Choctaws thump Trojans in junior varsity contest

Friday, October 16, 2009

The Choctaws and the Trojans met in their annual freshmen matchup on a cold night in Dyersburg on Thursday.

"It's Dyersburg and Dyer County, it's going to be fun no matter what the score is," said Choctaw freshman coach Damon Frier. "Defense played real good tonight, and this was our first game in three weeks, so we were hungry for a win."

Dyer County clicked on all cylinders on Thursday, as they cruised past their rivals 34-8, behind two touchdowns by Ky Wilson.

"Ky is going to be a good football player," said Frier. "He is already seeing a lot of time on the varsity squad, and he is an asset to this football program."

The Trojans looked to have things going their way after recovering an on-side kickoff attempt, but the Dyersburg offense had trouble moving the ball against the aggressive Choctaw defense.

The Choctaws picked up their first score of the game on a 60-yard punt return by Wilson, which gave Dyer County an 8-0 lead after a successful 2-point conversion try.

It didn't take long for Wilson to make his impression felt again, as he picked off a Trojan pass on their next possession and sprinted 75 yards for the score, which put the Choctaws up 14-0.

Dyer County held the Trojans on their next drive, and immediately took advantage of their great field position late in the first quarter.

Choctaw quarterback Wesley Atkins pushed Dyer County's lead to 20-0 on a draw up the middle, after Bryce Heathcott put the Choctaws in the red zone on a 15-yard carry.

Heathcott pushed the Choctaw's first-half lead to 26-0 with under a minute left until the intermission on a 16-yard scamper.

Neither team was able to put up any points in the third quarter, as both squads' respective defenses rose to the challenge in the period

In the fourth quarter, the Choctaws were able to stretch their lead to 34-0 on a 55-yard pass to O'Shawn Smith with four minutes to go in the final frame.

The Trojans never quit despite being down by a large margin, and running back Willie Toles put Dyersburg on the board with a 4-yard sweep that cut the Choctaws lead to 34-8 late in the final period.

Dyersburg was unable to cut into the Choctaws' lead anymore, as they fell to their rivals 34-8.

"I think this football program has a great future," said Frier. "We got a lot of young players, and I think they will make us a better team in the long run."