Austun Fugate turns downfield after catching a pass from Jaxton Schmitt vs Walker Valley. Fugate had 11 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown vs Walker Valley on 10/30/26.(Photo:GaryBolden)
Eagles Win Over Walker in Battle for Region Championship
10/30/26 -- Evensville, TN -- Rhea County Won 31-24 over Walker Valley to win the regular season Region Championship with an unbeaten 6-0 region record. The regular season region title was their second in a row.
Walker Valley took the opening kickoff and began first series at the 20 yard line. Mustangs ran a quick non huddle offense to begin the game. Eagle defense forced a punt and began their first possession in great position at their 48 yard line. Schmitt began the gam at quarterback and found Quinten Davis for a first down around the Mustangs' 30 yard line. Troy Brown had his first action of the night with 3-yard run. On the next play Schmitt fumbled the ball and Walker Valley came up with first turnover of the game.
Eagles got their first turnover as Austun Fugate came up with interception to give Eagles the ball at the Walker Valley 18 yard line. Quinten Davis earned an 8 yard gain on the pass from Schmitt. Walker Valley's defesne stiffened and Eagles attempted a field goal that was no good, giving Walker it's second possession of the game at the 21 yard line. Tyre Brown came up with another quarterback Sack back at the 17 yard line, forcing a 3rd and 13 situation. Not to be detered, Ray found Ayers for the 83 yard touchdown. The extra point pushed the Mustangs lead to 7-0.
Fugate brought the kickoff back to the Eagles' 45 yard line. Schmitt found Fugate for nice gain down to the 30 yard line of Walker Valley. On a third and eight situation, Quarterback Jaxton Schmitt hit Collyn Brock for a first down at the 12 yard line. Troy Brown had the 7 yard run for the Eagles' first touchdown and Rasnake added the extra point kick for 7-7 with seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Walker Valley began their next possession at their 20 yard line. Ray found Landon Davis for a nice throw/catch for a first down around the 40 yard line. Ray slowed down the Walker offense forcing a punt that rolled dead the the Eagles' 31 yard line. Eagles moved the ball on nice pass up to 42 yard line before motion penalty moved ball back to 37 yard line. Schmitt got 7 of those yards back to move the bal to the 44 yard line. On third down, Schmitt found Kerley across the middle for a first down at the Walker Valley 37 yard line. Eagles picked up another penalty for holding(4th penalty of the game) to slow the drive down. Schmitt found Fugate for a big 47 yard touchdown play to give Eagles the lead, with the Rasnake kick moving the score to 14-7.
Fugate' kick found the end zone and Walker began their possession at their 20 yard line. Zeke Romero met Cunningham at the 15 for the five yard loss. Tyre Brown sacked the quarterback and caused some excitement for the Eagles before Walker came up with fumble recover. With a large deficit, Walker had to punt, setting up Rhea at Walker 47 yard line.
Fugate broke a couple of tackles on his way to another first down at the 27 yard line. Later in the drive after a nice run by Schmitt, Eagles faced a third and one at the 8 yard line. Tony Brown earned a first and goal for the Eagles with nice 6 yard run. After Walker stood up Eagles on a couple of plays, it was Schmitt dove for the touchdown, but came up short at the 2 yard line. Eagles went for it on 4th down and Brown powered into the endzone for the third Eagle touchdown of the night. Rasnake added the kick for a 21-7 lead for the Eagles with 2:19 left until halftime. Eagles picked up personal foul for excessive celebration, resulting in 15 yard penalty on the kickoff.
After Rhea kicked off from their 25 yard line, Walker began their possession at their 40 yard line. Walker working with short timeframe worked quickly and earned a first down then crossed midfield with pass play with 1:20 left in the half. Zeke Romero came up with interception to stop the drive after Rasnake put pressure on quarterback Ray. Eagle had the ball with just over a minute remaining. Gavin Miller had a nice reception to move the ball down to the 24 yard line of Walker Valley. Interference on Walker's defender defending Miller moved the ball down to the 12 yard line. Davis made nice reception to take the ball down to the 3 yard line with time quickly nearing expiration before halftime. With 10 seconds remaining until halftime Eagles took timeout. Walker averted disaster with the interception to end the half to prevent a possible 28-7 halftime lead for Rhea County.
