again Cookeville would score, this time with a 20 yard run. #9 Cody Booker would block the PAT to keep HHS up 14-13. On the next possession, the COMMANDOS would turn the ball over with a fumble. The Cavaliers would take advantage by scoring on a 4th down play and then connecting on a 2 point play to go up by 7. #3 Keion Stafford would tie the game back up with a 7 yard touchdown run. The Cavs would then hit a big play with a 50 yard TD pass to take a 7 point lead, but HHS would have a drive before half. HHS would call on #27 Andrew Martin and he would connect on a 27 yard field goal to make the score 24-28 at halftime.
Hendersonville would continue to move the ball on offense to begin the 2nd half with a 1st down run by Stafford before Rowe ran for a 15 yard score to give HHS a lead they would not give up. Chandler would force a fumble on the ensuing kickoff that #40 David Johnson recovered and after a few plays, Hohenbrink would get in the endzone with a 3 yard run as Hendersonville extended their lead to 38-28. The defense would get a stop and force Cookeville to punt. The COMMANDOS would put together another drive, this one ending with a 9 yard TD run by Spurrier. Hendersonville would force a 3 & out and then #10 Ellis ran for a 54 yard touchdown putting HHS up 52-28. The Cavaliers would score on their next drive with a 20 yard pass. Hendersonville would put together one more drive that would end with #55 Jamison Barksdale plunging into the endzone for a 1 yard TD run. CHS would score one more TD before HHS was able to kneel on the ball to run out the clock.
Hendersonville will be at home again next Friday night as they will host the Blackman Blaze in the 2nd Round of the TSSAA class 6A playoffs. Blackman won their first round game 24-0 over Wilson Central. Kickoff for the game next Friday night at Memorial Stadium is set for 7:00.
