CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Rossview Hawks traveled to “The Pit” at Kirkwood High School for the Battle of Exit 8 with the Kirkwood Cobras. The teams exchanged leads in the first half, but the Cobras pitched a shutout in the second to pull away for a 39-14 win, the second straight year they’ve won the rivalry against Rossview.
The first half was an old-school shootout between the two rivals. Kirkwood started hot with a 70-yard strike from quarterback Miles Reding to receiver Jayven Morris on the first play from scrimmage. After taking the ensuing kickoff into the Cobra redzone, receiver Damani Wilson responded with a touchdown catch from Dawson Deer in the corner of the endzone, all within the first two minutes of the contest.
The two defenses tightened and exchanged stops for a while, until Morris found the endzone again midway through the second quarter. On the next drive, Rossview had a punt blocked, which quickly resulted in a Reding rushing touchdown. Rossview responded with a CJ Stucky rushing touchdown right before the half came to a close, and the two teams were locked in a battle at the half, 19-14.
“I told them at halftime, ‘Guys, if we can play mistake-free football, the scoreboard will take care of itself,’” said Kirkwood head coach Chad Watson. “Our guys were challenged, and they answered the call. The main thing is we distribute the ball, we trust our guys, and our guys are unselfish, they don’t care about their stats.”
| SCOREBOARD: Check out scores from every Clarksville-area football team
The second half was a different story, with Kirkwood blocking another punt, and Josiah Claybrooks cashed in to extend the Cobra lead. Reding and Jacorey Cox added two more rushing touchdowns, and all of a sudden, the Cobras were running away with the contest. Kirkwood salted the last few minutes away to secure a big win.
“We played hard, but we had some execution issues when we lost some key personnel right away,” said Rossview Head Coach Stratie Young. “We have to do a better job of coaching through those moments before we get to the moment. I don’t know if we planned for that as much as we should have. We have to show up next week with Clarksville (High) and take care of business.”
The Cobras are off to their third straight 2-0 start. They start region play next week against Kenwood, and while they’ll celebrate the victory, they know that region play is what matters.
“Kenwood is a really good football team, and Coach Snead does a great job with them,” said Watson. “They have great athletes, but we have to worry about us, and be the best version of Kirkwood Football that we can be.”
| MORE LOCAL SPORTS: Sign up for the free daily Clarksville Now email newsletter