2021 Union City (TN) Messenger Football Preview

Cover

If anyone didn’t already know it, the three players on the cover this year are pretty smart.

Want proof? How’s this: On the item of “favorite school subject” all three picked math.

That’s all we need to know.

But in case you want to know more, check out these interesting and diverse responses to the ques tionnaires for Union City’s Carter Bondurant, Warren Malone of Obion Central and South Fulton’s Moses McKnight.

All three have big plans for the future — international business and engineering, just to name a couple.

All three like to get away, too. From Jackson Hole, Wyo., (Bondurant) to Panama City, Fla., (McKnight). For Malone, any beach will do.

Each player puts team first, according to their favorite moments: A last-second win on a field goal, a punt block on Homecoming night and a goal-line stand that resulted in a playoff berth.

Playing the best trams in the state is seen in the players’ responses to who has been their toughest oppo nent. Peabody, the two-time defend ing state champion, is Bondurant’s choice; Malone selected perennial state title contender Haywood; and McKnight picked South Fulton’s old est rival, Dresden, simply because of how physically punishing that game is.

Family and friends are the mostcalled people for the trio, proving that all have a foundation built on values.

So, break out the pickle juice, turn up the music and just relax. It’s gonna be another fun year.

CARTER BONDURANT

Union City

• Favorite sport other than foot ball: Track and field.

• Favorite school subject: Math.

• Most memorable football moment: Beating Ripley on a lastsecond field goal.

• Most-called number in your cell: Carson Collins.

• Pre-game ritual: I listen to music with the rest of the team.

• Toughest team to play against: In my previous years, our toughest opponent was always Trenton.

• Favorite movie or TV show: “The Office.”

• Favorite vacation destination: Jackson Hole, Wyo.

• Favorite motivational quote: “This is a man’s game.” — Ray Lewis.

• Plans after graduation: I’m planning on attending the University of Tennessee at Martin.

WARREN MALONE

Obion County Central

• Favorite sport other than foot ball: Basketball.

Math.

bring brains, brawn to field

• Most memorable football moment: Punt block against Dresden on Homecoming night, sophomore year.

• Most-called number in your cell: Probably my granddad Charles Morris, asking for work and telling me food is ready.

• Pre-game ritual: Drink a cup of pickle juice and a gallon of water.

• Toughest team to play against: So far, it has been Haywood my sophomore year, even though we put up a fight in the first half.

• Favorite movie or TV show: “We Are Marshall.”

• Favorite vacation destination:

• Favorite motivational quote: “Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity.”

• Plans after graduation: I plan on attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a major in international business.

MOSES McKNIGHT

South Fulton

• Favorite sport other than foot ball: Basketball.

• Favorite school subject: Math.

• Most memorable football moment: Beating Dresden my freshman year to go to the playoffs.

• Most-called number in your

• Pre-game ritual: Before games, I like to have my earbuds in and focus on the game; ignore all dis tractions.

• Toughest team to play against: Dresden. We always go at it, it’s always close, and they have to be one of the most physical teams we play.

• Favorite movie or TV show: “The Waterboy.”

• Favorite vacation destination: Panama City, Fla.

• Favorite motivational quote: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

• Plans after graduation: I plan to be in the National Guard for engi

cover are (from left) Warren Malone from Obion County Central, South

Moses

Carter

from Union

Back to normal .... sort of.

That’s how the 2021 football sea son will start Friday night when teams across Tennessee — includ ing the local trio of Obion County Central, South Fulton and Union City — kick off the season.

Obion Central will begin a new era with Justin Palmer as the head coach with a trip to Gibson County; Union City will be at home against Lake County; and the Red Devils will get the campaign started at home against Greenfield.

Still ....

The threat of COVID-19 remains — in the county, across the state, throughout the country and around the world. The Olympics were held recently with no fans at the venues and strict guidelines for all athletes.

Already, some area football pro grams have been forced to shut down for small periods of time due to outbreaks, and South Fulton did not participate in the annual Dyersburg jamboree because of the virus.

A year ago, we worried if the sea son would even be held. It was.

This year, some are wondering if the season can be completed. I believe it can.

College football at all levels is slated to kick off later this month with the full slate of games coming the first weekend in September.

UT Martin, Murray State, the Ohio Valley Conference and all of FCS moved their 2020 fall seasons to the spring of 2021, and those teams are set to tee it up again in a couple of weeks following a short off-sea son.

So, with the same optimism I had last season, I have spent the last month or so sitting down with Palmer, UC’s Nick Markle and SF’s Eric Knott to talk about their teams, shooting team and individual pho tos, contacting area coaches for preview information and gathering information from colleagues at the prep and college levels.

All of that is featured here todayin

what is recognized again as the state’s best sports special section by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

It all begins with this year’s trio of players on the cover.

