Author: Joe Williams & Charles Pulliam
Fireworks exploded in the sky as the National Anthem finished at Nolensville High School Friday night before the start of the Class 5A second-round playoff matchup against visiting White County.
It was only the cold open to an otherwise explosive main event that lasted the entire 48 minutes of the postseason contest.
The two teams combined for 1,151 yards of total offense, 92 points, 13 touchdowns – plus a safety – as three players exceeded 250 yards and three more surpassed the 100-yard mark.
In the end, the Knights extended a slim 42-36 edge midway through the fourth quarter with two late touchdowns to clinch a state quarterfinal berth with a 56-36 win over the Warriors in a thrilling clash of high-powered offenses.
"It was a dog fight for sure," said Nolensville senior wideout Chance Fitzgerald, who snagged a crucial 56-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 4:23 remaining. "We were trading punches. I mean, it was exciting."
Coby Walton, the Knights senior quarterback, completed 17 of 22 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns and senior running back Samson Johnson erupted for a season-high 188 yards rushing with three TDs. Walton, Johnson, Fitzgerald (8 catches for 107 yards) and Zion Tamaska (111 yards rushing) had a hand in 565 of Nolensville's 583 yards of offense.
"It took a lot of heart, effort and straining," Knights coach Paul Derrick said. "We knew the type of physical team they are. We were fortunate to get a turnover early and get ahead by two scores.
"These guys have just found a way to win games all year long. I'm super proud of them and their effort."
White County relied on near record-breaking senior Malaki Dowell, who rushed for a whopping 296 yards on 46 carries, and sophomore QB Tripp Pinion, who gained another 252 yards on 31 carries. Dowell scored three times and Pinion twice with both combining for an exhausting 71 carries and 548 yards just a week removed from totaling 601 yards on the ground in a 49-30 win at Franklin County in the first round – the program's first playoff win.
Dowell finished with 3,201 yards rushing this year – good for No. 2 all-time in the TSSAA record books for a single season. Only Beech's Jalen Hurd (3,357) has rushed for more yards in a single season in state history and he did it in two more games than Dowell in 2012.
"He'll be remembered forever," White County's contractor-turned football coach Mark Frasier said. "I'm just sad I won't get to watch him anymore here."
Frasier and Derrick both expected the potential for a high-scoring affair. However, Frasier thought his Warriors were going to handle the Nolensville run game more smoothly.
"They were a lot better at their running game than we thought," he said, adding how three uncharacteristic turnovers hurt just as much. "We were hoping we at least had a shot to make them more one-dimensional, but we had to put more guys in the box. … Nolensville did what they had to do."
Johnson scored on runs of 4, 19 and 18 yards.
"We are just tough," Johnson said of the Knights offense. "We got Coby at quarterback with Chance and Dylan (Northcutt) and then Eric (Harper), who plays both ways. I mean, then you got me and (Zion) – you can't stop all of us and when you choose one or the other, someone will always get going."
Johnson's 18-yard touchdown run with 3:25 to play in the third quarter extended Nolensville's lead to 42-27, but White County used a safety to inch closer to start the fourth and then added a Dowell 5-yard TD run to close within six.
The Knights faced 3rd-and-long at their own 49-yard line before Walton slipped a pass to Fitzgerald across midfield. Fitzgerald streaked past three defenders on a crossing route and then cut back across field before reaching the end zone. The senior picked up an unsportsmanlike penalty on the play, but the TD was a crushing blow to White County's momentum late.
"If we tackle him there, it's fourth down at 42-36 and they have to punt," Frasier said. "We didn't make the play and that's just how it goes."
"I knew the middle of the field was open and as soon as I caught the ball, I just kept pushing and pushing," Fitzgerald said.
Nolensville got the first break of the night on the fourth play of the game. Dowell darted left for a 7-yard game before being drilled by Taryc Washington. The ball popped into the air and Derrick Burroughs pulled it down in stride, returning the fumble to the Warriors' 20-yard line. Four plays later Johnson danced into the end zone from four yards out for a 7-0 Knights lead.
