By GALE CAVNESS
pressbox1.com

DYERSBURG - Losing a Region 7-3A contest at Haywood County did not end the season for the Dyersburg Trojans, but head coach James Counce hopes it will be the last time his club loses a game it should have won.

The Trojans dropped a 6-3 heartbreaker highlighted by defensive play and settled by the kickers. Turnovers - three fumbles - cost DHS possessions, field position and their best scoring opportunity of the night. A bobbled snap late in the third quarter ended a drive by the Trojans that had pushed to the Tomcats 10.

"We've got to play better football," Counce said Thursday. "We've got to get better."

Jackson North Side, a non-region opponent, visits J.C. Sawyers Stadium in Dyersburg for tonight contest, scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Dyersburg's defense certainly did its part at Haywood County, holding the talented Tomcats to just 144 yards of total offense and two field goals by kicker Jose Lopez. The Haywood senior booted the game-winner from 32 yards out with 1:49 remaining in the game. But the Trojans struggled on offense.

Despite 104 rushing yards on 22 carries by Xavier Taylor, Dyersburg managed just 124 total yards of offense. In the passing game, the numbers were a paltry 1-for-9 for three yards. Senior kicker Kyle Youmans scored the only points for the Trojans with a second-quarter field goal of 30 yards.

Counce reported a good week of practice and some accomplishments on the offensive side of the football. He also hopes to see a good response from a challenge to mature. Despite a large number of players from the senior class, the team is quite inexperienced. The squad graduated a lot of starters from a club that posted a 10-2 record last year.

"We've got a lot of seniors, but a lot of 'em have never been on the football field," he said. Despite being off to a slow start, North Side will showcase one of the state’s top running backs in Cordarious Mann. The senior speedster rushed for more than 2,000 yards in 2007 and will be a huge test for the Trojan defense.

"We'd b etter tackle," Counce said.

The Indians, 0-2, lost their season-opener to Ripley 20-12 and dropped last week’s contest to Brighton 21-6. Dyersburg opened the year with a 65-14 romp past visiting Memphis Frayser. The Trojans scored eight offensive touchdowns, one on defense and tacked on a safety against a clearly outmatched opponent. Taylor scored four touchdowns a gainst the Rams, Jason Click booked three and Youmans was a perfect 9-for-9 on point-after conversion kicks.