Smith County traveled to Smithville Friday night for a regional match up against the DeKalb County Tigers. The Owls found themselves 0-1 in regional standings after a tough loss to Sequatchie County in week 3, a win against DeKalb would be a huge boost for Coach Dickerson’s squad towards the playoff hunt though early in the season. The game opened with Smith County kicking off to the home Tigers via a boot out-of-bounds to the DeKalb 35 yard line by Ethan Elliott. DeKalb’s first drive was put to an abrupt halt when Bryant Goolsbly picked off a pass from Tiger quarterback Jennings on their second play of the game. The Owls offense took over, and put Dusten Holder to work on the ground right away. After 4 runs netting 2 first downs, Holder was injured on a tackle at the visiting sideline that would knock him out of the game. Holder would not return to see further action due to a concussion injury on the play. The drive concluded when Carson Hackett threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to Keith Morris with 9:02 left in the first period to put the Owls on the scoreboard first. Following a PAT from Elliott, the Owls led 7-0. The ensuing Tiger drive showed the Smith County defense a good mix of runs and passes. However, the Owls defense responded well, and nearly had a second pick off from Jennings’ pass from Matthew Rutherford to force a Tiger punt. In subsequent drives, neither team was able to get much going offensively resulting in 3 and outs. DeKalb’s next drive would net 3 first downs thanks to solid play from Jennings; putting them in excellent position to tie the game early in the 2nd period. Jennings struck with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Christian Pruitt, but the play was waved off due to a Tiger penalty. Another completed pass and yet another Tiger penalty set up the second defensive takeaway for the Owls, thanks to an interception from Shermar King at the Owl 1 yard line. Starting deep in their own territory, the black and gold line did a nice job opening holes for the SC backs who rushed for 2 consecutive first downs to gain some breathing room. Following a costly penalty, the Owls found themselves in a punting situation once again. Following the Goolsby punt, DeKalb wasted little time getting the ball back into Owl territory and after 2 first downs and just 7 plays, they put their first score of the night on the board via a quarterback keeper from Jennings scoring from the 1 yard line. With 2:35 remaining in the half, the Tigers had tied the game up at 7-7. After experiencing good success on the ground, the Owl offense took to the air in their next drive with 3 consecutive pass completions for consecutive first downs. Hackett connected first with a nice 10 yard strike to King. Then, 2 straight completions to Cameron Huff took the Owls all the way down to the DeKalb 20 yard line. On the very next play, Hackett put the second Owl score on the board via a quarterback keeper. Following a failed PAT, the scoreboard read 13-7 Smith County. The momentum looked to be swaying in the Owls favor. Unfortunately, this turned out to be short-lived as DeKalb’s offense wasted little time getting back to business. In just 3 plays, the tigers struck with a 52 yard pass across the middle for their second score of the half. After a successful PAT, the Tigers lead over the Owls 14-13 with just 49 seconds remaining. The Owls offense took the field following the kickoff, and a 5 yard Dekalb penalty at the Tiger 45 yard line. After a pass completion from Hackett to Huff and a first down run from Goolsby, the Owls setup for a field goal attempt with :04 seconds left in the half. Ethan Elliott drilled a 42 yard field goal, setting the Smith County crowd alight to close the half with the Owls on top, 16-14. The second half would start with a HUGE play from Jon Micheal Donnell returning the Tiger kickoff all the way to the house from deep in Owl territory. The Owl extra point kicking struggles continue with a blocked PAT resulting in a score of Owls 22 – Tigers 14. Just as the game seemed to be coming in to the hands of Smith County, DeKalb once again wasted little time and got to work in leveling the score. Five plays later, topped off by a quarterback keeper from Jennings 3 minutes into the 3rd quarter and a successful PAT, DeKalb County tied it up at 22. The Owl offense was unable to get much going on the following offensive effort and the drive ended with a punt after one first down on a Goolsby rush. DeKalb took over at the Owl 49 and were able to net 4 first downs on the drive, ending with a score again with a mixture of rushing and passing plays. At 2:20 remaining in the 3rd quarter, the Tigers took the lead, 28-22 via an untouched rush from the 2 yard line. Smith County ended the 3rd quarter with a 2 first down drive that once again ended with a punt ending with two consecutive incompletions. The Owl defense held the subsequent DeKalb drive to a 3 and out. With an opportunity to even things up, the Owls turned the ball over via a King fumble on a miffed hand off exchange from Hackett at the Owl 48. What followed was a drastic turn of events as DeKalb struck on their first play from scrimmage with Jennings scoring on a 52 yard quarterback keeper to pour salt in the Owl’s wounds. At 8:56 following a successful DeKalb PAT, the score put the Owls down by two scores, 36-22. Feeling as if the game was starting to slip away, the Smith County offense put the game into Hackett’s hands. He was able to successfully run the ball, and make key completions to the receiving arsenal. Following Hackett’s completions to King and Kemp, along with solid running from Goolsby, the Owls gained 5 first downs moving the ball deep into Tiger territory. Thanks to a 4th down conversion on a Hackett/King completion, the drive stayed alive and ultimately resulted in a Hackett run from inside the 1 yard line with 2:40 remaining; a successful PAT by Elliot brought the Owls within one score, Owls 29 – Tigers 36. Expecting an on-side kick, the Owls instead elected to kick the ball off where it was fielded by the Tigers at their own 30. After a quarterback keeper and 2 running plays, Owl’s Tyler Harris came up with a monster play, a fumble recovery at the 45. Following the recovery, the Harris run after set Smith County up first and 10 at the Tiger 24 yard line. The Smith County crowd went crazy, with just :58 remaining, the Owls looked poised to possibly tie it up. Hackett came out throwing the ball as time was of the essence, his first pass to King fell incomplete however his second was a quick out to the right side to Kemp placing the ball at the DeKalb 22. With 45.4 seconds remaining, the Owl’s coaching staff called a timeout to talk things over. Hackett lined the offense up in the gun poised to put the ball in the air on a 3rd and 8. Hackett’s pass was subsequently intercepted by the Tigers where they proceeded to take over and allow the clock to expire. Final score Smith County Owls 29 – DeKalb County Tigers 36. The Owls are 0-2 in regional play and 3-2 overall going in to next week’s match up against Stone Memorial at home.

