By Zachary Harmuth
Except for a four minute stretch from the end of the third to the start of fourth quarter, CPA made beating East Nashville Magnet look about as challenging as spending a summer afternoon drinking sweet tea on a shady porch.
CPA, which advances to the Class 3A semifinals, still has not lost this year, and its 38-14 performance in the wet cold wind on Friday night showed why.
In the time it took EMN to punt three times, lose two fumbles and throw an interception, CPA scored 28 points.
And that was just the first half.
In it, running back Chance Meier capped two drives with touchdowns, and quarterback Zack Weatherly tallied 15 of his 107 yards passing on a beautiful strike to Thomas Richard.
In a sneak preview of the second half, Max Pressley, who rushed for 104 yards, scored the fourth CPA touchdown of the half late in the second quarter.
Pressley became a human exclamation point in the second half, after a lull of a third quarter saw the CPA offense stall a bit by producing only a field goal.
ENM opened the second half with a drive that consumed more than half the third quarter but ended with a punt.
But it then held the CPA offense, having just spent more than 45 minutes in real time getting stiff in the cool, misty night, to a field goal.
With less than four minutes left in the quarter to stay alive ENM needed to, and did, score quickly. CPA, two minutes but only mustered in response a punt, at least taking up two minutes.
ENM, again quickly needing to, scored on a 41-yard run with 10:20 left
The lead cut nearly halve in four minutes, a comeback seemed possible.
Facing an onside kick formation, CPA looked to drive for a score or at least kill clock.
Needing to respond with a score or at least a long drive, CPA awaited an onside kick.
Awaiting an onside kick, CPA wanted to score or at least kill time.
Pressley, the kick wobbling his way, had other plans.
He galloped for 46 yards and 6 points, taking just 14 seconds to turn the ENM comeback into a CPA blowout at 38-14.
On the next possession, ENM spent almost eight minutes to just turn the ball over on downs.
This fruitless 7 ½ minute drive, following the 14-second TD by CPA, put the game in a nutshell.
