D-B holds off Gate City, gets first out-of-state win in 56 years

GATE CITY — Will Dobyns-Bennett senior tight end and linebacker Tyree Thomas make sure to remind cousin Madison Cox of the outcome Friday night? "Of course," he joked. The two cousins were rivals for 48 minutes of football Friday night, but their great-grandfather Dwight Browder would've surely been equally proud of both. Both are seniors, Thomas at D-B and Cox a cheerleader for Gate City. The Indians had noticeably more opportunities to cheer in the first half Friday night at Legion Field, as D-B came out firing before holding off a late Gate City comeback 28-21. It's the first out-of-state win for Dobyns-Bennett since a 6-0 victory at John S. Battle (Va.) in 1970. Two years to the day after Dwight — a 1966 Gate City graduate — passed away, Thomas scored a touchdown on the same field where his great-grandfather used to pick up rocks during the school day with his Blue Devil teammates. Two plays after Levi Chappell connected with Zay Hickey on a deep fade for a 37-yard gain, Thomas ran an out pattern where Chappell found him for a 15-yard score — building a 28-6 lead for D-B (1-2). "That was pretty exciting," Thomas admitted. But rest assured, there won't be any tension between Thomas and Cox, as Thomas noticed her cheering when he scored his touchdown. And this time, it paid off for a win. "It was important," Thomas said. "Those first two games were against two great teams. We bounced back tonight. We have to continue to do that." CAME OUT FIRED UP Chappell went 4-for-4 passing on Dobyns-Bennett's opening drive, starting when he launched a 45-yard deep pattern to Tate Wernke. Four plays later, Chappell kept himself for a 3-yard touchdown. And after the defense forced a punt, Emmitt Starnes took a handoff right and dashed 73 yards down the home sideline for a quick 14-0 lead with 4:42 in the first quarter. The teams traded turnovers before the Tribe covered 82 yards in nine plays to build a 21-0 lead. Kedrick Harris gained 57 of it on one carry, before Starnes took a screen pass from Chappell 23 yards to the house. Gate City (1-1) was driving for a potential touchdown before the half, when Dre Gardner-Hawk intercepted Zayne Reed off a deflected pass in the end zone. Chappell finished 12-of-17 for 160 yards with two touchdowns and a pick. Hickey caught three passes for a team-high 56 yards. Harris (11 carries, 109 yards) and Starnes (nine carries, 100 yards) led the rushing attack while Chappell gained 32. DEVILS DON'T QUIT Reed hit 15-of-29 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown while keeping 11 times for a team-high 62 yards. He found Parker Jenkins on a deep fade to cut D-B's lead to 21-6 in the second quarter. And after a botched punt snap led to a safety in the fourth quarter and a 28-8 deficit, Reed drove Gate City down the field where he scored on a 20-yard keeper to make it 28-15. The Blue Devils couldn't capitalize on a fumble, as Hudson Clabaugh broke up a fourth-down pass, but they got one more shot after forcing a punt. A 37-yard return by Jenkins after initially losing the ball set up Gate City in the red zone. Reed kept for a 14-yard touchdown two plays later, making it a one-score game with 1:25 to left. But the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, and D-B killed the clock from there. Jenkins had 99 yards on six receptions, and Kaden Houseright five catches for 80. Cash Jones (38) and Jerod Brown-Carter (35) led the ground game. "If you think about it, this is the first time we've faced a little adversity. The second half they responded. I'm proud of them," Gate City coach Jeremy Houseright said. "Zayne had bad luck a couple times, but he was smart, pulled it down, made some big runs for us, threw the ball great. "We have a lot of things to get better at, but the effort in the second half was awesome . I'm not going to fault them for that." UP NEXT Dobyns-Bennett returns home to face Oak Ridge, while Gate City travels to Mountain 7 District rival Abingdon on Friday, Sept. 11. Dobyns-Bennett 28, Gate City 21 D-B 14 14 0 0 — 28 GC 0 6 0 15 — 0 First quarter D-B — Levi Chappell 3-run (Lofton Fuller kick), 8:24 D-B — Emmitt Starnes 73-run (Fuller kick), 4:42 Second quarter D-B — Starnes 23-pass from Chappell (Fuller kick), 6:46 GC — Parker Jenkins 40-pass from Zayne Reed (kick blocked), 3:59 D-B — Tyree Thomas 15-pass from Chappell (Fuller kick), 2:04 Fourth quarter GC — SAFETY (ball kicked through end zone), 10:09 GC — Reed 20-run (Brayden Smith kick), 8:19 GC — Reed 14-run (kick blocked), 1:25