Overtime. Fourth down. One final push.

Jody Scruggs lowered his shoulders, churned through the line for a 4-yard touchdown, and delivered Carter a 37-30 victory Friday night in one of Knoxville’s most entertaining games of the young season.

The all-purpose senior did a bit of everything for the Hornets (3-1, 2-0 Region 2-4A) — rushing for 90 yards, catching six passes for 91 more, and steadying his team every time momentum wavered.

His closing burst capped three straight overtime carries and sealed a hard-earned road triumph.

“This says we’re really good,” Scruggs said. “We had a lot of adversity trying to score there at the end. We had a lot of penalties, and we really tried to work through it and come back from it.”

Carter set the tone early when Scruggs’ 39-yard reception sprang Joseph Armenta’s 17-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. A misfired punt snap on South-Doyle’s next series became a scoop-and-score for Cooper Collins and a 14-0 cushion.

South-Doyle (2-2, 0-2) responded behind quarterback Benson Brang and running back Mill Crenshaw (20 carries, 161 yards, two touchdowns). Brang found Rondell North for a 10-yard score, and after Jayden Norries intercepted Carter quarterback Brody Sparks, Crenshaw bolted 52 yards to tie the game. Gavin Thomas’ 31-yard field goal just before halftime nudged Carter ahead 17-14.

The second half turned into a tug-of-war.

Armenta opened it with a 46-yard touchdown run, but South-Doyle answered with a grinding 14-play march capped by Brang’s 1-yard sneak and Isaiah Mitchell’s two-point run to make it 24-22. Scruggs fueled a 70-yard drive ending with Armenta’s third touchdown for a 30-22 lead, but Crenshaw — who finished with more than 170 rushing yards — powered a 14-yard scoring run and Brang hit Kamariyon Rice for the conversion to tie it at 30 with 4:30 left.

“I’m elated for our kids and community,” Carter coach Todd Helton said. “A lot of times we get hit down on the mat and don’t get up. Tonight, our kids kept getting off the mat. We played sloppy. Our kids didn’t care — they just kept battling.”

Scruggs nearly ended it in regulation, guiding Carter inside the red zone before North intercepted Sparks in the end zone for the second time in the fourth quarter. South-Doyle’s final drive reached field-goal range, but a 43-yard attempt fell short as time expired.

Overtime belonged to Carter. Armenta gained seven yards on first down, then Scruggs took over — three consecutive runs, the last a 4-yard score that put the Hornets ahead for good.

The Cherokees had a chance to score, but a holding call and a sack thwarted them.

“They throw me in wherever, and I just try to go out there and make a play,” Scruggs said. “(Armenta’s) amazing for us. He came out and worked his butt off every time we gave him the ball.”

Both teams left impressed by the other.

“We knew they were a good offensive team and they like to throw it deep,” Brang said. “They’re a good ball team, and they’ve got some big fellas, so we knew they were going to score a lot, and we knew we were going to score a lot, too. We had a good game plan going in, and unfortunately, it just didn’t go our way.”

The Cherokees, who had won a total of five games over the previous three seasons, appear headed for brighter days. South-Doyle trailed by 14 points in the first half and 10 in the second, and came within a whisker of starting its season 3-1.

“South-Doyle is a completely different team,” Scruggs said. “They’ve worked really hard in their game, and it shows. I’m glad the game was like that; it made the game more fun.”

South-Doyle coach L.A. Headrick saw progress despite the defeat.

“When you’re in games like this, games like this teach you how to win,” he said. “And if you’re never in these situations, you don’t know how to handle them. We know how to handle them now.”

Article written by Dean Fox/5Star Preps To read more on area high school sports or to see photo galleries, videos, stat leaders, etc… visit 5StarPreps.com — and use promo code New2025 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.

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