biglon68

I heard the Indians have been blessed with a running back from New York, not sure his name or grade just that he's big and fast...

I hope Lamon gets his life straight. I played against or have seen in person about 6 high school receivers who ended up in the NFL and he was better than at least 4 of them at the same period of their careers. I hope Lamon sees this...man you have a wonderful chance at succeeding in life and don't let that easy street corner money ruin your life! Go to school, get an education, live on beenie weenies, whatever it takes and leave the hustling behind. God gave you the natural talent to use as a tool to reach your dreams so use it, let football take you there! Roll Tribe

Howdy Boys! It's about that time! So we lost Willis? I'll let the "cat" out of the bag for the Ridgers - who knows anything about the running back who just transferred from New York (least that's the rumor I heard)? It's going to be a good year for the Indians and should be exciting statewide with all the big prospects cropping up....never seen so many SEC offers this early for Tennessee kids! Roll Tribe!

Well see ya in the Castle. Glad to see two old rivals playing again!

Well Said! Alot of D-B haters say we dwell on the past too much. We use our rich history as motivation to work as hard as possible to achieve excellence. Numerous alums have used this experience to excel in life and become coaches, teachers, business leaders and clergy, which in my opinion is the mark of a successful high school football program. Having coaches with a genuine passion for the game and the life lessons learned during August two-a-days and bitter season ending defeats are priceless. Yes everyone who has played at D-B the past 35 years has lived in the shadows of the great teams of the past and one day we will bring a gold ball back to Reedy Creek! Until then it's just great knowing our two or three years in the maroon and gray has added new chapters to the Tribe history book. Roll Tribe

OK never thought I'd have anything to agree with VolmanScott on, but this is correct. Not just for D-B but all the Kingsport area schools the feeder system is terrible. I coached this year at the Greater Kingsport Boys & Girls Club and can attest that we could be doing so much more, the Boy's Club needs volunteers, sponsors and donations that could make such a positive impact. Also, the other pee wee leagues in the area are so at odds with each other it's pathetic and only detracts from the kids progress. I love football and would love to see D-B, North, South, Central and Volunteer all be successful. Seems Gate City little league does it well, the Gate City kids that also play at KBGC for the most part seem to have a better understanding of the game and basics. What can we do to make it better?

Dobyns-Bennett is the Notre Dame of Tennessee High School Football...years of tradition and a plethora of honors and famous players in the past but we have not been able to win the big one in recent times. D-B was a national power from 1935 to 1949 and put Tennessee football on the map when Southeastern high school football was thought to be inferior to the Midwest and Northeastern parts of the country! As far as a dynasty, D-B was a nationally recognized program who benefited from a remarkable talent base for such a small town for about 30 years (mid 30' to mid 60's). Current dynasties are Oak Ridge, Riverdale, Maryville, Alcoa, Melrose, BA and MBA. Alot of non-football factors play a part - the biggest one I see currently is the economic development and population boom in Rutherford and Williamson Counties so I expect Riverdale, Brentwood, Brentwood Academy, Franklin, Blackman, Oakland, Lavernge and Smyrna to continue to get better and better. Even Antioch and Page who were football doormats for years have benefited from the growth! Good Luck to Oak Ridge, Maryville and Alcoa - bring some gold back to East Tennessee! Great topic...I love high school football and am thankful to Coach T or allowing us the opportunity to get together!

Congrats to Coach Stevens and the Wildcats on a great season. Bring the 2005 5A Gold Ball to East Tennessee where it belongs!

I believe the school officially recognizes 13 state championships: 1923, 1935, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1964 The TSSAA only recognizes mythical state championships from 1941 thru 1968. The 1964 polls were split between D-B and Jackson D-B was crowned Southern Champions twice, I believe in 1939 and 1948. Data from TSSAA web site: Mythical Titles Recognized by TSSAA (1941-1968) 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949,1954, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960 Mythical Titles thru Litkenhous Ratings (1941-1968) 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1959, 1960 Mythical Titles thru Tenn. Action Ratings (1958-1968) 1958

T.W. was my teammate, he was known for his ball skills and he pulled us out of several tight games with great catches and sensational punt returns but he was a tremendous hitter and didn't get alot of newspaper coverage for his defensive skills because almost everyone was reluctant to throw his way. He always got the tough assignments like covering Orion Cox the 6'5" receiver at Oak Ridge or that big TE at Knox Halls. The amazing thing was his junior and senior years he played hurt almost every game and still was the star of our class. He had lower back and hamstring problems. What year was your senior season Skunk? By the way, I agree Jesse Alley is very talented and had a great season.

My bad Skunk! Got my Sensabaugh's crossed. Jalen is the big kid that I saw at the Boy's Club. Chris is the kid in the 7th grade. He must be Brandon's son because Preston and Cory live in Murfreesboro (or at least the last time I saw Preston). The article on tricitiessports.com a few weeks ago about Chris mentioned he was Gerald's cousin, so they all must be related. Doesn't matter as long as they all end up in Maroon & Grey!!!!