I selected Central’s Warren Malone, Carter Bondurant of Union City and Moses McKnight to be on this year’s cover because of their play on the field, their leadership in the locker room and their commit ment to their communities.

Finding worthy seniors is a tough selection pro cess every year, sim ply because each pro gram has so many deserv ing players, but I truly believe that these three young men will be great ambassadors of the game.

In looking at how teams are trying to return to normal, each coach pro vided his thoughts on being able to have an off-season of weight work outs, 7-on-7 camps and preseason scrimmages. For Palmer, who is in the first year with a new team for the second consecutive season, the difference is night and day.

Other feature stories cover a wide range of topics in addition to the team previews and region roundups.

As always, it has been a labor of love.

Anything of this size takes plenty of help, and I had a lot of people on my team this season.

Mike Hutchens, the communica tions director for Union City Schools who was the sports editor here for more than 30 years, is invaluable every year with his information on the Golden Tornadoes and his guid ance.

Jason Aldridge provided his expertise in helping shoot and design the two covers.

Weakley County Press sports editor Randy Cavin helped with information on the teams in his coverage area, as did Milan MirrorExchange publisher Victor Parkins and sports editor Michael Odom with their teams.

Donovan Stewart, who recent ly took on writing duties with MainSteetPrep.com, was also help

ful with preview info.

Local photographers Jake Clapper, Teresa Hutchison and Heather Hobbs have also contrib uted to this season’s preview sec tion and will be helpful throughout the fall, winter and spring sports seasons.

In the office, David Fuzzell’s pho tographs were, as always, help ful, while Chris Menees and David Critchlow put their editing skills to work to make sure words were spelled correctly and sentences made sense.

Shannon Terrett and Trevor

Thralls put their technical skills to work page by page, while Dennis Castleberry and the press crew made the colors on each page stand out.

Todd Tilghman set records for advertising sales with this publica tion, and Lisa Wilson made all those ads look good.

Finally, without the readers, then what’s the point? Thanks to every one who gets a copy and keeps it for reference all season.

So, continue to stay safe and enjoy another great prep, college and pro football season.

UC

ACCEPTING TENN-CARE

Regular off-season puts coaches in comfort zone

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

Although the COVID-19 numbers are trending up again, the summer was business as usual for area high school football teams.

Obion County’s three high school football programs — Obion County Central, South Fulton and Union City — all went through a full sched ule of off-season workouts of weight room work, team practices, 7-on-7 camps and, finally, full-pads scrim mages.

It’s quite a contrast from 2020, when the coronavirus shut down virtually all preseason activities. Teams had tight protocols in order to get together for meetings and practice sessions. While the season started on time, there were no drills against other teams.

All three local coaches were able to maneuver through the season, Union City reaching the playoffs, but it was certainly a tough road.

“Last year didn’t feel like a foot ball season,” said OC first-year head coach Justin Palmer, who was at Cordova, Ala., High School in 2020 after serving four years as the head man at Shelbyville in Middle Tennessee. “It didn’t feel like a sum mer. It just didn’t feel like the other 10 years I’ve been a coach had felt. It’s hard even to describe. When you’re a coach, there are some things that suck the life out of you or make you feel like you’re going through the motions.

“But, I feel alive again, because of being able to do the things we normally do and just the closeness I have with the players here.”

Creating a bond with his players is something Palmer feels he was not able to do last season because of all the restrictions.

A true believer in team building activities, Palmer heads up several programs with players, family and fans in addition to the normal offseason schedule.

Not being able to do that, he said, made the 2020 season even worse than his Cordova team’s 1-9 final record.

“Last year was miserable because we couldn’t do all those things that I think are fun and important in build ing a program,” he said. “There was a disconnect between the coach es and the players on the team because we were not able to have that bond and build that team chem istry because of all the restrictions.

“So, it’s been nice to get back to doing that stuff, and I feel much closer to this team and much closer to the people outside the program because we’ve been able to do all of those things.”

UC head coach Nick Markle knows what Palmer went through last year.

Markle was also a first-year head coach in 2020, being hired by Union City after a stint at Munford. Just four days after the move was official, the statewide shutdown stopped

all team functions for the Golden Tornadoes and all other high school athletic teams across Tennessee.

While every team experienced a lost summer last year, teams in transition were not able to navigate the situation as well as programs with experienced players or estab lished coaching staffs.

“The more upperclassmen-led teams, those with staffs that have been there for a long period of time, those with kids who knew the sys tem well were in a better situation,” Markle said. “It was just tough com ing here and working for four days and then everything shuts down, then trying to pick it back up in May, and the guys and the coaches have to learn me.

“It was definitely a roller coaster ride in regards to growing as a program.”

With a normal off-season, Markle believes his squad is far ahead of this same point last year and better prepared to begin the season.

