By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

DYERSBURG - In the first regular-season contest of the 2007 campaign, Dyersburg High School’s football team showed it could score points, play defense and gladly accept whatever gifts an opponent wished to provide.

Five players put points on the scoreboard, visiting Frayser managed just two scoring plays and the Trojans took advantage of some favorable field position in a 49-14 triumph. The Rams lost possession on downs six times, including three that were on or inside their own 30 yard line.

And the Trojans tacked on touchdowns on all three occasions.

The romp gave DHS head coach Darren Bowling a comfortable victory in his first outing at the Trojans’ helm.

"A win is a win," he said. "It’s better than the alternative."

Dyersburg will get an early-season test in Week 2 of the campaign when rival Haywood County comes to town for a major Region 7-3A showdown. The Tomcats won their Week 0 game 38-18 over Jackson Central-Merry and downed Memphis Kirby 23-6 this week. Both were played in Brownsville.

Touted as one of the best clubs in West Tennessee by a number of pre-season prognosticators, the Trojans wasted little time taking control against the visiting Rams. Just two plays after fielding a short kick and taking possession at the Frayser 48, Dyersburg found the end zone.

Senior quarterback Rashad Taylor followed his blocks, found a hole and raced 46 yards for the first touchdown of the season on the J.C. Sawyers Stadium turf. Junior kicker Kyle Youmans booted the first conversion kick of his perfect seven-for-seven night and the Trojans were on the way to the win.

Youmans also displayed his powerful leg on the ensuing kickoff, blasting the ball into the end zone for a touch back. In the game, five of his eight kick offs sailed beyond the goal line, one was fielded at the three and another handled at the one.

Frayser started its first possession at its 20 and, after picking one first down, was looking at fourth-and-16 at its own 42. Instead of punting, however, the Rams faked it and got a big gainer out of a running play to the left sideline.

"It’s scary playing a team with that much talent," Bowling said after the game. "They do take chances. There’s no way to figure what they’re going to do, the way they do it."

Taylor Caldwell saved a touchdown with a solo effort at the Dyersburg 22, but the Rams had found some early success with its ingenuity.

Two plays later, however, the ingenuity backfired.

While attempting to scramble away from the rush of DHS defenders, reversing his field left and right, a Frayser runner lost almost 25 yards. Offsetting penalties helped the Rams a bit when the ball was spotted at the Trojan 34, but three straight incomplete passes gave Dyersburg the ball on downs.

After the Trojans gave up the ball on downs themselves near the Rams’ 30, Frayser again proved to be their own worst enemy. A penalty, a five-yard loss on a running play and an incomplete pass set up the guests with a fourth-and-long situation at their own 27. Again, the visitors chose not to punt and gave up the ball when a pass fell incomplete.

Dyersburg responded with a quick score resulting from the generous field position. Taylor found Victor McLin with a 12-yard strike open in the left corner of the end zone and Youmans did his thing to make it 14-0 late in the opening quarter.

Frayser actually punted when its next drive stalled and, despite taking over near mid-field, the Trojans fumbled the ball back to the Rams.

Then the defense stepped up for DHS. With Thornton Blake making a tackle for a loss and a penalty pushing the Rams back, Frayser was facing a fourth-and-long from its own 23.

With no one sure of their intentions, the Rams moved into position. Planning a punt or a fake didn’t matter when Dyersburg’s Eric Cunningham broke into the backfield and chased the ball carrier down at the 14.

Four plays later, Justin Click scored from the eight and the PAT pushed the DHS lead to 21-0 with 4:42 remaining in the half.

Frayser bounced back with a nice drive, pushing 80 yards in 10 plays to get on the scoreboard. Just 34 seconds before intermission, Tarvis Milam hit Bryant Pack on a 37-yard scoring pass and the Rams got a two-point conversion run from Duwan Brooks to make it 21-8.

In the third quarter, Frayser continued to gamble on offense. And they continued to lose. When the Rams came up short on another fourth-down effort, Dyersburg took over at the Frayser 30. Three plays later, Cunningham found the goal line with a seven-yard burst. The conversion kick gave the Trojans a 28-8 edge with 9:10 to play in the frame.

Following another kick off into the end zone, Frayser’s offense put the football on the ground. Dyersburg’s Aire Cork got a handle on it and rambled toward the goal line before being stopped at the two. Taylor picked up the points on first and goal and, with the PAT, pushed its advantage to 34-8.

A 40-yard pass from Taylor to Click, and Youmans’ kick made it 42-8 with about five minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Rams marched 81 yards to get their final points. Steve Nelson caught a two-yard toss from Milan, but the conversion run failed, making it a 42-14 affair.

Dyersburg’s final points capped a 61-yard drive with more than 11 minutes still remaining in the fourth quarter. Taylor tacked on his third rushing touchdown of the evening with a scamper from the 14 and the final conversion kick wrapped up the scoring.

With the Trojans up 49-14, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s new "mercy rule" was used for the first time. Veteran official Thomas White, the clock operator on the field, explained that the rule allows officials to keep the clock moving once a team opens up a 35-point advantage.

Patrick Walden, a junior defensive back, picked off a Frayser pass and Youmans hooked a field goal attempt from the 32 in the closing minutes.

"I think everybody played well," Bowling added. "I think the defense played especially well against a talented Frayser football team."

Pointing that the offensive’s quick-score capability often keeps the defense on the field, the coach was glad to see reserves playing well and fresh bodies keeping the game under control.

Statistically, the Trojans finished the night with 208 rushing yards in 33 attempts. Taylor led all rushers with 117 yards on 11 carries and three rushing touchdowns. He was also 3-for-4 in the air for 69 yards, including two touchdown strikes.