D'Arious Reed's heroics not enough to lead Pearl-Cohn football to first state title since 1997
CHATTANOOGA - D'Arious Reed was inconsolable on the sideline as the final whistle blew.
The Pearl-Cohn junior receiver nearly missed this season after tearing his meniscus in a preseason scrimmage against Lipscomb Academy. He returned Week 7 and quickly established himself as the Firebirds top target in their run up to the TSSAA Class 4A football championship game Saturday.
He nearly missed the championship game after tweaking his hamstring in their semifinals win over Pearl-Cohn but decided to give it ago. That decision proved to be the right one as he caught six passes for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Despite that stat line though, the Firebirds (12-3) came up just short of winning their first state title since 1997 in a 34-30 loss to Anderson County (15-0) at Finley Stadium.
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"Having this experience, it means a lot but I just wanted the win," Reed said through tears. "This just hurts. I didn't want it to end like this."
It didn't take long for Reed to establish himself in the game. On the first play from scrimmage, Tarleton connected with him for an 80-yard touchdown strike.
Reed scored his second touchdown with 8:14 remaining in the second quarter as he beat the Anderson County defensive back and hauled in a pass from Tarleton with one-hand.
His performance was noted by former mentor, 2021 Class 4A Mr. Football winner and Kentucky receiver Barion Brown, who cheered on the Firebirds from the Pearl-Cohn sideline.
"He really is unbelievable," Brown said. "He's like a little brother to me and was always right by my side during practices and games when I was here. He took the offseason seriously, put in the work and this is the result of it all."
Anderson County keyed in on Reed in the second half as they tried to keep the ball out of his hands. While it worked for the most part, the plan also backfired in some ways.
The Mavericks pulled ahead by 10 midway through the fourth quarter forcing Pearl to score on a quick drive. On the play following that touchdown, the Firebirds responded as Reed and Donovan Higgins crossed over the middle. Anderson County doubled Reed leaving Higgins to score the long touchdown and make it a one-score game.
Pearl-Cohn had the opportunity to take the lead with 18 seconds remaining and Reed was the target.
With Tarleton out with an upper-body injury, backup quarterback Terence McGlory heaved a pass up to Reed who had four Anderson County players covering him. The pass was intercepted and the game was over.
"D'Arious meant a lot to me and to what we were able to do late in the season and today," Tarleton said. "Without him, I don't know where we'd be. He was the spark to the offense and to this run we were able to go on."
Reach Joe Spears at jspears2@gannett.com. Follow him on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @joe_spears7.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football: D'Arious Reed's heroics not enough for Pearl-Cohn
