CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Kirkwood Cobras took a trip to “The Castle” at Kenwood High School for a matchup with the Knights on Friday. A stifling defensive effort and 21 points from sophomore guard Armani Smith powered the Cobras to a 47-31 victory.
Early on, the defensive scheme of Kirkwood’s head coach John Stigall, who used to coach at Kenwood, worked wonders. The Knights were held scoreless in the first quarter, and tallied only 10 in the first half.
“Both of us are very good defensively. I was joking with Coach (Chase) Cronin and said the first team to 40 is gonna win, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Stigall. “We had a great start, and we were able to ride that momentum.”
The Knights were able to get their footing in the second half and find the bottom of the net more often, but were unable to overcome the slow start.
As far as Kenwood head coach Chase Cronin is concerned, it’s not the result he wanted, but district play is what matters to his team.
“We haven’t played in two weeks, and we came out slow, but I’ll give them credit they’re really good defensively,” said Cronin. “We got to the line a lot and just didn’t make free throws so we beat ourselves a little as well. District play is the only thing that matters towards postseason seeding; a new season starts Friday.”
As for the Cobras, they move to 10-3 on the year and stay undefeated in in-city games.
“A lot of people beat us last year because we were so young and a first-year school,” said Stigall. “We’re trying to get back on some folks that got us last year, and we’re trying to challenge ourselves to get better every day. We don’t want to lose an in-town game, ever.”
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