CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Maplewood Panthers traveled to “The Castle” at Kenwood High School for a matchup with the Knights on Friday night. A dominant rushing attack with six touchdowns on the ground, including four unanswered, led the Knights to a 37-12 victory.
The Knights struck first four minutes into the contest, as Elijah King powered into the endzone for a score to start the night.
Maplewood answered right back with a touchdown run of their own to tie the game at 6-6. At this point in the game, Kenwood caught fire, scoring three consecutive rushing touchdowns from Christian James, Christian Simpson and Jayde Davis before the first half closed out.
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“We’re gaining confidence in what we can do as a program,” said Kenwood head coach Jarhett Snead. “These guys stay hungry, and you’ve seen the result on the field tonight. I guarantee you tomorrow they’ll be in the film and weight room.”
The Knights’ defense picked up right where they left off in the second half, stifling the Maplewood offense for the entire third quarter.
Josiah Brown found paydirt early in the fourth quarter for the fifth rushing touchdown of the night for the Knights, extending Kenwood’s lead. Jaylen Strong finally got the Panthers back on the board with a receiving touchdown, but it was too little too late, and James scored his second touchdown of the night to put a bow on a big win for Kenwood.
“James has been a selfless kid, switching positions to quarterback, and this offense is electric with him leading it,” said Snead. “All we can do is control our attitude and effort, and we did a good job of both of those tonight. Comparison is the thief of joy, so this game is over, fix our mistakes and keep moving forward.”
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