Livingston Wins Thriller Over Cavaliers

Livingston Academy (2-0) defeated Cookeville (0-2) 28-21 on Friday night in Overton County.

The Wildcat defense stopped Cookeville on a fourth-and-goal attempt from the one with 3:29 to play in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance to win the game.

Senior signal-caller Will McDonald engineered a nine-play. 99-yard touchdown drive that ended when he connected with Wesley Smith for a 30-yard touchdown with 22 seconds to play in regulation.

McDonald completed 24 of his 31 passing attempts for 296 and four touchdowns, including a long of 43 yards. Smith caught three of those touchdown passes for Livingston and tacked on 168 yards in the process. Senior Aubrey Hollars caught McDonald’s other touchdown pass.

Running back Nate Neely accumulated 72 yards on 13 carries for the Wildcats, who racked up 367 yards on offense.

Cookeville quarterback Stockton Owen led Cookeville in rushing with 137 yards on 17 attempts and a touchdown. Owen also completed 9-16 passes for 113 yards.

Jacob Stamps tallied 50 yards and a touchdown on 10 attempts for Cookeville, and Evan Whited rushed for 36 yards on six carries and a touchdown. CHS gained 328 yards of total offense for the game.

In week three, Livingston will host Cumberland County, and Cookeville hosts their first region game of the year at home against Riverdale.