Trojans head to Fairview to face Yellow Jackets

 

Jason Peevyhouse

Editor, JP Productions Sports

Coming off a mercy-rule win last Friday night on the road in Bolton, Dyersburg will look to continue its journey through the TSSAA Class 3A Playoff bracket as the Trojans travel to Fairview this Friday night for Round 2.

Dyersburg opened the postseason with a 42-6 win over the Wildcats last Friday night, eliminating Bolton for the second straight postseason. Trojan Head Coach Bart Stowe shared what he wants his team to take away from last Friday night’s win.

“We went to Bolton, played them and the boys did well,” Stowe explained. “We just need to take that momentum from it and learn from it.

“We’ve had some really good roadtrips this year and we’ve done really well on the road at times. We’ve got to keep moving forward from it and keep getting better.”

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets have some talent in their backfield at the skill positions.

“They’ve got some really good big backs and they’ve got some smaller, speedy backs,” Stowe explained. “They like to throw it.

“The quarterback is a really good player and he can run it and throw it.”

The Trojan head coach added Fairview is a really diverse team.

“They are a running and a throwing team,” Stowe explained. “They throw all the screens and they have a lot of reverses.

“There is a lot of trick play stuff to go with it. They make you defend the whole field. They’re a very balanced football team. And, they’re a very good football team.”

There have been plenty of teams try to force the Trojans to defend all of the field and Dyersburg has had some success at this.

“Defensively, we’ve got to defend the whole field,” Stowe pointed out. “And, we’ve got to tackle well. Their big backs – we’ve got to gang tackle them and wrap them up.

“We’ve got to have good edge support and pass coverage. We’ve got to have good perimeter defense. Internally, our defensive line has got to play well when they start running the ball. Our linebackers have got to step up and wrap up.”

Stowe stressed the Yellow Jacket offense will mix up its styles.

“They’re a very diverse team and they make you defend the whole field,” Dyersburg’s head coach said. “We’ve got to play well defensively.”

On the other side of the ball, the Yellow Jackets have played both odd and even fronts.

“They have really good size,” Stowe cautioned. “They have really good size all around. Their lines are really big up front.

“They will be bigger than us. But, we’ve got to be quicker and take great angles. We’ve got to be faster and be aggressive.”

There is one way to counter the troubles Stowe expects the Trojans to face up front.

“We’ve got to make sure we have great pad level, great quickness and great ball get off for our offensive line to make sure we get what we need to get done,” Stowe explained.

The trip takes Dyersburg into Middle Tennessee during the earliest part of the postseason for the Trojans in the modern era thanks to the TSSAA’s new playoff alignment.

“I like it, I do,” Stowe said. “We’ve played in this region earlier this year.

“Camden plays in this region with Fairview so that gave us some experience. They’re obviously better than Camden because they beat Camden. I do like the new playoff scenario. Normally, in the second round, we’re seeing someone from our own region again. I like that it’s somebody different in the second round. And, if we’re fortunate to move on and win, we’re looking at probably playing somebody from our region.”

Stowe was quick to add the team is keeping their focus on the present.

“It’s a one-game season and we’re not looking ahead,” Stowe added. “We’ve got to take care of business this Friday.

“We’ve got to get on the road and play at their place. We know they’ll have a big crowd and a lot of crowd support there. We expect our fans to come to the game and fill our side up. It’s a very important game for us, too.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night in Fairview.

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