Dyer County dominant

Dyer County kickoff team member Keanthony Barbee secures a misplayed ball on the opening play of the game to give the Choctaws the ball deep in Dyersburg territory. The special teams turnover led to the orange and white's first touchdown during their 47-16 win over the Trojans on Friday night in Newbern.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

By JASON PEEVYHOUSE

Sports Editor

With a big special teams play to start things off for the orange and white on Friday night in Newbern, Dyer County was only stopped on two occasions – once by a turnover and once by the end of the first half – on the way to a 47-16 win over rival Dyersburg in Week 1 action.

Trojan running back Quincy Terry (center) looks for running room against the Dyer County defense.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

On the first play of the game, Dyer County kicked off to Dyersburg and the ball was misplayed by the Trojan return team. As the ball bounced into the air, Choctaw Keanthony Barbee made a leaping grab to get the ball and give the Choctaws possession at the Trojan 19-yard line.

“You go down and you get the kick off and I thought it was really big,” Dyer County Head Coach David Whittle explained. “We talked about it in our special teams meeting today.

“I thought last year when we had a a punt return (called back) – things go around. Specials teams can win a ballgame or set the tone for the game.”

Dyer County defender Darius Hayward causes a fumble on a tackle during the Choctaws' win over Dyersburg.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

The play by Barbee led to the first touchdown of the game for the Choctaws. After a run by Ja'Bari Livington and a pass from Landon Daniels to Jamin Gauldin, Korey Taylor picked up the first down to put the Choctaws inside the 10-yard line. A Livingston run and a penalty put the Choctaws on the 2-yard line. From there, Livingston capped the drive with a touchdown run. Tyler Fowlkes added the extra point to put the Choctaws on top 7-0 with 9:18 left in the first quarter.

Dyersburg looked to answer quick and got a pass from Trenton Jones to Ty Seaton on the second play of the drive to cover 29 yards and take the Trojans across midfield to the Dyer County 46-yard line. An AJ Higgins run carried Dyersburg to the Dyer County 8-yard line. But, the Choctaw defense toughened and held the Trojans on the next three downs to force the black and gold to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Elian Gonzalez to cut the Dyer County lead to 7-3 with 5:51 left in the first frame.

The Choctaws went right back to work on offense, getting the ball at the 20-yard line. A 13-yard run by Taylor got the drive going when Livingston picked up a fresh set of downs two plays later. The Trojans looked poised to stop Dyer County there but a pair of passes from Daniels to Gauldin accounted for 15 yards and a first down. A sack looked to slow the Choctaws but only momentarily. Daniels hit Gauldin for a 23-yard strike to the Dyersburg 26-yard line. After a Taylor run, three straight Livingston carries put Dyer County into the end zone for the second time. Fowlkes' extra point extended the Dyer County lead to 14-3 with 11:52 left in the half.

Choctaw running back Ja'Bari Livingston busts through three Trojan tacklers to score the game's first touchdown.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

The Trojans were able to move the ball on the ensuing drive, including first-down runs by Hall, Higgins and Jaden Harris but a tackle for a loss then two incomplete passes stopped the black and gold. The drive ended with a punt at 7:31 left in the second quarter.

After the second Dyer County touchdown drive took 14 plays, the Choctaws needed only four plays to get back on the board. A 21-yard pass from Daniels to Gauldin was followed by a long run by Livingston to the Dyersburg 9-yard line. From there, Pereon Isom capped the four-play scoring drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. Fowlkes extra point pushed the Choctaw lead to 21-3 with 5:20 left in the half.

The next drive for both teams ended without points before Dyersburg got on the board again late in the first half. A Quincy Terry run for 56 yards took the Trojans across midfield with under a minute left in the half. Three plays later, Payton Hill capped the drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point cut the Dyer County lead to 21-10 at the half.

Trojan Necari Hall looks to avoid a pair of Dyer County tacklers.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

Dyer County extended its lead quickly in the second half, getting a 45-yard pass from Daniels to Gauldin to set up a 24-yard Livingston touchdown run on the third play of the half. The PAT pushed the Choctaw lead to 28-10 with 11:16 left in the third quarter.

Following a Trojan punt, the Choctaws continued to put points on the board. This time a nine-play, 68-yard drive led to a nine-yard Livingston touchdown run. Daniel Johnson's extra point gave Dyer County a 35-10 lead with 3:40 left in the frame.

Dyersburg was able to answer on its next drive thanks to a 36-yard pass from Logston Morgan to Gonzalez across midfield to the Dyer County 28-yard line. A Hall run aided by a penalty put the Trojans at the DC 8-yard line. After a short Higgins run, Morgan hit Jones for a five-yard scoring strike. The extra point failed leaving Dyersburg behind 35-16 with five seconds left in the third quarter.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Dyer County got back on the board with a 39-yard pass from Daniels to Devin Hayward. Dyer County's extra point failed but the Choctaw lead stood at 41-16 with 10:57 left in the game.

The Choctaws added one more touchdown midway through the fourth quarter as Hayward broke free for a 47-yard touchdown run to push the Dyer County lead to 47-16 and bring the mercy rule into effect.

From there, the clock ran nonstop as the Choctaws took the win – their second in four years – over the Trojans.

“I thought our defense played well,” Whittle said. “I thought our coaches had a really good game plan for them. I thought we were definitely the more physical team tonight.”

The Dyer County defense did its part to keep the Trojans out of the end zone, holding Dyersburg to just 16 points on two touchdowns and a field goal. Choctaw defenders limited the Trojans to 235 yards on the ground and 108 yards through the air in the mercy-rule win. Quincy Terry led Dyersburg with 69 yards on five carries while Necari Hall had ten carries for 63 yards while AJ Higgins added 61 yards on eight carries.

Both teams were effected by cramping during the Week 1 contest which is one thing Dyersburg Head Coach Bart Stowe wants to fix going into Week 2.

“We've got to work on conditioning,” Stowe explained. “We've got to keep working on our fundamentals – our blocking, our tackling.

“Football is fundamental. We've got to get more fundamental on offense, defense, and special teams. We've got to keep working to get in shape.”

Livingston led the way for the Choctaws with 135 yards on 16 carries and four touchdowns. Devin Hayward had one carry for 47 yards (a touchdown) while Korey Taylor added 11 carries for 53 yards.

All together, Dyer County had 246 yards on the ground in the Week 1 win.

“Ja'Bari doesn't need just a whole lot of blocking,” the Choctaw head coach said. “I thought Korey and, on the few carries Pereon got, ran like a grown man, too. I thought Landon Daniels, our quarterback, played really well, too.”

Daniels completed 11 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown pass. Six of those passes were caught by Gauldin, who had 129 yards receiving.

Dyer County hosts Trezevant next Friday night at 7 p.m. in Newbern.

“We just need to get better every day,” Whittle said of the plan for next week. “We beat a good football program but we're not bad either.”

Stowe said the biggest goal for the Trojans heading into Week 2 is to get better.

“To have a good week of practice, get back on the field, and play Friday night,” Stowe said.

The Trojans travel to Lake County in Week 2 action for the first time in the history of the two programs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Tiptonville.