| By MIKE HUTCHENS
Messenger Sports Editor
Devan Raymer, Colter Swafford and Co. calmed the Tide.
Raymer ran for 276 yards and three touchdowns and Swafford had a TD rushing and another receiving as fifth-ranked Dresden ended No. 8 Trenton’s seven-game winning streak and Peabody’s 2012 season with a convincing 34-7 victory in the Class 2A quarterfinals Friday night.
The Lions (11-1) — state runnersup last season — dominated both lines of scrimmage and held a Golden Tide team that had scored 40 or more points in four straight games to but a third-quarter touchdown.
Trenton standout running back Tavarian Barnett, who’d scored six TDs in two playoff games, was held out of the end zone despite rushing for 146 yards and eclipsing the 1,900-yard mark for the season.
Raymer, just 40 yards shy of 2,000 yards himself this season, posted another in a long line of spectacular performances this season.
He scored on Dresden’s second offensive snap — a six-yard run — and also had touchdown dashes of 70 and 51 yards in the second half to help his team build on a 20-0 intermission advantage. The diminutive Raymer also had a two-point conversion and picked off his seventh pass of the season as the Lion defense turned away Peabody three times in the redzone.
Swafford had a 22-yard scoring run and caught a pass from Davis Moran that resulted in a 72-yard touchdown midway through the first period.
Dresden will now host Adamsville in the semifinals and hope to duplicate last season when it beat the Cardinals 35-19 at the same juncture on the way to the Class 2A BlueCross Bowl.
In other playoff results across West Tennessee Friday night:
H’don 37, W. Carroll 6
The fourth-ranked Mustangs (11-2) avenged one of their two regular season losses, turning three third-quarter WC turnovers into touchdowns to break open a tight game.
Class A Mr. Football Back of the Year finalist Jacob Warbritton continued to be virtually unstoppable, carrying Huntingdon offensively with 225 yards and four touchdowns rushing. He also threw a TD pass on his only completion of the night — a six-yarder to Steve Stover.
Jacob Wynn had the sixth-ranked War Eagles (9-3) lone score in the second quarter and rushed for 88 yards while catching two passes for 58 more.
West Carroll, which upset the Ponies 30-24 during the regular season, nearly matched Huntingdon in the yardage department (294-272), but fumbled five times in all while the Mustangs had no turnovers.
Milan 35, Hickman Co. 6
Arkel Coleman ran for 122 yards and four scores and Milan advanced to the state semifinals for the sixth straight season.
The No. 8 Bulldogs (11-2) will play Christ Presbyterian Academy with a trip to the Class 3A state championship at stake next week.
Coleman had all his TDs in the first half, and Milan scored twice in the final 66 seconds of the second quarter to build a commanding 28-0 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs picked off HC quarterback Zach Roberts three times and limited the upstart visitors to just 189 total yards.
Cov. 23, Trezevant 18
Johnston White made his mark on the defensive side to help the unbeaten and second-ranked Chargers advance to the 4A semis.
White — a Mr. Football Back of the Year finalist — came up with a huge interception in the final minutes and then tipped a pass that Demarcus Seaberry intercepted in the waning seconds to seal the victory for Covington.
White, with more than 2,000 yards rushing for the second straight season and approaching 2,500 yards this year, was limited to just 71 yards and one TD vs. the Bears.
Covington (13-0) did build a seemingly-safe 21-0 lead at the half, though, scoring the last of those touchdowns on a 52-yard pass from T.A. Watson to speedy Carlos Williams.
Trezevant rallied for three TDs in the second half, however, using a spread offense that was different from its offensive approach in the first two periods.
Covington will host Liberty (9-4) this week, hoping to secure its first state finals berth since 2003.
Northside 45, R’way 42
Ironically, in a game that produced 87 points and 978 total yards, a defensive stand in the final minutes propelled the Indians into the Class 5A semifinals.
Northside held the Memphians at the five-yard line on downs, then took a knee to preserve the win.
Former South Fulton prep star and two-sport UT Martin standout Tab Vowell will now lead his second-ranked Tribe into a showdown with No. 1 and fellow 13-0 entry Beech in Round 4.
Adam Craig piled up 407 yards of total offense and had a hand in five of Northside’s six TDs. Craig threw for 241 yards and four scores and ran for another 166 and a touchdown. His six-yard pass to Mario Rogers with 3:43 to play accounted for the game-winner.
Sports editor Mike Hutchens can be contacted by email at mhutch@ucmessenger.com. Publlished in The Messenger 11.19.12 |
