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Stone Memorial takes down Lenoir City, 30-14

michael lindsay, crossville chronicle, tenn.
·3 min read

Aug. 22—A complete performance on both sides of the ball led the Stone Memorial Panthers to a season-opening victory over Lenoir City last Friday, 30-14.

"It feels good to go 1-0," said SMHS head coach Derik Samber. "The home opener is always exciting. This was a win over a team we've never beat before.

"It was an entire group effort," Samber added. "Things got chippy at times, and we've shown we've grown up."

Quarterback Hunter Heavilon started his season in style, going 19-24 for 247 yards and two touchdowns passing along with 114 yards and a TD rushing.

"It feels good to start 1-0 and go out and have fun with the boys," Heavilon said. "I'm trying to keep my head. Not every play is going to be perfect. I trust my guys and my O-Line; they blocked like crazy tonight."

Stone Memorial's Bear Eldridge had a career day at receiver with seven receptions for 133 yards and two touchdowns, including a 56-yard catch-and-run in the first quarter.

"The first one was on a screen," Eldridge said. "They trusted me to get out there and do my thing. My other receivers blocked well for me."

Defensively, the SMHS Panther varsity offense pitched a shutout as Lenoir City's touchdowns came on a kick return and a late fourth-quarter score against the SMHS reserves.

"Defense was lights out," Samber said. "We were fitting the run well all night. Credit to coach Justin Qualls; he did a great job."

Stone Memorial threatened offensively midway through the first period before a turnover inside the 10-yard line stalled their momentum.

The Panthers would respond later in the first with Eldridge's 56-yard touchdown reception with 1:04 remaining in the first period.

Justin Barnett's extra point put SMHS ahead 7-0.

Stone Memorial wasted no time getting the ball back as Cole Dayton recovered a Lenoir City fumble on the first play of the second period, setting SMHS up at the LC 34-yard line.

SMHS Panther all-state receiver Kaleb Flowers turned the fumble recovery into six points a few plays later as he took a jet sweep 12 yards around the left side for an SMHS touchdown, putting the Panthers up 14-0 with 11:04 left in the second quarter.

Lenoir City answered in the quickest way possible as they returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to trail 14-7.

Stone Memorial had an opportunity to go up two scores before halftime, but a turnover in the end zone with 20 seconds left in the second quarter kept the halftime score at 14-7.

Lenoir City opened the second half with the ball until Dayton recovered his second fumble of the day, giving SMHS possession.

A Heavilon 50-yard rush set up the Panthers on the two-yard line, where Heavilon snuck the ball in for a touchdown to put Stone Memorial up 21-7.

Eldridge put the nail in the coffin with 6:31 left in the third period as he hauled in his second receiving touchdown of the evening to put SMHS up 28-7.

"Hunter trusted me to beat my guy," Eldridge said. "I got up and made a play."

Stone Memorial's defense got on the scoreboard on the ensuing drive, recording a safety to put the Panthers up 30-7.

"That first defense scored more points than they gave up," Samber said.

Lenoir City punched in a touchdown with less than a minute left to make the final score 30-14.

Stone Memorial currently sits at 1-0.

"It's a big difference that first week, starting things off right," Samber said. "We had a great crowd and atmosphere. I'm really proud of the guys, and we're going to enjoy this one."

The SMHS Panthers travel to East Ridge Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Game photos and first-half highlights are available online at www.crossville-chronicle.com.