Choctaws roll to 4-0 with win at Chester County

Dyer County sophomore running back Korey Taylor leaves his feet to lunge forward for a gain during the Choctaws' win over Chester County in Henderson on Friday night.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

By JASON PEEVYHOUSE

Sports Editor

Despite rain throughout the game on Friday night during the Choctaws' first regular season trip away from Newbern down in Henderson, the Dyer County (4-0) defense stymied the Eagles while the orange and white offense rushed for over 300 yards on a very wet surface to take a 36-7 win over Chester County.

Choctaws Devin Hayward (left) and Landon Daniels celebrate Dyer County's first touchdown on Friday night.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

“At the start of the first quarter, we got a big turnover early and went up 6-0,” Dyer County Head Coach David Whittle said. “I thought our offensive line controlled the ball and the running backs ran the ball real well.

“Ja'Bari (Livingston) had a really good run down the sideline and broke some tackles.”

After both teams traded punts early on, Dyer County got things going with a defensive play, recovering a fumble on the Chester County side of the field.

Dyer County's Robert Straile (10) wraps up an Eagle running back.

Photo/Jason Peevyhouse

It didn't take long for the Choctaws to benefit from that turnover as Dyer County was able to get on the board when Landon Daniels broke free and raced down the orange and white's sideline for a 45 yard scoring run. The extra point failed leaving the score 6-0 with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

After holding the Eagles on the next Chester County drive, Dyer County turned its eyes to the end zone again as the Choctaws got on the board with a Ja'Bari Livington 43-yard run for a touchdown late in the first quarter. Livingston then added the two-point conversion to extend the Choctaw lead to 14-0 with 32 seconds left in the first frame.

Chester County's most successful – and only scoring – drive came on the next possession. With running back Peyton Barham doing the heavy lifting, the Eagles were able to march down the field and score on a 10-yard run by the Chester County running back. The extra point was good as the Eagles cut the Dyer County lead to 14-7 with 10:15 left in the half.

The lead didn't stay trimmed long as the Choctaws scored on the next play of the ensuing drive. With the running attack on its way to a 300-yard night combined, sophomore Korey Taylor contributed to the total with a 57-yard run across midfield and into the end zone. The two-point attempt failed leaving Dyer County ahead 20-7 with 9:15 left in the half.

The Dyer County defense stepped up again on the ensuing Chester County drive as Choctaw defender Christian Cravins picked off an errant Eagle pass and returned the ball 35 yards for the score. The two-point attempt again failed but Dyer County's lead swelled to 26-7 after the Pick Six by the senior defensive lineman.

“Defensively, I think we really set the tone for the game,” Whittle explained. “They kind of moved the ball down the field and scored on us but, after that, our defense really buckled down on them and played really well.”

Dyer County held its 19 point lead through the rest of the half while holding the Eagles to about 80 yards through the first two quarters. The Choctaws then held Chester County to negative yardage over the last two quarters to limit the Eagles to 66 yards – all on the ground.

“You can't get much better than that,” the Choctaw head coach admitted. “I thought it was outstanding.

“Gavin Lynn really played well. He hard several tackles for loss and, overall, the defense played really well. Christian Cravins had that big interception for a touchdown. That's a defensive lineman's dream. We got our hands on the ball several times and I thought we played really well defensively.”

Dyer County added a pair of second-half scores to help seal the win.

The Choctaws struck paydirt on their first possession of the third quarter, capping the drive with an eight-yard pass from Daniels to Kaleb Mahome. Pereon Isom added the two-pointer to push the Choctaw lead to 34-7 with 7:35 left in the third quarter.

Dyer County's defense got another score late in the game as the Choctaw defense wrapped up an Eagle running back in the end zone for a safety to push the Dyer County lead to 36-7 for the rest of the night.

Livingston led the way for the Choctaws with 12 carries for 119 yards while Korey Taylor added seven carries for 78 yards. Daniels was 10-of-14 for 92 yards through the air on the night.

The win for the Choctaws gives Dyer County it's first 4-0 start since the 1990 season. The orange and white will be on the road again next week when the Choctaws head to Martin to take on Westview. The Chargers are also 4-0 on the season.

“We've got a great opponent next week,” Whittle said. “They're averaging about 70 points a game. I don't know that I've seen that in high school football in a long time.

“I think we're a better opponent than what they've been seeing but we'll see. Either way, you go up there and you win and it's great. But, either way, we're going to learn from it. We've got the region opener the next week against Crockett. Just like every week – we take it day by day and week by week. I'm proud of the kids effort tonight. With the conditions and stuff tonight, I thought the kids really flew around and made some plays.”

Kickoff for next Friday night's game is set for 7 p.m. at the Hardy Graham Stadium at the University of Tennessee at Martin.