D-B, Oak Ridge renew storied football rivalry

Separated by two hours and 121 miles, one wouldn't expect Oak Ridge to be one of Dobyns-Bennett's biggest football rivals.But that's the case in a series featuring many classic battles over the years. In fact, the series is tied 22-22 after D-B's 14-10 victory last season.The Indians (7-1), ranked No. 3 in the Class AAA poll, are the clear favorites in Friday's 7 p.m. game at J. Fred Johnson Stadium. But Tribe coach Joey Christian isn't taking the Wildcats (4-4), or the rivalry, lightly."The history from when the schools first started playing to today, it's a huge rivalry," Christian said. "There's the history of Oak Ridge being based off Kingsport as the Model City. They took the plans from Kingsport to build Oak Ridge for the Manhattan Project. It's crazy how so many people were originally from here, their family moved to Oak Ridge and they moved back. It means so much to the community."The explosive power Oak Ridge has on the football field includes star running backs De'Jauvis Dozier and Jai Hundley. Dozier had 148 rushing yards, 62 receiving yards and four touchdowns in the Wildcats' last game, a 56-28 victory over Karns. Hundley added 157 rushing yards and four TDs on just 12 carries."Dozier and Hundley are so good. It doesn't take much. If you give them a little bit of space, they will be gone," Christian said. "You have to keep a man in front of them, leverage the football and not let their running game get established."Ethan Garza took over at quarterback after an injury to Peyton Sharpe earlier in the season. Prime targets are wide receivers Brandon Heyward — a four-star recruit with offers from multiple Southeastern Conference schools, including Tennessee — and Elijah Rogers."Garza does a good job of understanding what Coach (Scott) Cummings is wanting to do offensively and who they want the ball to go to," Christian said. "Of course when you've got players like No. 1 (Rogers) and No. 13 (Heyward) to throw to, they're going to get open."That places an emphasis on getting pressure on the quarterback. D-B has done a good job of that in recent weeks, leading to more turnovers. The Tribe had five interceptions, returning three for touchdowns, in last week's 55-7 blowout of William Blount.Jonavan Gillespie had two of the pick-6s and Branson Carswell — the team's leader with 70 tackles — returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown. The stingy D-B defense, which includes Andrew Myers with 63 tackles and Cannon Mullins with 61, has held opponents to an average of nine points.D-B OFFENSE vs. RIDGE DEFENSEChristian sees 6-foot-4 defensive end Elijah Bradley with the potential to give the Indians problems up front. Outside linebacker VaShawn Nalls, safety Brian Kelley and Rogers, playing cornerback, also stand out."They're so athletic and can run," Christian said. "It's a team you don't want to get into a track meet with or you will lose. Those guys can run like deer. Typically the faster you are, the smarter coaches you are. Speed shows up every Friday night."The Indians have been displaying a good mix of power and speed to the tune of 41 points per game.Brayden Simpson leads the rushing attack with 558 yards on 42 carries. Peyton Franklin has 384 yards and Peyton Brooks 270 yards. Myers leads the team with six rushing touchdowns on just eight attempts.Senior quarterback Jake Carson continues to excel, completing nearly 70% of his passes for 1,329 yards and 18 TDs against just two interceptions. Gillespie is the leading receiver with 33 catches for 522 yards, and Hayden Russell has 15 receptions for 233 yards and a team-best seven touchdowns.CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORYIt was front page news on Nov. 12, 1960, when the Indians defeated the Wildcats 14-6 to virtually clinch the mythical state championship, according to the report of then Times News sports editor Don Allgood.With D-B No. 1 and Oak Ridge No. 3 in the Litkenhous Ratings, the Indians won their last state title recognized by the TSSAA to date. Charles Sproles scored the first touchdown and rushed 15 times for 89 yards. Mike Kelly had a 13-yard touchdown as part of a 76-yard effort.