Nolensville forced a turnover on downs on the Warriors next possession when Stafford Bussey stuffed Pinion on fourth down to kill a 10-play drive. The Knights then struck quick, capping a 55-yard drive five plays later when Walton found Harper for the first of his two scores, closing out the first quarter with a 14-0 Nolensville lead.
From there, it was one big play after another, as the teams combined for 32 plays of 10 yards or more, nine ending in touchdowns. Eleven went for more than 20 yards.
Nolensville's Taylor Wein may not have shared the same feeling as Derrick in terms of playing defense, but the senior called the contest "fun to play defense in."
"It was a blast. I think we were able to get some big turnovers that were key to the win," said Wein, who made 9.5 tackles with three for loss. "We're just excited. The atmosphere was great with the fans and everything and being able to make some big plays – that's our focus. Now we just gotta keep winning ball games."
Walton found Dylan Northcutt twice in the endzone, once on a 52-yarder and later on a 25-yarder.
The back-breaker came in two plays one after another with less than two minutes remaining. First, Burroughs climbed a ladder to swipe an interception – one of just two passes attempted by Pinion – and on the next play from scrimmage, Tamaska found a seam down the home sideline and outran everyone for a 72-yard romp.
"We did what we had to do and ended up winning by 20," Johnson said. "I still don't know how that happened, but we did it.
"I think we all just showed out."
The win sets up a Williamson County rematch next week with Page, a 42-39 winner on the road at Mt. Juliet Friday. Nolensville defeated the Patriots 27-21 in overtime for the Region 6-5A championship just four weeks ago and will host Page once again with a state semifinal berth up for grabs.
"Page beat us twice last year and now we have the opportunity to go back and do that to them," Fitzgerald said. "We love playing Page and now we get that chance. It's huge for us."
Nolensville 56, White County 36, Class 5A 2nd Round
WCHS 0 21 6 9 – 36
NHS 14 14 14 14 – 56
Scoring Summary
Q1 9:10 N – Samson Johnson 4 run (Reese Miller kick);
Q1 1:52 N – Eric Harper 21 pass from Coby Walton (Miller kick);
Q2 9:59 W – Tripp Pinion 5 run (Nate Mullins kick);
Q2 7:41 W – Pinion 59 run (Mullins kick);
Q2 5:12 N – Johnson 19 run (Miller kick);
Q2 3:02 W – Malaki Dowell 50 run (Mullins kick);
Q2 1:55 N – Dylan Northcutt 52 pass from Walton (Miller kick)
Q3 10:59 N – Northcutt 25 pass from Walton (Miller kick);
Q3 6:33 W – Dowell 37 run (Run failed);
Q3 3:25 N – Johnson 18 run (Miller kick);
Q4 10:48 W – Safety;
Q4 6:11 W – Dowell 6 run (Mullins kick);
Q4 4:23 N – Chance Fitzgerald 51 pass from Walton (Miller kick);
Q4 1:46 N – Zion Tamaska 72 run (Miller kick).
Team Statistics (WCHS-NHS)
Plays – 84 47
Total Offense – 568 583
Fumbles-Lost – 2-2 1-1
Turnovers – 3 1
First Downs – 28 22
3rd Down (Conversions-Attempts) – 10-15 4-6
4th Down (Conversions-Attempts) –2-5 0-1
Penalties-Yards – 4-30 8-75
Individual Statistics
Rushing – WCHS 82-568 (Malaki Dowell 46-296, Tripp Pinion 31-252, Jaden Simpson 1-9, Payton Simpson 2-7, Nate Mullins 2-4); NHS 25-317 (Samson Johnson 18-188, Zion Tamaska 5-111, Coby Walton 2-18).
Passing – WCHS (Tripp Pinion 0-2-1-0 for 0 yards); NHS (Coby Walton 17-22-0-4 for 266 yards).
Receiving – NHS 17-266 (Chance Fitzgerald 8-107, Dylan Northcutt 3-89, Samson Johnson 2-35, Eric Harper 3-27, Joseph Carano 1-8).