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D-B takes on talented Maryville as playoffs begin; St. Paul, Walker meet in Cumberland clash

Published November 4th, 2009 | 0 Comments

St. Paul, Walker meet in Cumberland clash

The way Dobyns-Bennett football coach Graham Clark views Maryville football from year to year is, it’s the same movie only with a different cast.

Despite heavy graduation losses being an annual ritual at the Blount County high school, the Rebels always seem to reload and repeat the previous season’s achievements.

“It looks like they’ve sent in an order for the same kind of guys they had last year,’’ Clark said. “They have an athletic quarterback in Phillip Juhlin and a couple of skilled wide receivers in Desmund Horne and Stiam Romberg.’’

Juhlin, a 6-foot, 190-pound senior, has passed for more than 1,600 yards. Juniors Horne (5-10, 175) and Romberg (6-3, 180) have 30 catches apiece.

“(The Rebels) utilize a lot of different runners and neither has gained big yardage,” Clark said. “They still line up in a split backfield and run the veer some but primarily they operate from a shotgun formation.’’

Maryville (9-1) is the state’s top-ranked 6A team. The Rebels, whose 74-game win streak was ended last year by Hillsboro 10-8 in the TSSAA’s Class 4A championship game, lost their 2009 opener to neighboring Alcoa (10-0), the state’s No. 1-ranked 3A team. Since then, Maryville has started on another winning binge — nine straight — despite having to replace a gaggle of starters.

D-B, which has the state’s winningest program, is 5-5 this year and must go to Maryville Friday night for an opening-round playoff game without its star runner, Chris Sensabaugh, in the lineup. Sensabaugh suffered a concussion last week against Volunteer. His playing status is listed as doubtful. Sensabaugh has rushed 170 times for 1,177 yards and nine touchdowns.

Freshman Devon Swafford and sophomore Paul Slaughter will alternate at his running back position. Slaughter has 17 carries for 97 yards, Swafford four for 22.

Seemingly, the Indians have played better with their backs against the wall. The Tribe will be taking on a ranked opponent for the seventh time this season; five of D-B’s opponents have been No. 1 at one time or another, and Sevier County finished second in the state poll.

“We haven’t shied away from anybody all year,’’ Clark said. “Our guys are practicing as if they’re going down there to win. They are preparing well.’’

Traditionally, D-B and Maryville meet in preseason scrimmages. They tangled in early August and the score was close.

The Rebels’ leading tackler is free safety Kody Harris, a 170-pound senior with 92 stops. D-B’s top defensive performers in this category are Jason Michael with 91 tackles and Rusty Clark with 70.

D-B quarterback David Roop has kept the ball 81 times for 509 yards and 11 TDs and leads the team in scoring. He has completed 72 of 147 passes for 847 yards and six TDs.

Slippery Derrick Steele is the Tribe’s top receiver with 271 yards on 21 catches. Sean Seabolt has 19 receptions for 236 yards and Clark 16 for 155.

Maryville’s kicking game is superior.

“It’s hard to flip the field on them,’’ Clark said. “The placekicker (Zach Sharp) frequently puts kickoffs 9 yards deep in the end zone. The punter (Greg Colquitt) kicks high and long. Their kicks resemble a ball in that ‘Son of Flubber’ movie floating around in the air.

“I thought it was a TSSAA rule that all Colquitts had to punt for Bearden. Now, Maryville has one.’’

All playoff games begin at 7 p.m.

NET Playoff Games

CLASS 5A

Powell (5-5) at Sullivan South (8-2)

South again will be without linebacker Clint Phillips, an integral part of the defense, but wide receiver/defensive back Seth Watterson will return along with wide receiver Drew Shanks, who has been sidelined for four weeks. The Rebels are a solid favorite against the Panthers, who were riding the wave of a 9-3 record in 2008 but broke even with a youthful team.

“They run a spread formation and play a 3-3 stack defense,’’ South coach Stacy Carter said. “We scrimmaged them in the preseason. They definitely have a couple of good athletes at running back and quarterback.’’

The Rebels, slumping of late, hope to regain their winning touch.

“We feel good about the playoffs,’’ said Carter, whose team has had more than a fair share of adversity. “We need to get on a roll again. These are the playoffs and you can’t overlook anybody.’’

South has put some thrust in its running game with the vast improvement of speedster Bobby Taylor. The return of Aaron St. Clair at quarterback has added a running dimension to the position and allowed South to shift his fill-in, surehanded Heath Haden, back to wide receiver.

Linebacker Ty Garvin, closing in on 100 tackles again, spearheads the South defense.

Morristown East (5-5) at Daniel Boone (8-2)

Boone’s line has been instrumental in its success. The leaders up front are Isaac Bowman and Ethan Good.

The Trailblazers’ last win over East was in 2005. The Hurricanes beat Boone last year by a 28-7 margin.

“Getting East out of Morristown and off that fast turf is a plus for us,’’ Boone coach Jeremy Jenkins said. “Tee Howell (wide receiver/quarterback) didn’t play last week but we expect him to Friday. He and starting quarterback Cody Ricker both are threats. East’s attack, a Georgia Southern-type option, starts with these two. The defensive must cover all three playmakers in that offense. Our best defense would be our offense keeping East’s explosive offense off the field.

“We’ve got to be balanced — running and passing. They’re going to blitz us, so we’ve got to put hat on hat. We’re emphasizing special-teams play because East has returned eight kicks for touchdowns.’’

The Hurricanes have speed across the board and a lot of skill.

CLASS 3A

West Greene (7-3) at Sullivan North (8-2)

The Buffaloes, like North, will be in the playoffs for the second year in a row. West Greene’s win-loss record is the school’s best since 1981.

“West Greene dresses out 70 players and they come at you in waves,’’ North coach Robbie Norris said. “They have several three-year starters in the line.’’

Attacking from an I-formation, West Greene tailback Dalton Boles has carried the ball 158 times for 1,228 yards and scored 11 TDs. Safety Eric James was a preseason all-stater. The Buffaloes’ defensive front four weigh in at 276, 250, 230 and 215 pounds.

North has enjoyed a banner season. Its top performers have been Eric Pearcy, Brett Jennings, Nick Woodard, Travis Bates, Mackenzie Baker, Steven Hartsoe and Stephen Murray.

“They’ve all stepped up and played outstanding ball,’’ Norris said. “Murray has been a big surprise.’’

The Golden Raiders, who average 26 points a game, have given opponents fits with their deceptive double-wing offense. Pearcy, the Three Rivers Conference’s leading scorer, has rushed for 812 yards and passed for 214. He’s scored 12 TDs.

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