Fourth-and-1

Sudderth’s stop changed everything

Alcoa’s JaColby Cooper snares a pass for the Tornadoes first touchdown in the win over West on Friday.

By Stefan Cooper
Editor
Blount Press Row

At school, he’s “the nicest kid you’d ever want to meet,” according to his coach.

Put a helmet and shoulder pads on Darius Sudderth, and he’s got some useful skills.

The sophomore linebacker blew up a West fourth-and-1 at the Alcoa 19 on the opening possession of the second half on Friday. The Rebels never quite recovered the rest of the way in a 28-10 win for the Tornadoes at Goddard Field.

“When I came up, I saw the guard pull and I knew I had to fill (the hole) now!” Sudderth said. “I said, ‘If I fill it now, he’s not going to get that yard,’ and he didn’t.”

Sudderth simply plays with a different motor, Alcoa linebackers coach Jake Warwick said.

“No. 1, ever since I’ve know him he’s just worked his tail off,” he said. “He comes to practice everyday with a great mindset, willing to learn, willing to be coached. With that, he’s just an instinctual player, something he’s just born with.”

Sudderth’s stop proved the highlight on a night defense set the tone for the Tornadoes. The Rebels managed only a first-half field goal as Michigan commit Eli Owens, Carter Cowart, J.T. Turner and Sudderth paced a big-hitting front seven.

West’s touchdown came by way of a pick-six.

“We prepared so hard for this game,” Cowart said. “We’ve got some fast people up front. We just got off the ball and hammered ’em and we stopped them.”

In the defensive secondary for the Tornadoes, sophomores Thomas Manu and Micah Jones led the campaign to lock down West’s receivers. The Rebels got few easy looks.

The coaching staff “repped it over and over and over in practice,” Manu said. “They wanted it perfect.”

Offensively, Jones was really having himself a time.

The do-it-all back accounted for a pair of Alcoa scores, finding the end zone on runs off 4 and 3 yards. JaColby Cooper ran under a perfectly-thrown ball from quarterback Eli Graf from 21 yards to open the scoring as the Tornadoes led, 14-10, at the half.

“They believed in me,” Cooper said. “We talked about it all week, about me scoring. I just wanted to go get ’em. I think they were sleeping on me and everybody else on our team.”

Graf kept around right end, slipped a tackle and raced 42 yards for the clincher late in the fourth.

“Eli (Owens) came through the gap and opened the hole for me, and it was just wide open,” he said.