The Herald-News - News Story

    It's hurricane season in Tennessee, at least that's what it felt like at Rhea County High School's Bill Horton Field on Monday afternoon.
    The Golden Eagle freshman football team got a soggy start to its season, defeating the Fighting Irish of Knox Catholic 14-0 despite the remnants of Hurricane Fay turning the field into a slip-and-slide.
    The game had to be stopped on two occasions due to lightning.
    The score was tied at 0 with 6:35 remaining in the first half when the first unscheduled stoppage occurred.
    No sooner had the two teams been called back to the field than lightning hit close to the field, knocking out nearly all the stadium lights and sending everyone running back to the locker room.
    The extra time gave RCHS Freshman Head Coach Jason Smith time to regroup his troops.
    When the Eagles returned to the field, they marched 48 yards down the field in seven plays, powering straight into the end zone on a five-yard run by Chris Akina with 2:50 remaining in the half.
    Akina thundered in for the two-point conversion, giving the hometown boys an 8-0 advantage.
    Cameron Burton kept the momentum alive, sacking Knox Catholic's quarterback for a nine-yard loss on third down and distance to halt the Irish opening drive of the second half.
    The Eagles received the ball near midfield via the punting of a rain-soaked ball and capitalized on the field position.
    The running combo of Akina, Chris Peavyhouse and Ethan Beddingfield powered down the field, with Beddingfield taking the touchdown honors at the end of the nine-play drive.
    Though the touchdown took place near the end of the third quarter, no more scoring took place on the night.
    Rhea County fumbled six times from the time the rains started until the final buzzer but managed to recover each drop. Golden Eagle Thomas Smith even recovered a Knox Catholic fumble.
    In addition to their season opener against Knox Catholic, the freshman Eagles also hosted a freshman jamboree this weekend, taking on The McCallie School and Walker Valley High School in their scrimmages.
    Rhea County bested Walker Valley 14-6, but fell to McCallie by the same margin.
    The Eagles will get a chance for a rematch in two Mondays, as the JV and freshman host McCallie at 5 and 7 p.m., respectively, on Sept. 8.
    Cathy Barnes can be contacted at cathy.barnes@rheaheraldnews.com