Rhea County's Tony Brown returned the second half kickoff back to 27 yard line. Eagles gave up the ball on backward pass that was recovered by Walker Valley at the 11 yard line of Rhea County. Cunningham gained 9 yards on first carry and the score on the second play of the drive to setup a 21-14 score after the successful kick by White. So with little time gone on the clock(9:39), the Mustangs had pulled within a touchdown of the Eagles.
Sophomore Troy Brown gave Eagles good field position with nice return out to the 35 yard line. Schmitt found Fugate for a short pass and in the fight for extra yardage, the ball was fumbled and Mustangs had another opportunity on a short field near the 40 yardline. Ray found Davis for nice catch to move the ball to the 25 yard line for first down. Cunningham got a nice 9 yard gain and then Ray hit Bennett for the short touchdown completion. Holden White added the sucessful kick for 21-21 tie.
Momentum had changed and Walker looked fired up on kickoff coverage. Schmitt made nice run for first down at 30. Schmitt next made a jump pass and found Davis for a nice gain up to the 45 yard line with 4:55 left in third quarter and then found Fugate, who ran down the sideline for a first down at 35 of Walker Valley and momentum had changed again. Schmitt found Davis for another nice gain before finding Miller for the 19 yard touchdown pass. Rasnake made the kick for 28-21 lead with 2:11 left in third quarter.
Walker began their drive at their 20 yard line. Mustangs' quarterback Ray had a big play in their drive with run up the middle of the Eagles' defense for 19 yards to near midfild and he followed that with two more runs that put the ball on the 36 yard line. Later in the drive Zeke Romero made the tackle on a Davis catch and did not get up. Regreftully this resulted in tense moments for the stadium as later Romero was taken off the field on a stretcher. Glad to say Romero left the field with feeling in his extremeties and the hospital the next day walking with a neck brace. Walker Valley continued to move the ball but Eagles' defense stood up Walker at the 11 yard line, forcing a 4th and 4 situation. Holden White salvaged a field goal out of the drive with the short field goal and Eagles still enjoyed the lead at 28-24 with 11:56 left in the 4th quarter.
Rhea County began on their 26 and and Schmitt to Fugate earned a first down at the 42 yard line. A couple of plays later Trenton Ellis had the big block and Tony Brown raced up the middle to the 19 yard line of Walker Valley for the 33-yard gain. Schmitt found Collyn Brock for a first down catch at the Walker Valley 15 yard line. Eagles later in drive were faced with 4th and 3 and it appeared that Walker had moved, but during the confusion, clock ran out and delay of game penalty changed Rhea County coaching staff's mind and they went for the field goal, which was good and Eagles were back in front by 7, 31-24 with 6:10 left in the game.
Cunningham had a nice run past the 40, but penalty wiped off a nice run. Mustangs recovered from penalty and moved the ball past midfield after a hit on receiver out of bounds moved the ball the the Rhea County 44 yard line. Walker earned a couple more first downs but then they were unsucessful on a 4th down pass and turned the ball over to Rhea County with 2:56 left on the clock.
Eagles were faced with a big thrid down play. With a first down, they could run out the clock for the win. Schmitt went back and ran left, but then cutback to the right and raced down the sidelines to the Walker Valley 37 with 1:27 remaining. Schmitt took a knee and Eagles earned a Region Championship for 2nd year in a row and Walker Valley was again denied a chance by the Eagles. Just a great moment for the team and Coach Taylor, a former Walker Valley Coach as well as Coach Brandon Ashby, Eagles defensive coordinator
Looking at stats for the game, Jaxton Schmitt was 24 for 33 for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns. Austun Fugate had 10 catches for 145 yards and Quinten Davis had 7 for 68 yards. Tony Brown had 17 carries for 66 yards and Schmitt had 70 yards on 14 carries. On defense, Wyatt Magnefreda was again the leading tackler with 16 total tacklers and Fullam and Odum each had 11 tackles and Fugate added 10. Zeke Romero was well on his way to double figures with 8 tackles before leaving the game. Rasnake had 3 conversion kicks Fugate hit on a field goal. Fugate and Miller had touchdown catches and Troy Brown had 2 touchdown runs.
