Dresden Enterprise - Covering Weakley County Like the Dew from Heaven for 118 Years

    Greenfield’s Yellowjackets opened the 2008 high school football season this past Friday night by shutting out the Dresden Lions, 19-0, is a classic in-county matchup.
    The Yellowjackets capitalized on two Dresden turnovers in the second quarter to go ahead 13-0 at the half and then added their third and final TD of the game early in the fourth quarter following an interception of a Dresden pass. Greenfield meanwhile did not have any turnovers and was able to keep their first game jitters under control as was evidenced by the Yellowjackets being flagged with two penalties to give up ten yards during the game.
    For the Lions on the other hand, it was a night punctuated with five critical turnovers and nine flags from game officials that resulted in Dresden giving up 60 yards in penalties, most coming at a crucial junctures in an offensive series. Suffice it to say that the less than flawless play by the Lions can be directly attributed to the outcome of the game, which is something the Dresden coaching staff will surely address during practice this week as the team readies to host the McKenzie Rebels Friday night at Dresden’s Rotary Field.
    Dresden kicked off to the Yellowjackets to begin the game and Greenfield started its first offensive series beginning at its own 32-yard line. The Lions defense looked impressive on the opening series at the Yellowjackets lost 13 yards before punting the ball away.
    The Lions started their first offensive series of the season at the Greenfield 44-yard line following the punt. From there, the Lions moved the line of scrimmage steadily down field until possession was lost on a fumble at the Yellowjacket 14-yard line.
    The two teams then traded a pair of punts before the Lions fumbled the ball to give Greenfield possession at the Dresden 43-yard line. Four plays later, the Yellowjackets scored their first touchdown of the season on a 10-yard run by Tyler Dunning up the center of the line. Daniel Ricketts kicked the extra point to give Greenfield a 7-0 lead with 9:35 remaining in the second quarter.
    A pass interception brought the offensive series following the kick-off to Dresden to an early end. The Yellowjackets were then forced to punt after being unable to convert for a first down. The Lions took over following the punt at their own 11-yard line. On the fourth play of the offensive series, Greenfield’s Chase McMullen intercepted a Dresden pass at the 30-yard line and ran it into the end zone for the second Yellowjacket TD of the evening. A kick on the points-after-attempt was off target to leave Greenfield with a 13-0 advantage with 2:07 remaining in the first half of play.
Dresden was unable to mount a serious scoring threat before the first half came to an end.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

Gleason falls to Stewart County in offensive see-saw battle

By Jason Peevyhouse

Sports Editor

    Though the Gleason Bulldogs struck early and often in their battle with Stewart County, the Rebels fought back fiercely, getting two late-first half touchdowns to take a lead midway through the game that would hold as both teams put up big offensive numbers with Stewart County coming out ahead 52-38 in Dover on Friday night.
    The Bulldogs wasted little time getting their first points of the season. On the opening kickoff, senior Zach Wallace took the kick and broke free for an 80-yard return for a score, putting the Dawgs on the board with a 6-0 lead just 14 seconds into the 2008 football season.
    It also did not take very long for the Bulldogs to catch their first break of the season as Stewart County fumbled on its second play with Gleason recovering at the Rebel 22-yard line.
    Showcasing a quick-strike offense, it took only one play for the Bulldogs to find the end zone as Wallace hit an open Ben Sumner for a 22-yard scoring strike. Shadow Roney added the two-point conversion to put the Bulldogs ahead 14-0 with 11:12 left in the opening quarter.
    The Rebels got their offense going next, using the option play to move the ball down the field on the Gleason defense. A 15-yard run by quarterback Matt Earhart and a 24-yard pass from Earhart to Caleb Rozet highlighted the drive that was capped by a two-yard run by Eric Prichett. Will Adamec added the PAT to cut the Gleason lead to 14-7 with 8:04 left in the first frame.
    Gleason’s offense, though, went right back to work. After taking over at the 15-yard line, a 40-yard run by Cody Ezell took the Bulldogs across midfield to the Stewart County 36-yard line. After a six-yard run from Dalton Teeter gave the Dawgs another fresh set of downs, the Rebel defense seemed to be ready to stop the Gleason advance, forcing a 4th-and-eight from the 19-yard line. However, the Bulldogs went back to the aerial assault as Wallace found an open Roney for a 19-yard touchdown pass. Though the two-point attempt failed, the Bulldogs held a 20-7 lead with just under three minutes left in the first stanza.
    Stewart County got back on the board early in the second frame. After stopping the Gleason offense at the Rebel 35-yard line, runs by Seth Crain and Earhart led to a 48-yard scoring strike from Earhart to Carey Smith. Adamec added the extra point to put the Rebels ahead 20-14 with 10:10 left in the first half.
    But, Gleason was quick to answer. A 41-yard run by Roney provided the necessary momentum for the Bulldogs as Alex Verdell followed with runs of 10 and 12 yards. Ezell then capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to make the score 26-14 with 6:42 left in the first half.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)

Local middle schools fall in gridiron road games

By Jason Peevyhouse

Sports Editor

Ernie Smothers &

Lindsey Arnold
Special to the Enterprise

Three local middle school teams were on the road on Thursday to open the 2008 regular season and all suffered losses to their opponents.
Gleason fell 36-14 at South Fulton while Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central topped Greenfield 18-0 and Dresden Middle School fell 22-0 to McKenzie.

South Fulton Red Devils 36
Gleason Bulldogs 14

    The South Fulton Red Devils scored early and often against the Bulldogs, taking a 20-0 lead at the half on their way to a 22-point victory.
    After an early fumble, a 19-yard run by Tavaris James set up a 15-yard touchdown run by Khiry Lewis to make the score 6-0 with 7:13 left in the opening frame.
South Fulton got on the board again later in the first stanza when James scored on a 16-yard run. James then added the two-point conversion to make the score 14-0 with six seconds left in the quarter.
    The Red Devils added to their lead in the second frame when Lewis scored his second touchdown of the evening, scoring on a 51-yard run to put South Fulton ahead 20-0 with 3:03 left in the first half.
    The Red Devils pushed their lead to four possessions early in the second stanza as Lewis added another touchdown to his total. Jaquary Garmon tacked on the two-pointer to make the score 28-0 in favor of the home team.
    Gleason finally broke onto the scoreboard early in the final frame as Blake Taylor scooped up a South Fulton fumble and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-6 with 5:14 left in the game.
    But, the Red Devils were quick to answer, getting a 68-yard run from James. The Red Devils then got Kyle Watkins to add the two-pointer to make the score 36-6 with 4:52 left.
    Gleason was able to get one more score, as Chris Copeland broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run. Copeland then added the two-point conversion to make the score 36-14.
    Gleason will host Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central Middle School on Thursday.

(Read the rest of this story in this week's edition of the Dresden Enterprise!)