The first game of Friday did not disappoint between Lake County High School out of Northwest Tennessee and Greenback based out of East Tennessee. Lake County brought their 14-0 record up to Cookeville to face the 12-2 Greenback Cherokees who were back in Cookeville for their second time in 3 years. The Falcons jumped on the board first with a 17yd pass and catch from quarterback Tanner Snyder to Izaiah Matheny. The second quarter ended with a Cherokee response at the 3:19 mark as Holden Willis scored from 1yd out to tie up the game 8-8 going into halftime.
The second half exploded as both schools scored a combined 29 points between them. Lake County scored first with another pitch and catch from Tanner Snyder to his number one target Izaiah Matheny from 10yds out with 5:28 on the clock to go up 16-8. Greenback was not going to be outdone as they scored with a 43-yard pass from Holden Willis to Wyatt Rutgerson on one play drive to knot it up again 16-16. Just a few moments later on a five-play 71-yard drive, Snyder capitalized on a 3-yard run for Lake County to take the lead 22-16. Yet again Greenback responded with another four-play 63-yard touchdown score when Wyatt Rutgerson took it in from 5 yards out on the rush. That was the last time Greenback would score, Lake County had two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Tanner Snyder methodically put together a nine-play 92-yard drive together that resulted in 4:24 time eclipsed off the clock. His 4yd touchdown run extended the lead for Lake County 30-23. 18 seconds later Snyder picked off Greenback quarterback Braden Carnes for a pick 6 touchdown that extended the lead again to 38-23. This was the nail in the coffin as the game ended with that final score.
A few players that were worth the price of admission in this particular game for Lake County was senior quarterback and linebacker Tanner Snyder as he passed for 266 yards, ran for 138 yards and an interception returned for a touchdown. In addition to Snyder, his go-to guy was senior wide receiver Izaiah Matheny who had two touchdowns and 175 receiving yards. This was the Falcons first state championship since 1985. Congratulations to Head Coach Josh Puckett, his coaching staff, and the players of Lake County High School.