For Walker Valley Ray was 20 for 43 for 243 yards with 2 touchdowns. Landon Davis had 11 catches for 88 yards and Ayres had 4 catches for 123 yards. Bennett, Ayres and Cunninghamd each scored a touchdown. White had field goal and 3 extra point kicks. Cunningham led Mustangs with 45 yards on 11 carries.
Passing
| # | Name | C | Att | Yds | C% | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | QB Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schmitt | 24 | 33 | 313 | .727 | 13.0 | 2 | 1 | 109.8 | |
| Totals | 24 | 33 | 313 | .727 | 13.0 | 2 | 1 | 109.8 |
Rushing
| # | Name | Car | Yds | Avg | Lng | 100+ | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schmitt(Sr) | 14 | 70 | 5.0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | T. Brown(So) | 17 | 66 | 3.9 | 0 | ||
| 3 | T. Odum(Sr) | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 33 | 137 | 4.2 | 0 |
Receiving
| # | Name | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | J. Kerley(Sr) | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | ||
| 10 | G. Miller(Jr) | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | ||
| 11 | A. Fugate(Sr) | 10 | 145 | 14.5 | ||
| 14 | Q. Davis(Jr) | 7 | 68 | 9.7 | ||
| 20 | C. Brock(Fr) | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | ||
| Team Totals | 24 | 313 | 13.0 |
There is no data to display.
All Purpose Yards
| # | Name | Rush | Rec | KR | PR | IR | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schmitt(Sr) | 70 | 70 | ||||
| 2 | T. Brown(So) | 66 | 66 | ||||
| 3 | T. Odum(Sr) | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 4 | J. Kerley(Sr) | 17 | 17 | ||||
| 10 | G. Miller(Jr) | 47 | 47 | ||||
| 11 | A. Fugate(Sr) | 145 | 145 | ||||
| 14 | Q. Davis(Jr) | 68 | 68 | ||||
| 20 | C. Brock(Fr) | 36 | 36 | ||||
| Team Totals | 137 | 313 | 450 |
Total Yards
| # | Name | Rush | Pass | Rec | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J. Schmitt(Sr) | 70 | 313 | 383 | |
| 2 | T. Brown(So) | 66 | 66 | ||
| 3 | T. Odum(Sr) | 1 | 1 | ||
| 4 | J. Kerley(Sr) | 17 | 17 | ||
| 10 | G. Miller(Jr) | 47 | 47 | ||
| 11 | A. Fugate(Sr) | 145 | 145 | ||
| 14 | Q. Davis(Jr) | 68 | 68 | ||
| 20 | C. Brock(Fr) | 36 | 36 | ||
| Team Totals | 137 | 313 | 313 | 450 |
Defense
Tackles
| # | Name | Solo | Asst | Tot Tckls | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | T. Everett(Jr) | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| 3 | T. Odum(Sr) | 7 | 4 | 11 | |
| 6 | Q. Massengill(Sr) | 5 | 5 | ||
| 9 | S. Rasnake(Jr) | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1.0 |
| 11 | A. Fugate(Sr) | 7 | 3 | 10 | |
| 13 | W. Mangefrida(Jr) | 12 | 4 | 16 | |
| 15 | C. McVay(So) | 3 | 3 | ||
| 19 | R. Robertson(Jr) | 1 | 1 | ||
| 20 | C. Brock(Fr) | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| 22 | E. Romero(Sr) | 5 | 3 | 8 | |
| 23 | C. Yearwood(Sr) | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1.0 |
| 46 | B. Fullam(Jr) | 7 | 4 | 11 | |
| 76 | T. Brown(Sr) | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2.0 |
| 83 | B. Carney(So) | 1 | 1 | ||
| Team Totals | 60 | 29 | 89 | 4.0 |
Sacks
| # | Name | Sacks | Ydl | Hurs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | C. Yearwood(Sr) | 1.0 | ||
| 76 | T. Brown(Sr) | 2.0 | ||
| Team Totals | 3.0 |