By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

NEWBERN - The weather may have been more appropriate for a beach party than football, but participants in Friday night's First Look scrimmage displayed skills to prove to competitors that lining up against area clubs in 2007 won't be a picnic.

There was plenty of big-play offense and hard-hitting defense as five teams joined the host squad at Dyer County High School for the eighth annual gridiron opener. Sponsored by Sports Plus Rehab Centers, the event has become a staple in NorthWest Tennessee and gives fans, teams and coaches an early glance at what some of the area squads will field in the upcoming season.

Despite the heat and humidity, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at Choctaw Stadium for some spirited football action. In the opener, Dresden topped Halls 7-0, Brighton nipped Haywood County by the identical score in the second stage and Jackson North Side rallied to top the home team 14-6 in the nightcap.

School officials pushed the starting time back from its original scheduled 6 p.m. kick off to 7 to help combat the extreme heat that has settled into the area in recent days. When the sun went down, a breeze swirled around the stadium and actually made for a relatively comfortable night.

Dyer County and Halls will see more pre-season scrimmage time next Friday when they participate in the annual Dyersburg Jamboree. Joining the Choctaws, Tigers and host Trojans will be Lake County, Obion County Central and Gibson County. Band entertainment begins at 6 p.m. at J.C. Sawyers Stadium. Dyer County and Halls meet in the opening contest, followed by Obion Central and Lake County. The DHS and GCHS clubs will tangle in the finale.

Lions vs. Tigers

In Friday night's opener at Newbern, the Class 2A Dresden team found its offensive spark in quarterback Austin Evans. The cat-quick junior wasted little time leading the Lions into scoring position, but the Halls defense stood firm in the red zone and didn't allow a score.

After a penalty and a sack, Dresden found itself facing a fourth-and-goal play from the Tigers' 11 and failed to convert.

Class A Halls also displayed some speed in the backfield in the form of Michael Hudson. Wearing the same jersey number (25) his late father wore in his all-state career with the Tigers, the senior namesake gained good yardage carrying the ball and helped open the passing game for quarterback Craig Davis. The junior signalcaller twice made excellent deep passes, only to see the ball go off his receiver's hands.

Ironically, Davis wears jersey number 12 like his father, former Halls QB Tracy Davis.

Dresden picked up the lone touchdown of the skirmish early in the second period, sparked by a 28-yard scamper by Evans. Backfield mates Clay Adams and Zack Garner helped the Lions get inside the 10 and Evans picked up the points with a burst from the six. Dylan Nanney booted the conversion kick and it was 7-0.

"Austin's a natural athlete," Dresden head coach Eric Knott said after the contest. "He's capable of some big things. And Clay and Zack ran the ball well, too."

Halls responded with its best drive of the evening, moving 33 yards to the Lions' 37. A big chunk of that yardage came on a pass play from Davis to junior Tahj Barlow. Davis later hit senior Houston Watson for positive yardage, but the Tigers lost the ball on downs.

Dresden moved back inside the Halls red zone before time expired.

Knott was pleased with his team's experience, especially after a lot of turnovers in an earlier scrimmage with Dyer County.

"Our kids needed some confidence," he said. "They needed to believe we can score and move the football. And tonight, our defense helped us."

Halls head coach Chris Hurt saw some good things, but was not pleased with his overall execution.

"We didn't capitalize on our opportunities," he said. "Up front, offensively, I can say I was very pleased. But we didn't make good cuts. We've got to get better on the corners."

Improved tackling is another need for improvement, according to Hurt.

"We gave up too much yardage by not making good tackles," he explained. "We had people to make plays, we just didn't tackle very well."

The Tigers will see more pre-season work in the Dyersburg Jamboree while the Lions get another chance to improve before the season slate begins with a highly-anticipated scrimmage next Friday at Bruceton.

Cardinals vs. Tomcats

Turnovers were the story in the evening's second stanza as Brighton, a Class 4A squad, played swap out with Class 3A Haywood County.

Less than five minutes into the contest, Brighton recorded the only points of the effort when senior safety Terrell Payne snagged an errant Haywood County pass near midfield and returned it for a touchdown. James Shellhart made the conversion kick and the scoring was over.

After the lone score, the teams fumbled the ball on consecutive possessions.

