D-B Looks to Corral Rapid Ridgers
by STEVE WILMOTH
TriCitiesSports.com
August 24, 2017
KINGSPORT, Tenn. – One year ago, Dobyns-Bennett came into its game against Oak Ridge trying to solve 6-5 wide receiver Tee Higgins. This year, the Tribe seeks to corral 5-6 running back Jordan Graham.
Higgins had six receptions for 91 yards, one touchdown and one viral video before moving on to national champion Clemson, but it was Graham who proved to be the dagger in the Wildcats’ 40-28 victory at Blankenship Field.
The junior rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns on just a dozen carries in the win over the Tribe and finished with 1210 yards and 14 scores on the season.
“We had a hard time tackling Jordan Graham,” said Dobyns-Bennett coach Graham Clark. “He would probably beat my Silverado pick-up in a 100-yard dash. We have to take good angles on him. If he gets a step by you, forget it.”
Graham and the Wildcats made a living on the jet sweep last year, but with just three starters returning on offense and an inexperienced offensive line, Oak Ridge has tweaked its running game.
“Instead of what people call the rocket sweep, you’re seeing the fly sweep,” noted Clark. “They are bringing him in motion and giving it to him and reaching everybody hard and trying to get him out on the edge.”
Senior quarterback Johnny Stewart returns after completing 112 of 172 passes for 1620 yards last season. Stewart was 11-of-15 last week against the Hawks.
“They are also running the option from the shotgun with Stewart,” added Clark. “They don’t run much zone, but they will run some power-read with everybody blocking power and rolling the guard around and reading the end.”
Clark said the Wildcats throwing game isn’t complex with only Eastern Kentucky commit Caleb Martin (6-3, 185) back in the fold. Martin hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass from Stewart on the first play from scrimmage in last week’s 21-20 victory over Hardin Valley.
“They’ll try and throw the ball down the field some,” continued Clark. “They aren’t real complex in the passing game. Either throw it quickly or play-action down the field.”
Only senior left guard Ramar Hawkins (5-9, 240) returns up front to an offensive line that is athletic but averages just 229 pounds per position.
“They do a pretty good job of blocking option,” noted Clark. “When you block option you get a double-team at the point of attack. They also do a pretty good job of reaching on sweeps. Those are things you can do when you are smaller, but athletic.”
Only two starters return to the speedy Oak Ridge defense.
“They are fast, they can flat run,” Clark said. “Their team speed is so good they are going to crowd the box. They are going to dare you to throw it over their head.”
Senior Jack Borchers (6-2, 340) is a pre-season all-state selection at nose tackle.
“He may have caused the eclipse himself,” noted Clark. “He’s really a space-eater in there. Hard to get him off the ball.”
The other returnee is senior Adarius Simpson (5-9, 175) who moves from safety to outside linebacker. Safety Shemer Smith (5-9, 160) had 14 tackles against Hardin Valley.
“Their defense is designed to play the zone read,” Clark explained. “If you go zone read, they’ll close on it and they come to next area and the safety rolls down.
“They rely on different looks, different blitzes, getting the safeties very involved. (Shamir) Smith had a bunch of tackles last week because he’s going to roll down in the box and make plays.”
Clark said the Indians failed to gain an advantage on special teams in last week’s season-opener at Greeneville, but feels that could change against the Wildcats.
“Their kicking game is not what it has been,” said Clark. “Their longest kick-off last week was to the ten. Their punter averaged only about 30 yards, so we could gain some yards there.”
The Tribe defense allowed 315 yards last week to the high-scoring Greene Devils.
“Our defense played very hard last week,” added Clark. “We didn’t allow any big plays. We have to do the same thing tonight. We have to take away big plays. You have to play great option responsibilities.”
The Oak Ridge defense saw Hardin Valley running back Aaron Dykes rush for 138 yards and two touchdowns last week. Indian junior Ian Hicks piled up 114 yards on 16 rushes against the Greene Devils. Tribe quarterback Lendon Redwine also threw for 255 yards. Last year, Dobyns-Bennett threw for over 400 yards and racked up over 500 total yards in the loss to the Wildcats.
“We had some turnovers in that game, just like we had last week against Greeneville,” noted Clark. “Obviously that can’t happen.”
Clark also said the challenging previous two seasons have left the Indians in an unfamiliar position.
“We have to get back to where we believe we are supposed to win these types of games,” said Clark. “We have to learn to overcome adversity and still believe. That’s the biggest thing, but it’s hard until you do it.”
GAME NOTES … Caleb Whetsell leads in the Indians in receiving with six catches for 103 yards. Dee Williams has three receptions for 93 yards. Both have one receiving touchdown … Cade Salyers and Braydn Buckles lead the Tribe offensive line with four knockdown blocks … The Indians were 7-for-11 on third downs against Greeneville while the Greene Devils were just 3-for-9 … Dobyns-Bennett linebackers Corey Sexton, Sevin Smith and Jet Harris made 39 stops against Greeneville … Harris had two tackles for loss and a quarterback sack … Dobyns-Bennett team captains this week are Matt Diminick (28), Isaiah Jayne (48), Drew Christian (55) and Christian Edwards (63) .. Oak Ridge is now part of Region 3-5A with Fulton, Knox West, Campbell County, Clinton, Powell and Karns.
REUNION … The 1976 Dobyns-Bennett team will hold a reunion for the game and be recognized in pre-game ceremonies. Around 14 seniors from the team along with head coach Fred Walton are expected to attend … The 1976 team finished 10-2, losing 24-18 to Bradley Central in the state semi-finals in a game played at Sevier County’s new stadium.
