TSSAA football championship: Turnovers doom Summit in first state title game

COOKEVILLE — Summit's magical postseason run came to an abrupt stop Friday night.

Knoxville Central forced four turnovers to win 30-7 in the Class 5A BlueCross Bowl state championship and give the Bobcats their second straight title.

It was perhaps an improbable run by both programs.

Powell and Knoxville West stole the headlines much of the season in Knoxville among Class 5A teams. In Nashville, it was Henry County, Beech and Gallatin.

However, it was Central (13-2) and Summit (12-3) that made it to the championship.

"It's a huge testament to great coaching and great programs," said Central coach Bryson Rosser, a former Tennessee State quarterback. "That's a great testament to coach (Brian) Coleman and the road they took.

"For us, it was perhaps hidden motivation."

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Summit's state runner-up finish comes in its first state championship appearance. The program only had one quarterfinal game until this season.

Central's defense held Summit to six first downs and 131 total yards by halftime thanks in part to three of the Spartans' four turnovers.

"They had good outside linebackers," said Summit sophomore Destin Wade, who was  5-of-17 for 127 yards with three interceptions. "I give them credit. They were tough. They got pressure on me when I was passing and even running the ball.

"They are really good. We made some big plays, but not enough."

Trailing 24-0 at halftime, Wade's 1-yard TD run with 8:41 left in the third quarter put Summit on the scoreboard.

The Spartans stopped Central on its next possession and drove the ball down to the Bobcats 6 thanks in part to a 36-yard completion from Wade to John Casey. Wade's 2-yard loss followed up with an 11-yard loss due to a sack helped end the drive.

"It could have been a different game if we could have scored there," said running back Keaten Wade, who is Destin's twin brother. "We couldn't hold them back off the line."

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Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.