Articles Celebrations Obituaries

Boone to be tested by Morristown East

By Douglas Fritz
Press Sports Writer
dfritz@johnsoncitypress.com

 Printer-friendly version

 Email Article

It has been one of the best regular seasons in Daniel Boone history.

But will the Trailblazers be able to keep it going in the playoffs?

That question will be answered tonight as Boone plays host to Morristown East in the first round of the TSSAA Class 5A playoffs. Kickoff for this game, and all playoff games, is scheduled for 7 o’clock.

In other area Class 5A playoff games, No. 1-ranked Tennessee High will play host to Seymour, and Sullivan South is at home to battle Knox Powell.

In the only Class 6A contest involving an area team, Dobyns-Bennett travels to take on Maryville.

In Class 4A, Greeneville plays host to Chattanooga Central.

Daniel Boone rides into the playoffs with a record of 8-2. The Trailblazers’ only losses came against undefeated Tennessee High and Sullivan South, which has been ranked in the state’s top 10 all season.

Morristown East (5-5) doesn’t bring an impressive record, but the Hurricanes do bring plenty of speed.

Tee Howell had gained 893 yards rushing on the season and is averaging 11.8 yards per carry. He has over 1,000 yards of total offense.

Dee Dee Johnson has added 571 yards with 6.1 per carry. And Cody Ricker has rushed and passed for a total of 890 yards.

“Our best defense is our offense staying on the field,” said Boone head coach Jeremy Jenkins. “They have world-class speedsters. Their slow guy runs a 4.6 in the 40. They have a very talented team.”

Jenkins said it is important for his offense to move the football consistently. East has scored a lot of points (307), but has also given up a bunch (239).

“We’ve got to execute and we’ve got to make positive yards,” said Jenkins. “If we get in long-yardage situations, we’re not going to be successful.”

East has authored three straight victories over Boone, so the Trailblazers have reason to be concerned.

“We hope to have a packed house and get after them,” Jenkins said.

Boone uses a varied offensive approach, throwing and running with either of its two quarterbacks, Austin Reppart and Kevin Connell.

In the backfield, Cliff Sanders and Blake Shropshire are among the key runners.

Connell, who is a standout defensive end, said Boone must be able to handle East’s ground game.

“We’ve got to stop their option,” said Connell. “On offense they stopped us on the line last year, so we’ve got to open it up and throw the ball.”

Seymour (4-6) at Tennessee High (10-0) — It’s hard to find a reason for this game to be played.

The Eagles are a sub-.500 that got to the playoffs by beating three teams with a combined record of 5-25, and three of those five wins were against each other. A TSSAA policy requiring five wins to earn a playoff berth would eliminate matchups like this.

Knox Powell (5-5) at Sullivan South (8-2) — Points likely won’t be at a premium as the two teams are combining to average nine touchdowns per game.

However, the Rebels expect to have a solid edge on defense.

South was boosted by the return of quarterback Aaron St. Clair, who scored three touchdowns in the loss to Tennessee High last week.

Dobyns-Bennett (5-5) at Maryville (9-1) — It appears the Indians will have to reach very deep into their bag of tradition to have a shot at staying close to the Rebels.

Maryville is outscoring its opponents 33-14 and have been on a roll since a Week 1 loss to neighbor Alcoa.

Plus, D-B will likely be without running back Chris Sensabaugh, who has rushed for 1,177 yards and scored nine touchdowns. The junior suffered a concussion in last week’s win over Volunteer. Freshman Devon Swafford and sophomore Paul Slaughter will likely share carries in Sensabaugh’s absence. They have combined to gain 119 yards on the season.

Chattanooga Central (5-5) at Greeneville (7-3) — It’s a new world for the Greene Devils, who previously lined up against the big boys.

Will playing a lower level of opponents give Greeneville a chance to run deeper into the postseason?

Coming into this season, Central was 10-40 over the previous four years. This year the Pounders started at 4-0 before losing five straight games.