The Smith County Owls and DeKalb County Tigers won’t soon forget their 2014 football meeting. The two long-time District/Region rivals took to the football field on Halloween night, and battled through snowy elements in a game eventually won by the Tigers, 13-0. The weather is expected to be more cooperative as the teams set to clash in a Region 4-3A showdown, this Friday night in Smithville. DTC Sports will be on hand for the 33rd meeting in the series, as Football Game Night will air on DTC3 and www.dtc3.tv at 6:45 p.m. this Friday night. Kickoff of the game is at 7:00 p.m. Join Tom Duggin, Darvin Gill and the coach, Chris Vance, for all the coverage LIVE from Smithville.

Smith County (3-1, 0-1 Region) has already met their win total from a disappointing 2014 season, with wins over Macon County (20-14), Gordonsville (17-0) and Livingston Academy (41-21). The Owls’ lone lost to date was to current Region 4-3A leader, Sequatchie County (28-19), back on September 4. The Owls have averaged 24.3 points per game, while surrendering 15.8 points per contest. Smith County has been relatively balanced on offense, rushing for 149.3 yards per game, while passing for 131.3 yards per game. Senior tailback Dusten Holder has led the Owls’ ground attack with 437 yards on 79 carries with four touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. Sophomore QB Carson Hackett has an additional 124 yards rushing and three scores, while he has thrown for 525 yards and six touchdowns, completing 57.4 percent of his pass attempts. Fellow sophomore Shermar King has caught 10 passes for 283 yards and three scores.

DeKalb County (3-1, 1-0 Region) is coming off back-to-back nail biting victories. The Tigers opened their season with a 23-14 win at Warren County, followed by a 49-17 loss at Stone Memorial. DeKalb then escaped Jamestown with a 42-41 Region win over York Institute, then won their home opener over Cumberland County last Friday night, 27-25. Both the York and Cumberland County contests came down to the last play of the game, as the Tiger defense held on for victory in the final seconds of each game. Through the first three games of the season, the Tigers were averaging 164 rushing yards per game and 227.7 passing yards per game. Junior QB Steven Jennings led the team in both categories, with over 900 yards combined. Through all four games this year, DeKalb County is averaging 27.3 points per game, while allowing 32.3 points per contest.

The Owls and Tigers have met 32 times, dating back to the 1973 football season, with Smith County holding a 23-9 edge in the overall series. DeKalb County has won two of the last three meetings, but the Owls are 15-3 against the Tigers since the 1986 season. This season marks the seventh consecutive the two teams have met in the regular season.

DTC Sports will begin coverage of high school football on Friday night with Armchair Quarterbacks, airing at 6:00 p.m. (AQ also airs Thursday night at 6:00 p.m.), with LIVE coverage of Football Game Night following from the Dr. John L. VanHooser Memorial Stadium in Smithville at 6:45 p.m. Watch local high school football exclusively on DTC3, DTC3 HD (channel 303) and live via web stream at www.dtc3.tv.

 

 

Week 4 brought the Owls to Livingston Academy to take on the Wildcats (1-2). Though not a regional matchup for the Owls, a big game nonetheless for Coach Dickerson’s squad. Containing Livingston’s explosive offensive weapons, Carter Haynes at quarterback, and one of the quickest running backs in the region, Dylan Lindner, definitely would be key for a SCHS victory.

