| No sign of first-outing jitters for Dresden offense |
By: Stephanie Sturgis - Weakley County Press Sports Editor
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Posted: Wednesday, August 11, 2010 10:36 am
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Launch — Dresden senior quarterback Dale Hutcherson sends a pass from the pocket before a Union City defender can disrupt the play during scrimmage action Friday in Union City. Hutcherson threw four touchdown passes. Photo by Stephanie Sturgis
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The long wait to get on the field didn’t slow down the Dresden Lions’ offense.
After having their original scrimmage rescheduled due to extreme heat, the Lions football team finally got to scrimmage in preparation for the upcoming 2010 season. Dresden traveled to Union City to take on the defending Class A state champion Tornadoes on Friday afternoon.
Both offenses were successful, scoring on all but one of their possessions.
The bad news in that scenario is that neither defense was very adept in slowing its opposition. The Lions’ passing game worked nearly to perfection against UC’s secondary, while the host Tornadoes ran their midline/veer and mixed in a few passes to march up and down the field.
“That was our first one. We’re still learning,” Dresden head coach Scott Hewett said of his team’s initial outing of the 2010 preseason.
Behind the arm of senior quarterback Dale Hutcherson, the Lion offense utilized its short passing game from the spread to pick apart the Union City defense. Dresden receivers Colin Kanehl, Daniel Harris, Gatlin Hatchel and tight end Tyler McPeak had little trouble finding openings in the defense. When the receivers settled into an open spot, Hutcherson was regularly on target with his throws.
The young Lion offensive line consistently gave Hutcherson time to throw.
“They’re playing their guts out. We have a lot of inexperience in there,” Hewett commented. DJ Ellis is the lone returning regular in the front wall. Codie Greeson also got some playing time up front in 2009.
Dresden mixed in carries by Hutcherson and handoffs to Eric VanDyke and Harris to keep the Purple and Gold defenders off balance.
Kanehl lifted the lid on the scoring with a 35-yard catch and run to paydirt. The shifty junior broke free from a tackler en route to the end zone. Hatchel split the uprights on the PAT.
The Tornado attack answered with two touchdowns in their next possession, scoring on a 70-yard sweep by Deandrez Williams and a 4-yard keeper by QB Chase Bowling.
Kanehl came through again with his second touchdown catch, this one covering 24 yards to even the slate at two TDs each.
“Kanehl had a real good afternoon for us,” the DHS head coach noted.
Fullback Keylon Hyde was the workhorse on the next UC drive, capping it with a 9-yard run through the line.
The third DHS touchdown was a 57-yard catch and run from the slot by Harris.
The Tornadoes again scored twice on their next possession, getting another Williams sweep and a Hyde run for TDs.
Dresden sophomore Logan Thomas broke into the scoring column with a catch on an 8-yard slant.
The Lion defense then bowed up and halted the next Tornado drive.
The Lions were rolling again, before one of the rare offensive mistakes resulted in an interception.
“Dale just made one little mistake, but he made a lot of good decisions before that,” Hewett noted.
The Union City junior varsity finished the scoring with another fullback run, leaving the Tornadoes with six touchdowns to Dresden’s four.
Hewett expressed his disappointment in his defense allowing the UC fullbacks so many yards.
“We shouldn’t give up anything in the middle the way we’re playing. Off the edge is where I thought they would hurt us. That’s something we’ve got to work on,” he said.
Dresden is scheduled to scrimmage against Jackson Central-Merry at 6 tonight (Tuesday) in Jackson, weather permitting. The Lions will wrap up their preseason by taking on South Fulton in the Ken-Tenn Jamboree. Action will begin at 7 on Friday night at Fulton County High School in Hickman.
The Lions officially open the 2010 season on Aug. 20 against the rival Yellowjackets in Greenfield.
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