“Just seeing our physicality in our first scrimmage and, defensively, being a lot more sound in our tack ling and getting to the football has been good,” the UC boss said. “The off-season has been crucial in doing tackling drills. Two-and-ahalf months in lockdown, you fall behind. And, I know everybody was in the same boat.

“Going into this season, we’re so far ahead of where we were at this time last year just because we’ve had an off-season — and we’ve had

a really good one, too.”

For South Fulton head coach Eric Knott, who had one of those experi enced teams and veteran staffs but still finished 3-6, going from 2020 to 2021 was like going back to square one.

“It was almost like starting over — well, it wasn’t like starting over, it was starting over,” Knott said. “We had to go back to the beginning and re-teach everything and take a different approach to the weight room.

“This was the first year that we’ve been allowed to work with all the athletes all year-long, so instead of taking a football approach, we took a total athlete approach — a lot more explosive movements and not so much of the strong man stuff. It helped the kids. We had more gains than we’ve ever had, especially speed-wise. That doesn’t mean we’re fast, but we’re faster than we have been, so I’m excited about that. And, the kids really took to it.”

South Fulton graduated 14 play ers from last season and comes into this year as one of the younger teams in the area. So, a good, detailed off-season program helped in a lot of ways.

“It’s hard on a kid coming from the eighth grade that’s never had to lift,” Knott said. “Now, they have to work out, they have to run, they have to practice. It’s hard getting into that mindset, but they’ve han dled it very well.”

SF’s

All local teams get new region rivals

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

There are some new teams in the old regions this year. There is also a local team in a new region.

Union City remains in Region 7-2A but will be joined by Camden, Houston County, Huntingdon and Westview, in addition to fellow hold over Gibson County.

In Region 7-4A, Obion Central, Crockett County and Haywood will be joined by Jackson North Side, Milan — the Bulldogs are actually classified in 3A but chose to “play up” for now — and South Gibson.

South Fulton is now in Region 6-1A, joining former 7-1A mates Dresden and Gleason in the league with Hollow Rock-Bruceton, McEwen, McKenzie and Perry County.

So, it’s going to be a brand new year for all three local teams.

Don’t get too comfortable with all those new names, though. The new classification will be in place for only two years, rather than the usual four.

It is more fallout from COVID-19 as the pandemic skewed enroll ment figures across the state. As a result, the TSSAA chose to work with a two-year window with plans on numbers, and thus classification, returning to normal following this short cycle.

South Fulton has perhaps the most drastic change of the three local programs, not only getting four new teams but also moving into a new region that changes the Red Devils’ playoff route.

SF head coach Eric Knott won ders if the new alignment is based more on an attempt to level the competitive playing field rather than travel.

“I’m not sure how they (the TSSAA) did it,” Knott said. “I don’t know if they said, ‘All right, these are the two best teams. Here’s Trenton, and here’s McKenzie. Now, let’s put the rest in a hat and pull them out — this team goes here, and this one goes over there.’ Because that’s what it looks like.”

Peabody, two-time defending Class 2A state champion, was moved to 1A for the next two sea sons and will play in Region 7. McKenzie, meanwhile, has been a perennially strong 1A and 2A team in West Tennessee and will be in the 6A region.

As a result, those two teams would not play each other until the semifinals of the Class 1A state playoffs, should they reach that far.

Even more noteworthy than its new region rivals, South Fulton will be headed in a different direction for the postseason.

For two years anyway, the Red Devils won’t have to worry about traveling to Memphis or hosting a Memphis area team.

Region 6 is matched up with Region 5 in the playoffs, mean ing SF’s potential playoff opponents will come from the group including Collinwood, Cornersville, Eagleville, Fayetteville, Huntland, Moore County and Wayne County.

“You play who you play,” Knott said. “I’m excited because you play teams you don’t know. And, we’re still playing West Carroll; we’re still going to play Greenfield and Fulton County, and we’re going to play Ballard County again. And then when you play McEwen, Perry County and McKenzie, you get to see some good football and go places you haven’t been before.”

SF will make two long bus rides this season, sandwiching its open date on Oct. 15 with trips to Perry County (Oct. 8) and McEwen (Oct. 22).

Union City’s new league also has an eastward move, but only during the regular season.

Camden, Houston County and Huntingdon are all closer to the Tennessee River than former region rivals like Peabody. If anything, the new look will be much more differ ent for that trio of teams as their playoff opponents will be from the Memphis area rather than Middle Tennessee.

UC head coach Nick Markle believes the trade-off, in terms of opponents lost and opponents gained, is a push.

“It’s pretty fair,” he said. “I know that Westview will have about 60 players on the team and that Huntingdon will have a lot, too. But, Westview is moving down (from 3A) and Huntingdon is moving up (from 1A).

“So, you’re replacing a Trenton — a state title winner and perennial powerhouse — with those teams.”

