WILLIAMSBURG — Whitley County’s Dee Parker entered the season as one of the Top 25 finest players in the 13th Region, and he showed why during Friday’s matchup with Knox Central.
Parker led his team in rushing and found pay dirt three times during the Colonels’ 29-14 win over the Panthers.
“Great team win,” Whitley County coach Matt Rhymer said. “The team played really hard and finished strong late in the game. Knox Central played really hard as well and had a great game plan. Tonight was a great mountain football game. “We had a great atmosphere for the opening night,”he added. “Our defense played solid all night and made plays when we needed it. Chris Cureton and Cody Bryant played great at Linebacker. Both our offense and defense line played well all night. Dee Parker had 200 yards and three touchdowns. Very proud of our team and community.”
Knox Central took advantage of a fumble recovery by Grant Miller and preceded to score on a 78-yard pass play that was capped off by Nathan Dunn’s reception, giving his team an early 7-0 lead with 7:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Whitley County responded with a touchdown drive of its own, as Parker capped things off with a six-yard touchdown run to tie the game at seven apiece with 2:32 remaining in the first quarter.
Whitley County claimed its first lead of the game with 5:04 remaining in the first half as Parker found paydirt for the second time, giving the Colonels a 13-7 advantage.
The Panthers reclaimed a 14-13 lead after intercepting a pass, but Whitley County answered two minutes later at the 8:45 mark of the fourth quarter as Parker scored his third rushing touchdown while adding the two-point conversion to give his team a 21-14 advantage.
The Colonels forced a fumble with 5:42 remaining while Cody Bryant scored on a four-yard touchdown run to push Whitley County’s lead to 29-14 with 4:32 left in the game.
