Wright on Cue

Tornado senior becomes season’s second 1,000-yard back

Alcoa senior Colton Wrights sheds a Scott County tackler en route to the end zone on Friday. Photo by Cindy Nowlin

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

It’s easy to overlook an opponent you defeated decisively only a few weeks before.

That didn’t happen here.

Colton Wright, the Barley’s/Blount Press Row Player of the Week, sprinted 47 yards to the end zone on Alcoa’s first possession, and the top-ranked Tornadoes cruised to a 55-28 win over Scott County in a Class 3A second round game on Friday at Goddard Field.

Next for Alcoa (11-1) is a quarterfinal visit from Elizabethton (11-1) on Friday.

All playoff kickoffs are 7 p.m.

Wright, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior running back, later upped the ante with a 57-yard scoring run. The Tornadoes touched the Highlanders for 324 yards rushing on 40 carries all told.

For the season, Alcoa has amassed 3,108 yards on the ground, averaging 7.5 yards per rush.

With his performance Friday, Wright became became the second Blount County back this season to reach 1,000 yards. The athletic Tornado has run for 1,028 yards and 14 touchdowns out of a backfield with no shortage of ball carriers, averaging 11.4 yards per carry, all team bests.

Four additional Tornadoes — quarterback Jaylen Myers, 533 yards, 7.0 yards per rush, 10 TDs; fullback Malik Salter, 485, 6.3, nine; halfback Taylen McNear, 288, 7.4, five; halfback Jaylen McCord, 263, 7.3, three — comprise a formidable Alcoa ground game.

With all the running going on, receiver DiAndre Johnson’s state-record 99-yard touchdown catch kind of gets lost in the shuffle. Since, technically, 99 yards is as far as you can advance the ball from scrimmage in a football game, is the Walker Russell to Johnson hookup a world record, too?

Just asking.