How Kenton Smith, Huntingdon shocked Milan to reach 2A state championship game
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MILAN — Johnnie Hale Stadium was standing room only, with fans overflowing from the stands to envelop the fence, as a trip to the TSSAA football state championship kept the blood flowing for both Huntingdon and Milan supporters despite freezing temperatures.
When the rivalry game was finished, tears flowed on both sidelines.
“I really feel like the state championship was played tonight,” Milan head coach Wade Comer said following his team's 35-34 loss to Huntingdon in the Class 2A semifinal, and the second Dog and Pony show of the season, on Nov. 28.
The star of the game was Mr. Football finalist Jaydon Peete — the reigning Mr. Football winner who is also a 2025 finalist. Peet had a five-touchdown performance that willed his team despite trailing by 14 at the start of the fourth quarter.
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However, the hero of the game was Kenton Smith.
The Mustangs junior quarterback, who not only scored two touchdowns but also had the play of the game, securing an onside kick that bounced off multiple players' hands on both teams, as Huntingdon (13-1) upset Milan (12-1), who advanced to the 2A state championship game a year ago.
Huntingdon advances to face defending state champs, Marion County (13-1), at 3 p.m., Dec. 6 at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. Marion County handled Eagleton, 33-14, in the other 2A semifinal.
“I saw the ball in the air and a whole bunch of purple jerseys around it…I thought it was over,” Smith said. “Luckily, the ball rolled around, and I dove on it to secure the game.”
With his dive, Smith not only helped his team snag a win over a previously undefeated rival, but he also secured the program its first state title berth since 2012 and the fifth in its history.
“I gave him a hug and said, ‘I love you, man,’” senior running back Braylin Dearmon shared after the win in which he also contributed three touchdowns.
Smith said the team had heard predictions that it would finish fifth in the region entering the season, and the doubt helped fuel the team all the way to Chattanooga, avenging its 34-9 loss to Milan on Sept. 5.
“Nobody gave this team a chance to win this game,” Mustangs head coach Eric Swenson said. “It’s amazing.
“We were outsized, and they were the No. 1 team in the state with the best tailback in the state, but we stopped him when we had to.”
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Comer praised Huntingdon, calling them an excellent team that he expects to represent West Tennessee well in Chattanooga as the program attempts to add a second championship to its trophy case and its first since 2003.
The Mustangs were only forced to punt once with the coaching staff praising their team’s fight and Swenson promising that you can count on his team to be physical and run the football thanks to a full roster willing to do the “dirty work.”
“I’m ready to go win a championship and bring the gold ball back to Huntingdon," Smith said.
Reach The Jackson Sun high school sports writer, Isaiah De Anda Delgado, by email at IDelgado@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Huntingdon reaches TSSAA football playoffs Class 2A state championship game
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