Ensworth Defeats Knoxville Catholic (Game Recap/Top Performers)

<p>To continue my week seven coverage of Tennessee high school football action, I stopped by Nashville for a district showdown between Ensworth and Knoxville Catholic. After watching the Tigers stomp the Irish 35-6, here's my full game recap as well as my top performers.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Performers</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Making a huge difference for the Irish in the second half was [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King'], a wide receiver at Knoxville Catholic High School. On top of catching and route-running, King impressed me with his ability to outlast the defense after the catch. King proved he could slip out of tackles and juke out defenders on his way into the backfield.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Making a huge difference at the helm of the Tigers' offense was [player_tooltip player_id='1153810' first='Taylor' last='Hasselbeck'], a quarterback at Ensworth High School. Hasselbeck really impressed me with his ability to lead the offense from start to finish. Hasselbeck came out swinging on Ensworth's first drive, landing a quick touchdown pass to give his team the lead. I also liked how Hasselbeck could make the clutch pass in crunch time, throwing for a number of outstanding third-down conversions. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">I really liked what I saw from [player_tooltip player_id='492562' first='Justin' last='Hopkins'], a defensive back at Ensworth High School. Hopkins was a playmaker on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Hopkins proved he could haul in the crucial pass on third-down. Defensively, Hopkins stood out with his ability to lock down receivers down the stretch. Hopkins also came in clutch in the first half when he picked off Knoxville Catholic's offense.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Another big playmaker for the Tigers was [player_tooltip player_id='1132842' first='Blake' last='Surratt'], a linebacker at Ensworth High School. Surratt made a difference offensively in the first half, hauling in a challenging touchdown pass to give Ensworth the lead. Surratt stood out with his execution after the catch, showcasing his ability to shake tackles and juke out the defense with his outstanding footwork.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Making his presence known all game long was [player_tooltip player_id='1142014' first='Elijah' last='Gibson'], an athlete at Ensworth High School. Gibson was unstoppable on the ground, punching in a grand total of four touchdowns on the night. In addition to excellent size and electric speed off the handoff, what impressed me about Gibson was his ability to shake multiple tackles on his way into enemy territory.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Game Recap</h2>   <p>Ensworth went on to score on their opening drive as [player_tooltip player_id='1153810' first='Taylor' last='Hasselbeck'] connected with [player_tooltip player_id='1132842' first='Blake' last='Surratt'] for the impressive touchdown pass. The Tigers were back on the scoreboard in the second quarter as [player_tooltip player_id='1142014' first='Elijah' last='Gibson'] found a way to punch into the endzone for the touchdown. Ensworth held a 14-0 lead over Knoxville Catholic at the half. The Irish woke up offensively at the start of the third quarter as a quick pass from [player_tooltip player_id='496084' first='Mack' last='Bartholomew'] to [player_tooltip player_id='284149' first='Tyreek' last='King'] put Knoxville Catholic in the redzone. [player_tooltip player_id='496084' first='Mack' last='Bartholomew'] would hold onto the ball and punch into the house to give the Irish their first and only score of the night. The field goal was no good as Knoxville Catholic trailed Ensworth 14-6 with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter. Gibson couldn't be stopped for the remainder of the game, punching in another three touchdowns as Ensworth went on to defeat Knoxville Catholic 35-6.</p>

To continue my week seven coverage of Tennessee high school football action, I stopped by Nashville for a district showdown between Ensworth and Knoxville Catholic. After watching the Tigers stomp the Irish 35-6, here's my full game recap as well as my top performers.