Early dominance has Warriors rolling past Region foe Lakeway Christian
KNOXVILLE — Heading into its fifth game Friday night, Sept. 20 — Homecoming against Division II-AA East Region foe Lakeway Christian Academy — Christian Academy of Knoxville had been surrendering 27 points per game, while scoring fewer than 20.
What a great night to flip the script.
Led by the one-two rushing punch of freshman quarterback Seaton Moffett and senior running back Lincoln Rich, the Warriors scored on their first four possessions in building a 27-6 lead barely into the second quarter.
When a third-quarter touchdown triggered a continuous clock, the Warriors then cruised to the end, 41-6.
“It was a good win for us,” CAK head coach Chad Speck said. “We needed to come out and have a complete game, start to finish, and we got close to that tonight. The defense flew around and did what they needed to do.”
CAK raced to a quick 20-0 lead on its first three possessions. Taking the opening kickoff, the Warriors drove 62 yards and led 6-0 when Rich plunged in from the LCA 1 on first and goal on the drive’s sixth play.
After forcing the Lions to punt on their first possession, CAK took over on its own 24. A 34-yard keeper by Moffett and, three plays later, a 28-yard run by Rich set up Rich’s 2-yard score on first and goal.
With 7:10 left in the first period, the Warriors’ 13-0 lead would be all the points they’d need.
“Regional wins are hard to come by, so to get this one on the books is great,” Speck said. CAK improved to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the East Region.
After forcing another three-and-out on LCA’s second possession, CAK made it 20-0 with 3:20 left in the first when, on their next possession, Moffett took it in from the Lions 15 on first down. The eight-play drive covered 57 yards.
Lakeway’s lone score came with less than a minute to play in the first quarter when quarterback Jake Pollock connected with receiver Jace Ballard for a 42-yard touchdown.
The Warriors answered right back on their next possession. Backup quarterback Shepard Strange hit Ward Sterchi for a 3-yard score 33 seconds into the second quarter.
The scoring drive was set up by a 48-yard kickoff return by Gabriel Linkous and a 30-yard run on a reverse by Eric Moore on the drive’s first play. The 27-6 lead held til halftime.
Through three quarters, Moffett and Rich carried a combined 33 times for 265 yards, more than 200 in the first half. Rich scored three times.
“Lincoln’s there every week for us, battles like crazy,” Speck said. “Seaton played a lot more than he’s played in the past. Everybody’s seeing what the future looks like with him.”
“We came out in the first quarter and put points on the board,” Moffett said.
“The team played really well. We’re gonna start winning.”
In the third, the Warriors got a 24-yard TD run from Rich and a 10-yard scoring pass from Moffett to Linkous. The final score kept the clock running.
“Week by week,” said Speck. “Trying to get better; trying to meet a certain standard.”
Friday night the Warriors travel right down Dutchtown Road to play Regional rival Webb School of Knoxville.
