Team 100 is looking more and more like a team of destiny.

Sevier County, in its 100th year of playing football, pulled off its second consecutive playoff stunner Friday night in Knoxville.

The Smoky Bears (13-0) ended the reign of two-time defending Class 5A state champion West (9-4) with a thrilling 24-17 double-overtime win over the Rebels.

Sevier County travels to Oak Ridge (9-4) in Friday’s semifinal round with a trip to the 5A state championship game on the line.

Oak Ridge raced past East Hamilton 30-6 in its quarterfinal game on Friday.

The Smoky Bears, who roared from 14 points down in the final three minutes to beat Powell 25-24 the previous week, lived on the edge against the Rebels as well.

“It’s a crazy experience – two weeks in a row,” said standout Sevier County quarterback Cooper Newman.

“Two weeks in a row we’ve had tough games. But this team – Team 100 – is a special team. This isn’t a Cinderella run. We deserve to be where we’re at.”

THE COMEBACK BEGINS

Sevier County trailed 7-3 with 7:20 to play and had the ball at its 9.

No problem.

Newman, just a sophomore, directed a determined 17-play, 91-yard drive to put the Smoky Bears on top 10-7.

Newman, off play action on a gutty fourth-and-1 call from the West 24, connected with a wide open Parker Newman in the end zone with 1:13 left in the game.

Not to be outdone, the Rebels took the ensuing kickoff and drove from their 26 to the Sevier County 29 in eight plays.

Pete Rogers kicked a pressure-packed 46-yard field goal as time expired to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

OVERTIME DRAMA

The momentum looked to be solidly in West’s corner as Troit Patterson scored on a 10-yard run on the first play of overtime.

But back came the Smoky Bears.

Jude Costner scored on second down on a 2-yard run to knot the score at 17-17 and send the game into its second overtime.

Sevier County got the ball first in the second OT and the Smoky Bears scored on a 5-yard pass from Newman to Costner on third down.

Taylor Madison converted the kick to make it 24-17.

West quickly ran into trouble on its second overtime series.

Two negative plays pushed the ball back from the 10 to the 18.

Quarterback Parker DuBon connected with Messiah Wrenn on a 9-yard pass on third down.

With the season hanging in the balance, DuBon hit a diving Antwain Burdine near the goal, but officials ruled him down at the 1.

The loss ended West’s 12-game playoff winning streak.

Sevier County coach Todd Loveday said the last two playoff wins have been testaments to his team’s resolve.

“Our kids are resilient, tough and they play for each,” said Loveday.

“This is how our team is built. You never see any panic in them. You can’t play not to lose. To me, games like this are what you play for and coach for. We’ve got some tough kids and we’ll be practicing on Thanksgiving.”

SEVIER COUNTY STAT CORNER

Newman connected on 29 of 51 passes for 247 yards and hooked up with six different receivers during the marathon game.

“He (Newman) is cold blooded,” said Loveday.

“In overtime he’s wanting to throw the football.”

Costner had nine receptions for 103 yards and had several clutch grabs that moved the chains.

“He (Costner) is just a grown man,” said Loveday.

Hayden Akers had eight catches for 60 yards.

Tegan Avera led the Smoky Bears in rushing with 40 tough yards on 18 carries.

Sevier County had 97 yards on the ground and 344 yards in total offense.

Madison supplied the only points of the first half.

His 29-yard field goal as time expired gave the Smoky Bears a 3-0 halftime advantage.

WEST STAT CORNER

The Rebels struggled throughout the game to find any rhythm offensively.

West had 108 yards rushing and 232 yards in total offense.

DuBon was 14-for-24 passing for 124 yards.

Wrenn had 46 yards rushing on 14 carries.

Tavion Ray had 46 yards rushing on nine carries.

West had just 88 total yards of offense at the half.

The Rebels took the lead 7-3 with 7:59 to play in the third quarter when Patterson hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from DuBon in the face of double coverage by the Sevier County secondary.

Article written by Mike Blackerby/ 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 New2024 for 30% off your first year or month subscription.