By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

DYERSBURG - Following a 20-6 victory over visiting Three Oaks that kept Dyersburg Middle School unbeaten for the year, it was hard to figure out which team won the game by simply talking to the respective coaches.

Mark Schneider, the DMS mentor, was not happy with his club’s offensive execution and recalled too many missed opportunities. Chris Eaves, the man at the helm at Three Oaks, was thrilled with his squad’s defensive performance and shutout effort over the final two and a half quarters.

And both want to see continued improvement by their teams as the season winds down.

Thursday night’s combatants will return to action on short rest. On Tuesday, the Trojans play host to Crockett County with the Eagles set to entertain Black Oak.

At DMS Thursday night, all the points were tallied before the break. Dyersburg, 5-0, scored quickly with a 70-yard touchdown romp on its first play from scrimmage. Two other scores made it 20-0 midway into the second quarter.

Three Oaks, 3-3, picked up its lone six-pointer just seven seconds before intermission to complete all scoring. According to Eaves, defensive adjustments were made that changed the direction of the contest.

"We shut them down for two and a half quarters," he said. "I was very pleased with the defense after we made the changes. We just gave up too many points early."

The Trojans took the early advantage when Travis Bradshaw found a hole and rambled 70 yards for a touchdown on Dyersburg’s first play. Sharquawn Henderson added a two-point conversion play to give the home team an 8-0 edge.

Henderson picked up the second DMS score on a reverse with Bradshaw closing out the scoring for the Trojans with a short TD burst that made it 20-0.

With time running out in the half, the Eagles picked up their lone touchdown. Steven Henry hit Ethan Mansfield on a pass play that trimmed the DMS lead to 20-6.

After the break, both squads moved the football and had chances to get into the end zone.

The Trojans bobbled the ball away inside the Three Oaks 40 as play wound down in the third quarter. After holding the Eagles on downs near midfield, DMS got a big pass-and-run play from Hayden Alford to Henderson that pushed the ball to the 14.

The Three Oaks defense rose to the occasion, stopped Dyersburg on downs and responded with one of their best drives of the contest.

After taking over inside their own 10 with 3:00 to play, the Eagles moved to the DMS 38 before losing the handle and turning the ball over just over a minute remaining.

"If we hadn’t let them score there before halftime, I don’t think it would have stayed as close," Schneider said. "That really gave them a lift."

Schneider did credit the Three Oaks team for getting physical.

"They played physical," he said. "They’re probably more physical than we are."

Although not happy with his offense, Eaves continued to heap praise on his defensive unit. He singled out Kyle Wilson, Thaddaeus Medford, Tyler Sansom, Henry and newcomer Ruben Tijerina for their roles as stoppers.