Dyersburg heads to Covington for rematch with Chargers

 




Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

The days have gotten shorter. The practices have gotten longer. And, for the fourth time since 2021, Dyersburg is in the TSSAA Class 3A Quarterfinals where the Trojans will take on Covington on Friday night.


After defeating Fairview on the road in Middle Tennessee last week, the black and gold will continue its tour of football fields as the Trojans will make their second trip to Covington in just over a month.

The meeting will also mark the fourth time this decade the two teams have met not only twice during the year but with the second time being in the quarterfinals with a spot in the state semifinals on the line.

“It’s definitely a rivalry and definitely an important game,” Dyersburg Head Coach Bart Stowe said. “It always is.

“We’ve seen them quite a bit in the playoffs. They’re familiar with us and we’re familiar with them. They’ve got a good program and we’ve got a good program. So, we’ve got to go at it.”

Playing multiple times in a season does have its benefits.

“We definitely know what to expect and they know what to expect,” Stowe pointed out. “We’ve got to go down there and trim it down.

“We’ve got to not make the mistakes. We’ve got to get lined up on defense, execute and play good team defense. Assignment football.”

The Trojan head coach added the team has to take care of the ball and execute in all three phases of the game.

“We’ve got to prevent the big play,” Stowe said. “Don’t give up the big play on defense.

“And, we’ve got to create some big plays on offense. We’ve got to take care of the ball on offense. We’ve got to maintain the ball on offense and score some points.”

Looking back at the Trojans’ 31-14 loss in Week 9 to the Chargers, Stowe said Dyersburg has to take care of the ball better this time around.

“And, our execution on offense wasn’t where it needed to be,” Stowe recalled. “I thought we played really well defensively for four quarters.

“Offensively, I thought we didn’t execute as well as good as what we wanted to do throughout all four quarters of the game. We had some really good execution. But, throughout four quarters of football, we had some letdowns. And, we can’t have any letdowns.”

Special teams will also be important, according to Stowe.

“Special teams is so huge in this ball game,” the Trojan head coach said. “We’ve got to play good, sound special teams for four quarters.”

Defensively, the line will play a key role if the Trojans are to be successful.

“Our linemen assignments have got to be on point,” Stowe added. “We’ve got to tackle well.

“They’ve got strong backs and fast backs. We’ve got to do a good job of tackling. Pursuit and team tackling.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Covington.

“We’re in the Elite Eight and we’re so fortunate of it,” Stowe said. “As a staff, we’re very proud of our team – how we’ve come on and where we are at right now.

“We just want to keep moving forward.”

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