SIPE TO BE HONORED … A junior on that 1976 team and long-time statistician for Dobyns-Bennett’s football radio coverage on WKPT and ESPN Tri-Cities, Jim Sipe, will be honored with a moment of silence before the game. Sipe passed away unexpectedly in July. Also, Sipe’s seat in the D-B Press Box will remain vacant in his memory throughout the 2017 season.
SERIES NOTES … The game is the 40th meeting between the two schools with Oak Ridge leading 21-18 …
The Wildcats have won the most two recent meetings, 17-14, in Kingsport on August 28, 2015 and 41-28 on August 26, 2016 in Oak Ridge … Neither side has won more than five straight games in the rivalry. Oak Ridge won five straight between 1968 and 1978 while Dobyns-Bennett rolled five consecutive victories over the course of just three seasons – 1996-1998 … The teams have met nine times in the playoffs with the Tribe holding a 5-4 advantage … The teams split third-round playoff games in 1998 and 2000 … The sides played in a regular season contest and playoff contest in the same year four consecutive seasons (1997-2000) in six of eight seasons including 2003 and 2004.
COACHES NOTES … Coach Graham Clark is celebrating his 25th year as head coach of the Indians and 36th overall at Dobyns-Bennett … Clark is 244-68 overall and 225-65 at Dobyns-Bennett … Clark is 12-10 against Oak Ridge, 6-5 at home and 6-5 on the road … Joe Gaddis is in his second stint with the Wildcats having coached Oak Ridge from 1988-98 and going 119-24 with three state runner-up finishes as well as the 1991 Class AAA state championship … Gaddis returned to Oak Ridge in 2013 and is 38-10 in his fifth season back … Overall with the Wildcats, Gaddis is 157-34 … Gaddis also coached at Tullahoma from 1983-1987, Henry County from 2004-2009 and Peabody in 2012 … His overall mark is 257-81
This is the 1053rd game in Dobyns-Bennett football history (774-240-28) and 457th inside J. Fred Johnson Stadium … The game may be heard on ESPN Tri-Cities (94.3 FM, 1400 AM) and espntricities.com. Kick-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
EXPECTED STARTING LINE-UPS
OAK RIDGE WILDCATS (1-0)
Offense
LT – 74 Jared Galloway, 6-4, 260, SR
LG – 66 Ramar Hawkins, 5-9, 240, SR
C – 53 Izaiah Boone, 5-9, 240, SR
RG – 75 Sam McFarland, 6-1, 225, SR
RT – 67 Samuel Hensley, 5-9, 180, SO
QB – 2 Johnny Stewart, 6-0, 205, SR
RB – 30 Jordan Graham, 5-7, 160, JR
RB – 24 Adarius Simpson, 5-9, 175, SR
H-BACK – 3 Carter Alexander, 5-9, 170, SR
WR – 4 Caleb Martin, 6-3, 185, SR
WR – 1 Jeremy Mitchell. 6-0, 175, JR
Defense
DE – 59 T.J. Johnson, 6-2, 235, JR
NG – 64 Jack Borchers, 6-2, 340, SR
DE – 58 Adarius Cox, 6-2, 225, SR
OLB – 24 Adarius Simpson, 5-9, 175, SR
ILB – 22 Cobe Angel, 6-1, 190, SR
ILB – 44 Jacob Adams, 5-10, 190, SO
OLB – 1 Jeremy Mitchell, 6-0, 175, JR
CB – 12 Kai’Reese Pendergrass, 5-10, 160, JR
CB – 4 Caleb Martin, 6-3, 185, SR or 6 Jaycen McGee, 5-10, 165, SR
S – 14 Shemer Smith, 5-9, 160
S – 26 Jack Replogle, 5-9, 160, SO
DOBYNS-BENNETT INDIANS (0-1)
Offense
LT – 77 Dawson Pierson, 6-3, 255, SR
LG – 75 Bradyn Buckles, 6-1, 255, SR
C – 72 Nick Starke, 6-4, 290, JR
RG – 78 Cade Salyers, 6-3, 290, SR
RT – 55 Drew Christian, 6-3, 260, SR
QB – 13 Lendon Redwine, 6-5, 200, JR
RB – 30 Ian Hicks, 5-10, 206, JR
WR – 28 Matt Diminick, 6-1, 155, SR
WR – 5 Dee Williams, 5-10, 170, SR
SLOT – 2 Caleb Whetsell, 5-9, 160, SR
TE – 11 Nathan Harding, 6-1, 210, SR
Defense
DE – 63 Christian Edwards, 6-3, 230, SR
NT – 62 Randall Whisman, 5-9, 2-5, SR
DE – 50 Logan Greenway, 5-11, 220, JR
OLB – 24 Sevin Smith, 5-11, 180, SR
ILB – 48 Isaiah Jayne, 6-1, 225, SR
ILB – 46 Corey Sexton, 6-0, 180, SR
OLB – 14 Jet Harris, 6-0, 180, SR
CB – 28 Matt Diminick, 6-1, 155, SR
CB – 5 Dee Williams, 5-9, 160, SR
S – 27 Jacob Strange, 5-10, 170, SR
S – 2 Caleb Whetsell, 5-9, 160, SR
Special Teams
SNAP – 51 Frank Waudewitz, 6-2, 270, SR
PK – 22 Drew Miller, 5-9, 160, SR
P – 22 Drew Miller, 5-9, 160, SR
KR – 5 Dee Williams, 5-9, 160, SR
28 – Matt Diminick, 6-1, 155, SR
2 – Caleb Whetsell, 5-9, 160, SR