Lions Bounce Back Against McEwen

By RON PARK

ron@magicvalleypublishing.com

On the rebound from their Sept. 30 loss to top-ranked McKenzie, the Dresden High School Lions returned to their winning ways this past Friday night with a 56-14 homefield victory over the McEwen Warriors in an important region contest.

“I was extremely proud of how the guys bounced back after a tough loss in the previous week,” said Dresden head coach Keith Hodge. “We didn't play well at all, so we could have had a bad week of practice and let the loss linger, but we didn't. We got right back after it and played some of our best football the other night. We played a complete game against a good football team.”

Early on, both teams fumbled away and then punted away their first two possessions, but then the Lions finally got their offense in gear, advanced across the field, and lined up on McEwen’s one-yard line following a 34-yard pass to Raymond Johnson from quarterback Tatum Oliver, who then stepped it into the endzone on the very next play. Mark Maddox put it between the posts, and Dresden was off to a 7-0 lead, which held to the end of the first quarter.

The Lions scored four times in the second quarter: first on another 34-yard pass from Oliver to Johnson, twice on passes from Oliver to Tristan Jett (both for 33 yards), and then on a 14-yard pass from Oliver to Nick Turnbow. Maddox added all four extra points, and Dresden was way out front 35-0 at the half.

Jett scored again for the Lions very early in the third quarter when he intercepted a McEwen pass and ran it for a touchdown. Maddox’s kick made it 42-0.

The Warriors then set out on their first scoring drive of the game, putting it in from five yards out. Oliver and Johnson stopped McEwen’s conversion attempt, leaving the score at 42-6 going into the fourth quarter.

Less than a minute into the fourth, DeAngelo Lambert legged it in from 10 yards out, picking up his own fumble along the way. Maddox made it seven in a row, putting Dresden up 49-6.

A pass interception by McEwen turned into a touchdown about halfway through the fourth, and a successful two-pointer closed the gap a bit 49-14.

The Lions had the final word with a 15-yard TD carry by Lambert with just 25 seconds left on the clock. The extra point meant a perfect night for Maddox and a 42-point winning margin for Dresden.

The Lions, now 7-1 overall and 4-1 in region play, will enjoy this upcoming Friday night off after a whole week off for fall break.

“We're giving the guys some time off,” said Hodge. “I have always felt it's important to allow them time to step away and be with family. That should give them a good mental and physical break before we hit this late stretch of the season.”

Dresden will be back on the field on Oct. 22 as the Lions host Obion County in a non-region contest.

“Obion county is a very good, tough football team,” said Hodge. “They are scoring a ton of points against good competition, so we will have our hands full slowing down their offense. They have a great running back in Johnny Light and their quarterback is a good dual threat player. It's another game where we need to put points on the board and keep being strong in special teams.”