1A championship: Dresden pulls away to win title

COOKEVILLE – Friday was about history for the Dresden football team.

The Lions' 62-27 victory over Greenback was the first football state championship for the school and Weakley County.

“This is a phenomenal group of kids on this team that’s done a lot of hard work over the past three years since I got here,” said Dresden head coach Derek Rang. “This championship is the result of their work.”

The Lions worked for it too. They found themselves down 13-0 a little more than three minutes into the game after Greenback had scored on the opening drive with a Kayne Roberts four-yard touchdown run, then returned a fumble for a touchdown by Tavin Kilpatrick after Dresden quarterback Dresser Winn dropped the ball after a timely hit.

“I like the fact that we had to face adversity because I don’t think a lot of people thought we could deal with it if we had to,” Winn said. “So that makes me a little more proud of this win.”

After the score and turnover, Dresden responded quickly. Winn hit receiver Austin Thomas for a 74-yard pass down the right sideline. Thomas outran everybody else on the field and had no one close to him after he crossed midfield.

“We had a short pass for Austin drawn up just to help settle everybody down after they went up on us,” Rang said. “It turned out better than we were planning on it doing.”

Thomas said after that, everybody on Dresden’s team began to settle in to the game.

“I think we needed a little time to see how their defense was going to play, and once we figured that out we were good,” Thomas said. “We knew they were going to be a great team with a good defense.

“We just needed to become more accustomed to what they were going to do.”

Dresden running back Dylan Yates caught a 13-yard pass to tie the game late in the first quarter. The score was the first of five for the running back.

“I scored five touchdowns?” Yates asked with obvious surpriseafter the game. “I wasn’t really keeping up with it. Just trying to make plays and win a game.”

Winn gave Dresden its first lead with a touchdown run to open the second quarter.

Greenback responded by taking the lead with another run from Roberts, who was a Mr. Football finalist, followed by a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Willis to receiver Tylor Jones, who had no one around him and ran easily into the end zone for the score.

But it was all Dresden on the scoreboard after that.

Yates ran 51 yards for a score to tie the game at 20-20 with 1:57 to go in the second quarter. After a Greenback turnover, Yates caught a 13-yard pass from Winn for another score and the lead.

Yates then capped the first drive of the third quarter with a four-yard run.

Quincey McDonald caught the next two touchdown passes for 25 and 13 yards, and the clock began to run in the fourth quarter when Yates ran 49 yards for a touchdown and a 35-point lead.

Yates finished the game with 260 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries. He caught four passes for 46 yards and two scores.

Winn finished 15-of-23 passing for 245 yards and five touchdown passes along with 58 rushing yards and a touchdown on 14 carries.

Dresden finishes the season 15-0 with three games that finished with a margin of victory fewer than 30 points.

Brandon Shields, 425-9751

Yates had touchdown runs in the second half of four and 49 yards, while Winn connected with Quincey McDonald for the other two second half touchdowns of 25 and 13 yards.

Yates accounted for five touchdowns for the Lions (with three rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns). Yates finished the game with 260 rushing yards and 46 yards receiving.

Dresden finished with 563 total yards.

Blase Cashion was named as the Defensive MVP with 11 tackles (8 solo), three tackles for loss and two forced fumbles. The Lions forced Greenback into six turnovers.

Be sure to check out jacksonsun.com this afternoon and evening for more stories and analysis of Dresden's state championship.

THIRD QUARTER UPDATE

Both teams made mistakes in the third quarter, but the good thing for Dresden is Greenback made more.

The Lions took advantage of the opportunity to score two touchdowns in the period to go into the fourth quarter up 48-27.

Dresden got the ball off interceptions and fumbles to have multiple scoring opportunities. Dylan Yates ran for a touchdown, and Dresser Winn connected with Quincey McDonald for the other score.

If this score holds, it would be the third consecutive game Dresden has dominated the second half of a game that was close at halftime.

SECOND QUARTER UPDATE

Dresden outscored Greenback in the second round with three touchdowns to two as both teams are making mistakes in the first half and giving the other opportunities to do something with the ball. The Lions lead 34-27.

Both teams are taking advantage of those opportunities.

Dylan Yates had an impressive run from midfield for a tying score after Greenback had taken the lead. He caught a pass on a diving grab at the goal line with four seconds left in the second quarter to take the late lead.

The Lions nearly built on that lead as the first half ended when Greenback fubmbled the kickoff return and Austin Thomas ran it back. He was tackled short of the goal line.

Dresser Winn has 182 passing yards completing nine of 14 passes for three touchdowns. Thomas has 103 receiving yards with a touchdown catch. Dylan Yates has two receiving touchdowns on two receptions and 85 rushing yards with a score on seven carries.

FIRST QUARTER UPDATE

Dresden has the ball at the Greenback 7-yard line with second-and-5 to start the second quarter, but the teams are tied at 13-13.

Greenback scored its points first with an offensive drive to open the game that ended with a six-yard run, and they recovered a fumble and returned it three yards for the second score.

Dresden came back with a pair of scores to tie the game on a long pass from Dresser Winn to Austin Thomas and Winn to Dylan Yates.