By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Staff
The Cherokee JV Braves gained a total of 321 yards of offense while holding the Andrews JV Wildcats to only 161 during a game at Ray Kinsland Stadium on the beautiful fall evening of Thursday, Sept. 23. The Braves took advantage of four Wildcat turnovers to take a 48-6 victory.
Cherokee’s Javian Garcia recovers an Andrews fumble in the first half of a game at Ray Kinsland Stadium on the evening of Thursday, Sept. 23. On the game, won by the Braves 48-6, Garcia scored two touchdowns and got two 2-point conversions. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photos)
Cherokee amassed a whopping 283 yards on the ground and 38 in the air and held Andrews to 161 on the ground and 0 passing yards. Teddy Panther led the way for the Braves with 10 rushes for 93 yards and 1 TD followed by Javian Garcia with 7 rushes for 70 yards and 2 TDs.
Bubba Moore, Cherokee quarterback, was 4 of 8 for 38 yards and 1 INT. Jack Teesateskie was the top receiver on the night with 2 catches for 25 yards. Interesting fact – Moore’s interception was short-lived as Andrews fumbled the ball back to Cherokee on the same play following the pick.
Zach Seay led the way defensively for the Braves with 4.5 tackles followed by Michell Gayosso with 4 and Branden Santiago and Garcia with 3 each. The Braves also had four fumble recoveries with Michael Randazzo, Garcia, Julius Pepion, and Seay each having one.
The first quarter was scoreless for both teams, but Cherokee blew the game wide open in the second quarter scoring 24. The first score came with 3:41 left in the half as Bubba Moore ran in from one yard out. Gayosso ran for the two-point conversion. At the 2:03 mark in the second, Josh Phillips ran for a 3-yard score followed by running for the two-point conversion. Then, with only 57 seconds left in the half, Santiago ran nine yards for the score and Niko Thompson ran for the two-point conversion.
Niko Thompson (#79) barrels into the end zone for the two-point conversion following a Braves score in the second quarter.
Panther opened up the second half scoring with a big 44-yard run just four minutes into the third. Christian Grant got the two-point conversion to give Cherokee a 32-0 lead.
Andrews got on the board with their only score of the game as Aguilar (#4, roster not available) ran for a 9-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed.
Cherokee added two more scores in the fourth quarter. At the 8:59 mark, Garcia ran 38 yards for a score and then added the two-point conversion.
He followed that up with a 2-yard run four minutes later and again ran for the two-point conversion. This rounded out the scoring in the game, and the Braves took the win 48-6.
The JV Braves host the Hayesville JV Yellow Jackets at Ray Kinsland Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 30 for Homecoming Night.