T.W. Puguese was awesome. All-State and was the first D-B player selected for the Tennessee/Kentucky All-Star Game. Signed with MTSU. Tremendous speed and vision for the ball. Was only about 5'9" 160lbs but played without fear!! T. if your on here sorry I propped Fergie without including ya!! Roll Tribe

They are cousins I believe. Quite an athletic family. Cousins Teddy Gaines, Dustin Gaines, Preston Sensabaugh, Brandon Sensabaugh at D-B and Boo Sensabaugh from nearby JI Burton HS in Virginia all played college ball. Jalen Sensabaugh in 7th grade is already a great athlete! I think Jalen and Coty are brothers. Don't forget Mike Faulkerson, he played Strong Safety although he mostly played offense. I always thought he would play defense in college and pros. I think the Bears even tried him at DE in preseason once because he was such a tremendous hitter!

Nurserymen's Bowl in McMinnville - I was on the Dobyns-Bennett team that played in 1984 against Franklin County (whipped us, they had Barry Corn and Tracy Hayworth that year) Region 1 Officials Bowl was played at the ETSU Minidome for a couple years in 1990's The Exchange Bowl in Kingsport at J. Fred Johnson Stadium. Here's an excerpt from a recent article in The State Newpaper in Columbia, SC regarding Steve Spurrier: "One of Spurrier’s fondest memories is of the final football game of his high school career. Science Hill played in the postseason Exchange Bowl against Church Hill in Kingsport. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, Spurrier went to passing on almost every down in the second half and rallied the Hilltoppers to a 28-21 victory."

Of Course if Tennessee High had been in the Big East Conference last year they might have gone maybe 6-4 with luck and would have been sitting at home and never been humiliated by Maryville.

If Adonis was about 3" taller he'd been a big time SEC back, truely amazing talent, best running back in Northeast Tennessee since Todd Daggs at Tennessee High and James Stewart at Morristown West.

Bud, I remember an article on TRICITIESSPORTS.COM were Mike Ritz mentioned he thought Duran had potential to develop into a 95mph pitcher in college. Must not be too much of an exaggeration if an SEC school signed him to pitch. I think he will do well barring any injuries.

I saw Duran pitch only once against Knox Halls in the playoffs last season and he did throw a couple at 90 mph and one at 91 mph. Not bad for a 16 year old 6'3" 230lb boy, wait until he matures.

True. I don't remember a freshman being on the varsity roster since Graham has been head coach, but I lived in North Carolina and Nashville for a long time, last freshmen to start the season on the varsity roster that I recall were Shane Pierson in 1990 and Bobby Hill way back in 1980 or 1981. Roll Tribe! Good Luck Tonight!!

Murfreesboro Holloway which was the black school was great in football in the 1960's before integration with stars like Robert James, below is part of his bio from www.databasefootball.com Robert Dematrice James Position: CB Height: 6' 1'' Weight: 182 Born: 7/7/1947, in Murfreesboro, TN, USA High School: Holloway (Murfreesboro, TN) College: Fisk Regular Season Stats PASSING RUSHING RECEIVING FUMBLES Year Team 1969 - 1974 Buffalo Bills

I've considered putting a D-B web site together. I have a D-B group on Yahoo, see the link below:

The greatest Dobyns-Bennett QB's ( no particular order) Bobby Dodd - 1926 HS All Southern, 1930 All American at Tennessee, College football Hall of Fame as player and Coach, Tn State Sports Hall of Fame, NCAA Coach of the year award named after him. Bobby Peters - 2 time All Southern QB at D-B, Princeton Sports Hall of Fame, 1941 Princeton Captain, Set NCAA record in 1941 for the longest TD pass in history up to that point (70 something yards). Darrell Crawford - All SEC QB at Georgia Tech, led Tech to the 1951 SEC Championship, MVP of 1952 Orange Bowl, first QB in SEC history to throw 4 TD's in one game, drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1952 NFL Draft. Nick Showalter - 1964 HS All American QB, led DB to 1964 State Championship, 2nd team All-SEC DE at Tennessee, 3 year starter at Tennessee at LB and DE, defensive standout on 1967 SEC Champion Tennessee Team. Art Brumit - 1963 High School All American, played RB at Memphis State. Honorable Mention - Fred Walton, Wally Bridwell(HS All American in late 50's, played D back at Wake Forest), Mark Williams, Duran Ferguson

Good Luck Indians! Roll Tribe! 681-202-28 The Winningest Team in Tennessee State History!

found this in article from the Columbia SC newspaper From linked article in Columbia, SC THE STATE : Some seven or eight years ago, Ferrell and a couple of other Science Hill coaches visited Spurrier at Florida. Spurrier interrupted one of their film-study sessions to draw up a play for Science Hill. “Here’s you a good play for the Indians,” Ferrell recalls Spurrier saying, amazed that the Florida coach still remembered the nickname of Science Hill’s biggest rival, Kingsport’s Dobbyns-Bennett. Ferrell jotted down the play, a twin-receivers set with a play-action pass to the tight end who drags across the middle of the field, and Science Hill ran it for a touchdown the following season against Dobbyns-Bennett. Ferrell says USC fans should recognize the play. Spurrier ran it for a touchdown pass from Blake Mitchell to Andy Boyd in the Gamecocks’ season-opening victory against Central Florida. Ferrell has no doubt Spurrier designed and ran that same play as a quarterback at Science Hill. It probably is the surest sign that Spurrier has never forgotten his Johnson City roots.