Head coach Taylor Harvey and staff meets with team after final game of the season vs Lawrence County in the first round of the playoffs on 11/6/25.(Photo:GaryBolden)
Lawrence County takes control late to Win Over Rhea County
Evensville, TN -- 11/6/25 -- Lawrence County received the opening kickoff and returned the ball to their own 18 yard-line. Quarterback Logan Clayton opened up with a couple of long runs to move Lawrence County to the 41 of Rhea County. It was junior running back Pettigrew with a long run down to the 10 yard-line for the Eagles. From there Lawerence County just hammered the Eagles for four plays, the last ending in touchdown and the kick by Sarah Morrison was good for a 7-0 lead for Lawerence County with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
Rhea County's Aiden Wilkerson brought the kickoff back to the 42 yard-line. Wilkerson later picked up a first down for the Eagles at the 47 of Lawerence County. Schmitt picked up another first down with a nice run down to the 32 yard-line of Lawerence County. Mason Ford caught the short pass out and found some running room on the left side for another first down at the 21 yard-line. On the next play Schmitt found Fugate open in the corner of the endzone for an Eagles touchdown. Fugate added a kick for a 7-7 tie.
Fugate's kick found the end zone and Lawerence County began to drive at the 20 yard-line. After passing for a first down to Silva at the 37, Eagles had a chance, but Lawerence jumped on a fumble in the backfield. Two plays later, it was intercepted by Kaiden Rector, giving Eagles the ball at Lawrence 48 yard-line.
The offsides penalty moved the ball to 43, The Wildcats got a defender in the face of Schmitt and he deflected the ball and it fell into hands of Max Taylor at midfield. Zakyus Everly had a long gain down to the 23 yard-line. Later in the drive Carter Pettigrew finished off the drive with a 4 yard run. Sarah Morrison added the extra point kick for 14-7 lead with 54 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Thatcher McDonald made the short kick taken by Wilkerson at the 35 yard-line and returned to the 36 yard-line of Lawrence County. With 0.0 left on the first quarter clock, Schmitt found Wilkerson, who evaded 3 tackles on his way for a 38-yard touchdown. Fugate's kick was off right and the score was 14-13 Lawrence County.
Fugate's kick drove the returner into the endzone and Lawrence began their 4th drive at the 20 yard-line. The Wildcats drove the ball down the field on a combination of passes and rushes before standing at the 26 with 4th and 14 with 7:14 left until halftime. Zekiel Romero stepped in front of a Logan Clayton pass for the interception and he returned the ball to the 25 yard-line of the Eagles. Schmitt dropped back and found Wilkerson for the 75 yard touchdown. Fugate made the kick for the 20-14 lead with 6:54 left until halftime.
Fugate's kick found the endzone and Wildcats began to drive at the 20 yard-line. Pedigrew had a long run to move the Wildcats all the way down to the 37 of Rhea County on a 23-yard run. Pettigrew would score the 10 yard touchdown with 3:43 left in half to give the Wildcats the lead 21-20 after the successful kick.
Fugate returned the kickoff to the 36 yard-line. Schmitt had a couple of good runs to earn a first down at the 46 yard-line. The Wildcats stalled the drive, forcing a punt from Eagles' 40 yard-line. The punt rolled dead at the 13 after rolling several yards after hitting. Lawrence County had the ball with 59 seconds left in the half. Clayton had 23 and 27 yards to move the ball to the Eagles' 37 yard-line. The Wildcats drive stalled at the 10 and Sarah Morrison hit the 26-yard field goal as the clock expired on the first half.
The Eagles received the second half kickoff and Donnegan returned the kickoff to the Eagles' 34 yard-line. Schmitt was run out of bounds for a 7 yard loss to begin the drive. The hole got deeper after a 5-yard penalty. Schmitt had a nice run down the sidelines and fans were not happy as the defender body slammed Schmitt at the end of the play. Offsetting penalties incurred and ball remained at 30 and Eagles were facing a 3rd and 14. Schmitt came up just short of the first and the Eagles were forced to punt. Fugate's punt of 61 yards, landed at 32 and rolled down to the 5 yard-line with 9:37 left in the 3rd quarter.
