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Fans were shoulder-to-shoulder at Larry Williams Stadium on Friday night, and all eyes were on the nightcap.

Cocke County, the host team, facing off against crosstown-rival Cosby, and the tension was palpable.

Cocke County head coach Scotty Dykes wasn’t going to let that tension border on animosity, however.

“Even though they’re a smaller school, a county rival, we knew it was going to be intense and our message was to keep your composure, play hard and go out and execute,” Dykes said. “We got a personal foul penalty, I wasn’t happy at all about that. Our guy lost his composure, and we’ve got to be able to maintain that because we’re going to be in some hotly contested games this season.”

The Fighting Cocks started the day on the defensive side, and after holding the Eagles to eight yards on the first three plays, Cosby picked up 30 yards in the air to convert on fourth down.

On the very next play, however, Cocke County put their physicality on full display as senior Carson Devotie caused a fumble recovered by the Fighting Cocks. Devotie left his imprint on the jamboree with his aggressive and dynamic play on both sides of the ball.

Oren Hazelwood kicked things off for the offense with a physical 11-yard carry, but fumbled on the very next play to give the ball back to the Eagles.

They allowed a pair of chunk plays in the air and on the ground, but a crucial sack on third down helped Cocke County get back in possession of the ball.

“Defensively we’ve got some bad intentions this year, so I like that,” Dykes said. “That’s old Cocke County to me and we’re getting back to that; so I’m excited about what they bring to the table. We’ve got a couple guys who were injured, but those two or three guys will make a big difference for us this season.”

Playmakers are going to be the story for Cocke County offensively this season, and on this drive the Fighting Cocks put their backfield versatility on display. Daniel Price picked up 24 on the ground with a more quick, elusive approach; then Devotie took it for 18 with his more bruising, bounding style.

“I learned that we’ve got a couple players that can make a big play,” Dykes said. “We’ve not been as fortunate in years past, we’ve had some guys where we’ve had to be more methodical; this year we’ve got a guy or two that we can hand it to or throw it to and they can take a five-yard pass and go 80.”

The running lanes don’t open themselves though. The line has been a question for Cocke County this offseason, but Dykes liked what he saw from them on Friday. They were physical and disciplined, on drive two in particular.

“We’re getting better up front, which has been a concern all preseason, but tonight they showed that they can get after the other team a little bit and open up some running lanes for us,” Dykes said.

Price got another carry, this one for 29 yards before finally being forced out of bounds at the one-yard line. Donovan Ramsey kept it himself on the goal line for a Fighting Cocks touchdown, the only score of the day.

Ramsey, who got the keys on the second drive after Spencer Moore took the first drive, has emerged as the week one starter from the three-horse race to replace Baylor Baxter at quarterback this season.

“At this point going into the game Donovan Ramsey will start and Spencer Moore will come in, probably pretty quick, because we need Donovan to be a lot for the team,” Dykes said. “He’s got to be one of our best receivers this season, one of our best running backs, he’s got to run the ball from the quarterback position, so he’s going to do a lot. He’s going to see a lot of snaps on defense too. So Spencer will see a lot of snaps for us, but we’ll start off with Donovan.

The line has been a question for Cocke County this offseason, but Dykes liked what he saw from them on Friday.

“We’re getting better up front, which has been a concern all preseason, but tonight they showed that they can get after the other team a little bit and open up some running lanes for us,” Dykes said.

Looking forward, Cocke County will travel to Rogersville on Friday for their week-one matchup with Cherokee.

“The focus is going to be on us,” Dykes said in preparation for the matchup. “We’ve got to get better internally, be in the right positions defensively, get better execution up front offensively and I think we’ll be okay.”