The game got underway following a steady downpour of rain that left the field messy and soggy. The Owls wasted no time making magic happen when the opening kickoff from LA was ran to the house by Bailey Kemp from the Owl’s 35 yard line. With less than 30 ticks off the clock, following the PAT from Bryant Goolsby, the Owls led 7-0. This lead proved to be short lived indeed. Following the ensuing kickoff, Livingston’s first play from scrimmage resulted in a 65 yard touchdown run from Lindner on a jet sweep. Just as quickly as the Owls went on top, they found themselves tied up at 7-7 with 11:16 remaining in the first quarter. Two scores, one from each team, in the first 45 seconds of the game prepared the crowd for what would prove to be a high scoring matchup.

Smith County’s second offensive possession was comprised of 7 running plays, netting 1 first down, but resulted in a turnover on downs after the Owls had moved the ball to the Wildcat 36, starting from their own 40. The black and gold defense did an excellent job in containing LA’s 2nd possession resulting in a 3 and out. The offense hit the field once again starting from their own 42 following the return by Shermar King. The running attack from their previous drive resumed as the Owls successfully moved the ball into LA territory with good blocking and strong, patient running from Dusten Holder. At the Wildcat 20, the Owls were faced with 4th down and attempted a field goal that was blocked. With 2:41 remaining in the opening period, it seemed as if a big opportunity had come and gone for the black and gold. This became a reality just seconds later when Linder scored his second touchdown of the night on Livingston’s first play after taking over at their own 20 yard line. The first quarter would soon come to and end with Livingston in possession; Livingston 14, Smith County 7.

Livingston continued their drive to open the second quarter and were able to drive the ball down the field resulting in a touchdown via a pitch and pass play from the Owl 26. Faced with a 14 point deficit, the Owls needed a big play and as he has done before, Shermar King delivered. After fielding the kickoff, he ran the ball down the visitor sideline with the end-zone in site. A mishandling of the ball resulted in a self-recovered fumble, but left the Owls in excellent field position and poised to strike. Starting from the Wildcat 16 yard line, it only took 4 plays for the Owls to tighten things up with a 5 yard touchdown run from Holder. Next, came a two point conversion attempt that was successful thanks to a pass from Carson Hackett to Shermar King making the score Livingston 21, Owls 15.

The Owl defense did not give up much on the following offensive effort by LA. After a single Wildcat first down, the drive came to an end with 4:15 remaining in the half. Knowing that one score would give Smith County a chance to go into halftime with a lead, the Owls wasted no time getting back to work. Just 3 plays into the drive, Hackett once again connects with King, where he breaks a tackle and takes it all the way to the end-zone. For the points after, Hackett pitches the ball to Holder but he is stopped short of the goal line resulting with 21 on the score card for each team. The half would end with Livingston unable score in the final 2:50of the half.

Following an excellent kickoff from Ethan Elliot, the Wildcat’s first drive in the 2nd half got underway from their own 25. The Owls defense came into the 3rd ready to play, and were able to shut down the Hog-eye offense resulting in a 3 and out thanks to a huge sack by Bailey Kemp pinning them to their own 15 yard line. The Owls ensuing drive was one that really set the tone for the remainder of the game, offensively establishing a running game that the Wildcats seemingly had no answer to. Holder ran the ball on 4 consecutive plays resulting in 2 first downs and 31 yards. With 5:41 remaining in the 3rd, Hackett once again connected with King for a 15 yard touchdown pass putting the Owls up 28-21. The play of the Owls’ defense continued to dominate the LA offense forcing a fumble on their first play following the kickoff, recovered by Glenn Wickman. Up by one score, the Owls were in position to put this game out of reach, taking over at the opponents 38 yard line. Three first downs later thanks to good blocking by the Owl front line and patient running from Holder, the Owls got into the end-zone again with 1:37 remaining in the 3rd quarter making the score 34-21 Owls (following a failed PAT from Bryant Goolsby). The Wildcats would start what would turn out to be their longest drive of the game to end the 3rd and take us to the final period. The drive would be comprised of a mix of passes, rushes, and quarterback keepers; resulting in 3 first downs and a total yield of 50 yards for the Wildcats’ offense. Andy Shoemake and Tyler Harris delivered key stops, sacking Haynes, in turn forcing a turnover on downs and preventing a Wildcat score. Taking over deep in their own territory, the black and gold struck again on only the second play of the ensuing drive. With less than 5:30 remaining in the game Holder once again put the ball in the end-zone providing the Owls a commanding 41-21 margin. Livingston would get the ball 2 more times to end the half, however, the Owls’ defense did not give up much. Smith County sealed the deal by holding LA scoreless in the 2nd half. They scored 20 unanswered points to end the game. Your final: Smith County Owls 41 – Livingston Academy 21.

The Owls next opponent is regional rival Dekalb County in Smithville Friday night.