Pettigrew had a nice 15 -yard run to get the Wildcats some breathing room with first down at the 18 yard-line. A holding penalty put the Wildcats at the 23 with 2nd and 16, but Pedigrew erased that and gained first and then another first with two big runs up to the 47 of Rhea County. Later in the drive, the Wildcats made a 4th and 1 run for first down. Odum had nice tackle for loss to setup a 3rd and 13, but Clayton found Silva for 25 yard pickup for the first down at the Eagles' 15 and Pettigrew finished off the drive with as he ran untouched into the endzone for his 3rd touchdown of the night with 3:32 left in third quarter. Morrison's kick put the score to 31-20 as the Wildcats finished a 14 play, 95 yard drive.
Fugate brought the kickoff up to the 42 yard-line. A penalty erased a nice Schmitt run and moved the ball back to the 30 yard-line. A play later Eagles could not convert on a 3rd and 21 and were forced to punt. Fugate's punt rolled out of bounds at the 15 yard-line of the Wildcats.
Pettigrew had a big run as the Wildcats moved the ball to 34 and earned a first down as the 3rd quarter ended. Eagles defense stacked the line on a 3rd and 1, expecting a sneak, and Pettigrew ran into the mass of defenders and emerged with noone to catch him as he went for the 57 yard touchdown run. Morrison added the extra point on the kick with 10:15 left in the game to move the Wildcats to 38-20 lead.
The Wildcat's kickk was returned to the 37 by Fugate. Schmitt hit Donnegan for a 16 yard pass to move into Wildcat territory. The Eagles ended the drive with a deflected 4th down pass that gave the ball to Lawrence County at the 34 yard-line of the Wildcats with 8 minutes remaining. Lawrence punted and Wilkerson brought the ball back to the Eagles' 37 yard-line. Schmitts had a nice run and then a pass completion to Donegan to move the ball to the 35. Ball moved down to the 19 yard-line after a personal foul penalty. Quinton Davis caught a couple of passes from Schmitt as the Eagles moved inside the 10 yard-line. Drive ended with a 4th and 1 at the goalline coming up short, turning the ball over to Lawrence County with 3:56 left in the game.
Lawrence gained a couple of first downs and ran out the clock to secure the 38-20 win over Rhea County. The Eagles finish the season 9-2 with a Region Championship for the season. Lawrence County moves their record to 8-3 with a trip to play the 6-4 Knox Halls on Friday, 11/14/25. Tough loss for this Eagles team that ended a great season in the wrong way. Heavy hearts for all, especially the seniors who ended their career.
Tristyan Odum and Wyatt Magnefrida each had 8 tackles each to lead the Eagles. on defense. Kaiden Rector and Ezekiel Romero each had an interception. Eagle rose had a sack.
The Eagles gave up 32 first downs, the most for the season. This Lawrence County team did not play like a 4th place team. Jaxton Schmitt was 14 of 25 for 216 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception on a tipped ball as well as rushing for 58 yards on the night. Aiden Wilkerson had 3 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns. Austun Fugate had 2 catches for 28 yards and a touchdown. The Eagles were not able to run the ball in the game with only 63 yards and only 5 from the running back position.
Senior quarterback Logan Clayton went 10 for 15 for 86 yards and 2 interceptions and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 199 yards on 29 rushes and Carter Pettigrew ran 25 times for 236 yards. Demetrius Silva led the Wildcats with 4 catches for 58 yards.
Lawrence County had 11 tackles for loss. Junior Zakyus Everly led the Wildcats with 8 tackles.
| Player | Total Tackles |
| Austun Fugate | 7 |
| Eli Evans | 4.5 |
| Wyatt Magnefrida | 8 |
| Tristyan Odum | 8 tfl tfl |
| Eagle Rose | 5 sack |
| Kaiden Rector | 4 .5 tfl interception |
| Ezekiel Romero | 4.5 interception |
| Laterrius Donegan | 5.5 |
| Christian Yearwood | 1 |
| Gavin Miller | .5 |
| Tyler Garrison | 2 |
| Maddox Simpson | 1 |
| Max Daughtrey | 1 |
| Jaxton Schmitt | 1.5 |