CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Krys Uselton leaped toward the gray sky on Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
When he came down, the newly-minted senior cornerback was a state champion.
Uselton’s double-overtime interception of Bryson Rollins clinched a 21-14 win for the Wildcats, cementing a perfect 15-0 season and their first state championship in school history.
It also crushed Elizabethton’s three-peat hopes, as the Cyclones — who celebrated their first state title in the modern era just two years ago in Cookeville — found themselves on the losing end in the 2021 Class 4A BlueCross Bowl state championship game.
Following the win, Tullahoma coach John Olive called his team’s season “a joyride, especially for the seniors.”
That ride certainly had a fitting ending, as Uselton’s first — and last — high school football season was capped with an even bigger first for his sobbing teammates, who had encouraged Uselton to go out for football his senior year.
Still, while Uselton was the Wildcat who sprinted toward midfield in celebration, he was not the team’s MVP.
That honor went to quarterback Ryan Scott, who notched a 7-0 lead for Tullahoma before Rollins and the Cyclones responded with a touchdown pass to Jake Roberts.
The teams continued trading defensive blows until late in the fourth quarter, when Scott drove the Wildcats to the Elizabethton one-yard-line. Facing fourth-and-goal, Olive followed his promise to his team — that they would play “not to lose.”
“I had kind of backed myself into. Corner,” Olive said. “When they came over to the sideline, guys were already saying, ‘We’re going, we’re going,’ and I said, ‘Alright, we’re going.’”
Except the Elizabethton defense held on a massive stop, giving the Cyclones possession with less than three minutes to go in regulation.
“I thought I had lost us the state championship game,” Olive said. “Our kids bailed me out.”
Indeed, the Wildcats did. Buoyed by a pivotal holding call on Elizabethton, Tullahoma forced overtime before before Rollins punched in the first score of the period.
Keyshawn Cummings responded with a 10-yard dash, and the PAT tied the score at 14.
The Wildcats’ offense continued the pace, as Scott found Jacob Dixon wide-open for a 21-14 lead. Ironically, Dixon caught the pass in the same corner where Uselton would later snatch history.
When Elizabethton took over, Rollins ran two quick plays before going deep. The result was disastrous for the black-clad Cyclones, most of whom crumpled.
Meanwhile, Tullahoma’s players and coaches soared. Some chest-bumped, others hugged, and all cried.
In total, the Wildcats’ emotions proved an appropriate end to a tumultuous game.
More than that, though, they proved a final cap to a season of firsts that, when the dust settled, left memories that will last for a lifetime.
