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Jo Byrns falls short against Harpeth




Jo Byrns fullback Brian Salas meets Harpeth’s Luke Gossett.BILL CLARK

Jo Byrns fullback Brian Salas meets Harpeth’s Luke Gossett.BILL CLARK

Harpeth senior Luke Gossett was a one-man wrecking crew Friday night against Jo Byrns.

The tailback, free safety and kicker did it all for the Indians in a 17-14 win. In fact, Gossett was directly responsible for all 17 of Harpeth’s points.

“He’s a talented kid,” Jo Byrns coach Tom Adkins said of Gossett. “He’s got good size and runs the ball hard. He has a good offensive line in front of him, too.”

Gossett opened the scoring with a five-yard touchdown run with 9:57 left in the first quarter. He then proceeded to kick the extra point. That score came after Jo Byrns fumbled on the second play of the game, giving Harpeth prime field position.

“We made too many mistakes,” Adkins said. “You can’t give the opposing team the ball at the 20-yard line. But we responded well after that and got back in the game.”

Jo Byrns junior tailback Jake Chennault opened the second quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run. He then added the two-point conversion to give the Red Devils an 8-7 advantage.

Jo Byrns tailback Jake Chennault cruises into the end zone. BILL CLARK

Jo Byrns tailback Jake Chennault cruises into the end zone. BILL CLARK

From there, Gossett added a 21-yard field goal just before halftime to make it 10-8. The final touchdown of the night came with 6:50 left in third quarter, when Harpeth QB Thomas Sloan dumped a screen pass off to Gossett, who scampered 25 yards to the end zone.

“It was a pretty evenly-matched game,” Adkins said. “Defensively, we held them to a field goal. But we gave them good field position (for Gossett’s two touchdowns).”

Chennault tacked on a late two-yard touchdown run in the final minutes. He finished with 80 yards on 13 carries. Jo Byrns QB Ryan Dowlen completed 14-of-23 passes for 92 yards. Elijah Farmer led the Red Devils with four receptions and 31 yards receiving.

Defensively, Brian Salas finished with 14 total tackles. Rudy Tucker had 10, and Maxie Owens chipped in nine. Harpeth had 205 yards of total offense – just one more than Jo Byrns’ 204 total yards.

Jo Byrns faces another stiff test Friday against Huntland. The Red Devils dropped a 41-7 contest to the Hornets last season. Huntland boasts standout tailback Cameron Reed, who has 3,080 career rushing yards and 30 touchdowns.

New starting QB Ryan Dowlen throws a pass.BILL CLARK

New starting QB Ryan Dowlen throws a pass.BILL CLARK

“(Reed) is as good of a running back that we’ll face all year,” Akins said. “They run the Wing-T, so we’ll have to cover (our) gaps.”

The Red Devils huddle after their 17-14 loss to Harpeth.BILL CLARK

The Red Devils huddle after their 17-14 loss to Harpeth.BILL CLARK

The Jo Byrns cheerleaders.BILL CLARK

The Jo Byrns cheerleaders.BILL CLARK

Jo Byrns' Elijah Farmer tries to corral the ball.BILL CLARK

Jo Byrns’ Elijah Farmer tries to corral the ball.BILL CLARK

Senior Bobby Ogg lets a punt fly.BILL CLARK

Senior Bobby Ogg lets a punt fly.BILL CLARK

The Jo Byrns captains - Noelan Woods (24), Bobby Ogg (4) and Rudy Tucker (55). BILL CLARK

The Jo Byrns captains – Noelan Woods (24), Bobby Ogg (4) and Rudy Tucker (55). BILL CLARK

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