Late in the initial quarter, Tomcats running back Bradley Witherspoon made a quick burst into Brighton territory. With the ball at the Cardinals' 39, a penalty slowed the drive and the clock ended the possession.

After forcing a Brighton punt, Haywood County senior Nick Taylor racked up a 13-yard run that got the Tomcats moving again. The Cardinals responded with a good defensive effort and got the ball back.

They couldn't keep it, though. Another fumble gave Haywood County another opportunity inside Brighton territory. Luther Ward gave the Tomcats a boost with a ramble to the 36 on fourth down, but that drive also stalled.

Brighton quarterback Shiler Smith teamed with backfield mate Joey Terry to eat up yards and clock with time running short. Haywood County got the ball back with two minutes remaining, but couldn't mount a latedrive.

Despite the loss, Tomcats head coach Bart Stowe was happy with his team's effort after the initial miscues.

"I was glad when we settled in," he explained. "The big thing is, I saw some improvement."

The Cardinals open regular-season action Aug. 24 against visiting Memphis Frayser. The Tomcats entertain Jackson Central-Merry that same evening.

Choctaws vs. Indians

In the finale, the host school got off to a fast start against North Side.

But it was the Indians who finshed strong and scored 14 unanswered points to take the win.

Dyer County, a Class 3A squad, went right to work on North Side with a no-huddle look. A quick pass from Adam Clark to Gabriel Millan along the left sideline for positive yardage. Clark, a senior, then found classmate B.A. Davis with a short pass to the right side that Davis carried to the sideline and deep into Indians territory.

Seconds later, it was the Clark-Millan combination that points points on the scoreboard for the Choctaws. Millan, a junior speedster, hauled in the 13-yard toss in the clear and happily displayed the ball for all to see.

The conversion kick missed the mark, but Dyer County had a quick 6-0 lead.

North Side, a 4A unit, couldn't get anything going on its first possession and quickly gave the ball back to the Choctaws. A 12-yard burst by Jeff Miller gave a promising start to the possession, but DC couldn't sustain the march and had to give it back to the visitors.

The Indians started at their own 25 and promptly moved the ball into Choctaw territory. Cardarious Mann, a pounding junior, carried much of the load as North Side marched to the DC 37. Some solid defense by the home team set up a third-and-long situation and a penalty on North Side helped slow the march.

With the seconds ticking off the clock in the opening half, a North Side rushing attempt resulted in an apparent fumble recovered by the Choctaws and carried on a trek toward the Indians goal line. Officials whistled the play dead by contact, however, but the Choctaws had the ball at the North Side 42.

Until the horn sounded that signaled the end of the half.

North Side received the ball to open the second half and promptly put points on the board. Mann capped the quick drive with a burst off the left side that knotted the score at 6-6. Cyle Radloff's conversion kick made it 7-6, Indians.

The Choctaws lost the ball on downs on the ensuing possession, giving the brusing North Side squad the ball with the clock now in its favor.

Mann & Co. kept the ball on the ground, eating up precious yardage and time. Consecutive penalties on DC moved the ball to the Choctaw three before Davis made the Choctaws' last big play of the night. A big hit left the Indians runner with a four-yard loss, the the guests scored on the next play with time ticking under a minute. The PAT closed out the scoring.

Dyer County head coach Adam Renshaw was disappointed with the way the game concluded, but was happy with his team's effort against veteran head coach Pat Massey's North Side squad.

"I have a lot of respect for Coach Massey and his program," he explained. "North Side did exactly what we told the kids they'd do.

"We saw one of the best. They were well coached up front and they exploited the weaknesses in our defense."

Renshaw was pleased with his team's fast start, but felt the game showed his club's lack of consistency. He was pleased with the protection provided by his offensive line and the early play of the defense.

"We're very streaky right now," he said. "We've got to get some consistency."

Massey said the Choctaws caught his teamoff guard early.

"The no-huddle surprised us," he said. "There was no way to prepare for it."

Despite his team's struggle early, the veteran mentor liked the way his team responded to the early deficit.

"I was proud of the intensity level," he said. "The intensity level is what we were looking for."

Regardless of the score, Renshaw remains very encouraged.

"Everybody thought the cupboard was bare," he added, referring to last year's graduation numbers. "And we did, we lost some fine football players. But the kids have worked had and are putting themselves in a position to have a pretty good season."