By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

Prior to Friday night’s season-opening game against visiting Liberty, Dyer County head coach Adam Renshaw stated plainly that he needed some defensive players to step up.

After watching his defensive unit lead the way in a 27-7 triumph, Renshaw certainly felt his wish had been granted.

"The story of the night was the defense," Renshaw said Saturday. "A lot of talk has been about the offense, but the defense showed up last night."

Renshaw hopes his defensive unit will step it up again next Friday when the Choctaws, 1-0, play host to Huntingdon. The Mustangs topped Milan 20-13 in their season-opener at home.

"If we play like we did defensively this week, we’d give ourselves a shot," he said.

According to Renshaw, the DC defensive unit allowed the Crusaders just 135 total yards of offense.

"I was very pleased with the defensive effort," the coach added. "They really worked hard and they (the Crusaders) really had trouble blocking us."

Renshaw singled out Miller, B.A. Davis and Kade Messersmith for the efforts, but continued to brag on the entire defensive unit.

"Everybody played very real well."

With the loss, Liberty falls to 0-2 with both setbacks coming against teams in Region 7-3A. The Crusaders, a Class 4A competitor, dropped a 15-12 decision to Ripley in their opener Aug. 24.

"It’s always good to beat a team above you in classification," the coach added. "That only does good things for the team."

Against the visiting Crusaders, the Choctaws couldn’t get the offense into gear until the second quarter. Jared Hunter hauled in a 35-yard scoring strike from Adam Clark to get on the scoreboard. Gabriel Millan booted the conversion kick and DC had a 7-0 advantage.

The Choctaws took advantage of another scoring opportunity when the defense put the clamps on the Crusaders. After being forced to punt from their own territory, the snap sailed over the punter’s head. Liberty’s punter tracked down the ball, but junior tackle Jeff Miller brought him down at the one to set up DC’s next score.

Eric McLin picked up the points for the Choctaws and Millan’s PAT was on target to make it a 14-0 game.

According to Renshaw, the home team gave Liberty a chance to get on the board with a turnover late in the half.

Following a punt by the guests, the Choctaws coughed it up. The Crusaders took advantage, finding the end zone with a pass to the back of the end zone with just four seconds remaining before intermission. The Liberty conversion kick cut DC’s lead in half.

In the third quarter, a mechanical problem forced a delay in the action. But it didn’t seem to hamper the Choctaws.

According to the coach, the lights at Choctaw Stadium went out with his team on the move. Following a 15-minute delay, the Dyer County offense picked up where it left off and scored on the first play after the blackout.

Millan caught a pass from Clark and turned it into a 30-yard pass-and-run play that padded DC’s lead. Millan’s conversion kick made it a 21-7 game.

"Give us 15 minutes to make a call, we’ll come up with a good one," Renshaw quipped.

Clark suffered a mild shoulder injury in the final period, giving Peyton Lucas an opportunity to run the offense. Lucas promptly found Erick Bernard with an eight-yard strike to end the scoring.

Along with his defensive unit, the DC coach also mentioned the production of his special teams.

"We had good defensive play and got some really good play from the special teams, too," he said. "We played a pretty good ballgame."