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BRISTOL – Throughout the first two weeks of the season, Morristown West quarterback Malakhi Isom looked like a player trying to get back in the groove following an off-season knee injury.

On Friday night, Isom found that groove.

Taking on Tennessee High at the Stone Castle in their region opener, Isom was 11-15 for 212 and two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown as Morristown West built an early lead and held on for a 32-20 victory.

“He’s just growing up,” Morristown West coach Alvin Sanders said about Isom’s performance. “He’s growing up each week. If he can continue to do that, the sky is the limit for us offensively. We’re still trying to be balanced in run and pass and trying to get it to our skill guys outside, and Malakhi is doing a great job of doing that. We still have things to clean up, but we did a good job tonight.”

The win improved West to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in region play, an important feat if they want to compete for a region title.

“This is a very good win,” Sanders said. “This is a tough place to play. That’s a tough ball team. Credit to my guys. We got off to a great start and found a way to get it done late. Extremely proud of our team.”

Coming into Friday night’s game, Morristown West knew that Tennessee High would try and run the ball right at them and milk the clock down.

However, to start the game it was West who was pulling a Tennessee High as they used long drives and ran right at the Vikings defense, building up a 13-0 lead in the process.

“We just wanted to focus on getting off to a great start and put them on their heels and make them do something they didn’t want to do,” Sanders said. “Early we felt like we did that and were in the control of the flow of the game.”

Following a nine-play opening that ended in an interception, the Morristown West defense forced a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back.

This time, West went 48 yards in six plays as Isom finished things off on a third-down when he scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown.

The West defense forced another punt following the score, and the West offense went to work again. This time, they needed just three plays to go 65 yards. The finisher was a quick pass to Bereket Evans on the outside where he raced down the sideline for a 48-yard score to make it 13-0.

However, Tennessee High fought back and scored on their following offensive possession. Then, disaster struck for West as Tennessee High forced a fumble and took it into the endzone to take a 14-13 lead with just 3:30 left in the half.

With Tennessee High getting the ball to start the second half, the Trojans knew they needed points going into the locker room. And points are exactly what they got as Isom drove them down the field and Kaleb Miller finished things off with a 5-yard score that put West back in front, 19-14.

“That was huge,” Sanders said. “We knew we had to kickoff to them to start the second half. They had the momentum so if we don’t get that one in they’d be riding high. For us to go down to score and get the life going back towards us was huge.”

On that touchdown drive before the half, Jalen McCullough came up with the big play as he caught a pass from Malakhi Isom for 33 yards down the middle of the field on third-and-six to keep the drive alive.

McCullough had one of his best games to date on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for the Trojans, making plays all over the field.

“We have to use Jalen all over the field,” Sanders said. “I am challenging him daily. He hasn’t even reached the surface of his potential. If we can get him to continue to grow up, I think we’re going to be ok.”

Coming out of the locker room, the Trojans forced a defensive stop and got the ball back as Isom went to work again. This time he found Bricyn Gudger down the middle of the field for a 46-yard gain. Zaylan Frias finished things off with a 10-yard carry to make it 26-14.

Needing one more stop to put the game away, West got it on the following possession. With Tennessee High driving to cut the lead back to a single possession, Kyler McCullough made an acrobatic catch for the interception.

West would use that interception and score again as Isom found Jalen McCullough for a 10-yard score to make it 32-14.

“That was the gamechanger right there,” Sanders said. “It changed the flow of the game and ignited our guys, and we went down and scored again. It was the gamechanger for me.”

Tennessee High scored one final time, but West held on and took a region-opening win.

For Sanders, he knows how important it is to start the region slate off with a win so that his team can control their own destiny.

“It’s everything,” Sanders said. “Every team in our conference has a chance to win. This conference is wide open, so you don’t want to leave it to chance. You want to be able to control your own destiny. We have to go out and fight and earn it every week.”

In the game, West finished with 381 yards. While Isom led the charge in the passing attack, Miller had 10 rushes for 69 yards and a touchdown while Cam Richards had 51 yards on nine carries. On the receiving end of things, Jalen McCullough led the way with four catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.

West will be back in action next Friday for another massive region game as they host Daniel Boone. Boone won Friday night 35-0 over rival David Crockett.

“It doesn’t get any easier,” Sanders said. “It will be a very physical game. And it’s homecoming so we’re excited to have our alumni back. We’re going to be playing a great football team, so we need to celebrate this one but be ready to go by the time we get back to Morristown.”

Other Scores in the Lakeway Area

Lakeway Christian 49, Notre Dame 27

Union County 38, Cosby 16

Johnson County 30, Claiborne 0

Hardin Valley 51, Cocke County 0

Greeneville 69, Cherokee 0

Cloudland 54, Hancock County 16