Lions Cap off Regular Season 48-6 Over Tigers
To Host Eagleville in 1st Round
KICK GOOD – Dresden’s Mark Maddox boots in one of six successful extra point kicks from the hands of Reese Bell during Friday night’s win over Hollow Rock-Bruceton. Maddox has put 55 of 58 PAT attempts between the posts during the regular season. Photo by Ron Park.[/caption]By RON PARK
ron@magicvalleypublishing.com
The Dresden High School Lions concluded their regular season on a high note Friday night as they dominated the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central Tigers 48-6 in regional competition.
The Lions controlled the contest for the first three quarters, leading 21-0 at the end of the first, 42-0 at the half, and 48-0 at the end of the third. The second half flew by with a running clock and quarters shortened to eight minutes.
The first quarter featured a five-yard scoring run by DeAngelo Lambert, a 16-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tatum Oliver to Raymond Johnson, and a 13-yard TD pass from Oliver to Nick Turnbow.
The second quarter started out with a pass interception by Reese Bell, and, shortly thereafter, the Lions turned that turnover into points with a 12-yard TD carry by Johnson. A few minutes later, Turnbow recovered a Central fumble, and then Tristan Jett made good on that turnover with a one-yard TD. The Lions finished out the first half with a pass from Oliver to Turnbow, who ran it about 20 yards for the touchdown.
Hunter Hamilton scored Dresden’s last touchdown from one yard out, followed by a failed conversion attempt with a little over a minute left in the third quarter.
Mark Maddox put all six of his extra point kicks between the uprights, setting a school PAT record along the way.
“We came out with more urgency, and I thought we were more dialed in. A good week of practice showed,” said Dresden head coach Keith Hodge. “We played well upfront on both sides of the ball and did a whole lot better job controlling the line of scrimmage. It was a good win for senior night. We have 13 guys that show up every day ready to get better and compete, and it has been great seeing these guys grow over the past two years.”
The Tigers tacked up their six points late in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard scoring pass from Preston Hollingsworth to Tate Crews. The Lions blocked the extra point.
Finishing out the regular season 8-2 overall and 5-1 in region play, the Lions will kick off postseason play this Friday night by hosting Eagleville (6-4, 4-2) in the first round – which is a repeat of last year’s first-round matchup. The Lions beat Eagleville 28-13 last year, but then fell to Fayetteville in the second round.
“They come in a with a good ball club,” said Hodge. “They are well balanced on offense with a strong O-line. Defensively they are tough in the box. We’ll have to win the box on both sides of the ball so opportunities open up for us. This time of year, you want to be playing your best and hitting stride. As long as we have a good week of practice, we’ll have an opportunity to advance.”
Regular Season Leaders
Tatum Oliver led the Lions offensively in the regular season with a total of 1,601 yard and 22 touchdowns passing and 748 yards and 16 TDs rushing.
Tristan Jett was the second top rusher with 539 yards and eight TDs.
Raymond Johnson led all receivers with 647 yards and seven TDs.
Mark Maddox has added 55 extra points, only missing three during the regular season.
On defense, Oliver led in tackles with 95 (32 solo), followed by Jett with 75 (30 solo).
