Enterprise thrashes Smiths Station on the road

The Enterprise Wildcats (2-6, 1-4) broke a six-game losing streak Friday night with a 42-8 throttling of Class 7A Region 2 foe Smiths Station Panthers (0-7, 0-5).

The Wildcats welcomed back a number of returning injured players and were led by a rejuvenated running game against the Panthers that scored 42 unanswered points enroute to the win.

"I felt really good about the way we played," Enterprise coach David Faulkner said. "I don't think we played perfect by any means but the kids played really hard and executed really well and eliminated the mistakes that have been hurting us all year long. We were able to make big plays when we needed to make plays, too."

Enterprise rolled up 263 yards rushing and returning starter Tre Robinson led the way with 144 yards on 15 carries. Freshman LZ Leonard added 86 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

"I was really excited about the running game tonight," Faulkner said. "Getting Tre back healthy and running down hill for us really helped and the offensive line did a great job of knocking their guys off the football and establishing the line of scrimmage."

While the Wildcats ended up dominating the Panthers for much of the game, things didn't start out so smoothly.

Smiths Station jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Enterprise punt returner CJ Felder misjudged a punt and fumbled into the Enterprise end-zone. He was able to fall on the ball before any Smiths Station players could jump on it but it still gave the Panthers the 2-0 lead.

Felder, however, responded by picking up a Smiths Station fumble and returning it 30 yards for an Enterprise touchdown.

"We tell them all the time you just have to keep playing (after making a mistake)," Faulkner said. "You'll get your opportunities to make plays and make up for it. CJ misread the ball on the punt and misplayed it but he responded like CJ always does.

"He's been a really good football player and leader for us. He responded the way he needed to when his team needed it."

Enterprise receiver Chance Warren added a 7-yard touchdown run to give Enterprise the 14-2 lead heading into the second quarter.

Leonard extended that lead to 21-2 with 3:05 left in the first half after spinning around a number of Panther defenders on a dazzling 18-yard touchdown run. Enterprise was able to take advantage of three Smiths Station fumbles, turning all three into touchdowns.

In the third quarter, the Wildcats extended their lead to 28-2 on an 8-yard touchdown run from Leonard.

Quarterback Koty Fulton-Tice, who returned from another ankle injury, found Chance Warren on an 18-yard touchdown pass with 3:44 left in the third quarter to extend the Enterprise lead to 35-2. Warren made a mesmerizing one-handed diving catch to score the touchdown.

Warren spent the majority of the last two weeks playing quarterback, so his return to receiver was welcomed as he hauled in three passes for 66 yards and the score.

Fulton-Tice completed 5-of-13 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown after starting off slow in the first half.

"Koty had to knock some rust off," Faulkner said of his quarterback. "When you don't play for a while it takes some time to get back into the speed of the game and get your timing back. I was pleased with the way he played and the way he executed our offense."

Enterprise running back Jalen Barton stretched the Enterprise lead to 42-2 on a 3-yard touchdown run with 2:05 left in the game.

Smiths Station was able to end the scoring drought as time expired when running back LC Harris broke off a 70-yard touchdown run to make the final score 42-8. Harris ended the game with 91 yards and a touchdown rushing.

Enterprise outgained Smiths Station 352 yards to 209. The Panthers were only able to gain 139 total yards before Harris broke off the long run to close the game.

Faulkner hopes this win will catapult the Wildcats to a strong finish to the 2017 season.

"I think this win will be really big for our confidence," Faulkner said. "We talked all week about putting the past behind us and if you want to improve and get better as a team so that we can finish out the season right, then we have to focus on the here and the now.

"I thought our guys did a good job of that this week and it should give them some confidence heading into next week. Hopefully that will catapult us into two big weeks to finish out our season."