The new league rivals, added to a schedule that includes Jackson private schools Trinity Christian Academy and University School of Jackson as well as Liberty Tech and Ripley, make this a challenging schedule.

Markle is eager for the chal lenge.

“We don’t want to schedule cup cakes in the regular season because we have to get ready for the semifi nals and finals,” he said. “And, you don’t play bad teams when you get to the playoffs. So, to get us men tally where we need to be, we need to play some tough opponents. I know it’s going to be a tough task every night, but our thing is that we want to be the toughest.”

With three new teams in a region that now has six teams instead of five, as had been the case in previ ous years, Region 7-4A might be even tougher.

Jackson North Side, Milan and South Gibson are new to a league that lost both Dyersburg and Ripley to Class 3A, and that will make the job even more challenging for

Obion Central first-year head coach Justin Palmer.

New to the area but not to Tennessee high school football based on a resumé that includes head coaching duties at Shelbyville, Palmer understands that strong teams exist up and down the classi fication ladder in West Tennessee.

“There are good teams in this area from 1A to 6A,” he said. “So, really, the classification doesn’t matter too much because there’s really good football here. I knew that before, but just getting over here, being in it and seeing it on the field changes the perspective.”

The three new teams join peren nial powers Haywood and Milan, which is playing up after being clas sified as a 3A team, to form one of the state’s toughest regions.

Palmer simply wants to get his program competitive with those teams.

“Haywood and Milan are Top 5 teams in the entire state, and if you did a ranking of all classifications, they’d rank highly there, too,” the Rebel coach said. “We’re not wor ried about some of those teams because it’s tough to catch them in one year. What I want to focus on is how good can we get. Let’s try to play our best, play to our standard and everything else will work itself out.”

Sports editor Kevin Weaks can be contacted by email at kweaks@ucmessenger.com.

Wishes to All the Teams in

McKenzie quarterback Jackson Cassidy will lead his Rebels against a new slate of region foes in the team’s drop to 1A.

OBION CENTRAL REBELS OBION CENTRAL REBELS

SPREAD IT OUT

Rebels look to new leader, new style

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

Justin Palmer’s definition of the spread offense is pretty simple, really: Spread the field, spread the touches.

Looking at his track record, it’s a pretty effective one, too.

The new Obion Central head coach brings that style of offense to Rebel football this year. And if history is any indication, it will bring the program some much-needed success.

“I think forcing the defense to defend the entire field and defend all skill players puts them in a tough position,” said Palmer, who replaces Paul Decker as head coach. “We don’t want to be one-dimensional. We don’t want one player to drive our offense. We want six guys, or even more who aren’t necessarily starters but can contribute, to drive our offense.

“I think your best offensive games are when six-to-eight guys touch the ball a pretty equal amount. To me, that’s balance instead of saying that balance is 50/50 run-to-pass. I think balance is having your best players get the ball in space an even number of times, or going to whoever has the hot hand that night. It’s not necessarily throwing the ball every down. But, if that’s what is working and that’s our way to get our best players the ball, then that’s what we need to do.”

As a head coach and an assis tant over the past decade, Palmer has been successful doing things that way.

Palmer was the head coach at Shelbyville, a 5A school in Middle Tennessee, for four seasons, put ting together a 33-14 mark with playoff trips all four years. The best

season was 2019, his last, with an 11-2 mark and a trip to the quarter finals.

His four Shelbyville teams aver aged 30 points a game each season, including 39.5 in his first season (2016), followed by years averaging 33.5, 35.5 and 30. The defense improved each season as well, averaging 33 points allowed in his first season to just 16.1 allowed his final year.

Palmer was the offensive coordi nator at Shelbyville from 2011-14, helping the team to a 28-17 mark and playoff appearances in three of those seasons. Shelbyville won its first district championship in 17 years in 2013, finishing 8-4 and advancing to the second round of the playoffs.

He was also the offensive coor dinator at West Creek in 2010, that team finishing 5-6 and reaching the 5A state playoffs in just its second year of existence.

The only place where he didn’t pile up solid numbers was Cordova, Ala., last season — and that shouldn’t even count. Coming in as a firstyear head coach and hampered by both COVID-19 restrictions and a move up in classification, Palmer finished with a 1-9 record.

An Alabama native, he was an all-state selection at Hamilton High School in 2003 and went on to play college football at Troy University.

His experience and pedigree will be needed to turn around a program that has struggled in recent years.

The Rebels have won just three of their last 19 games, going 1-8 last season. OC’s offense averaged just 12.7 points and 237.8 yards per game last season, scoring just 17 touchdowns.

Most games were over at the half

as the Rebels were outscored 10920 in the first quarter and 109-41 in the second, allowing opponents to pile up 35.7 points and 356.7 yards per game.

OFFENSE

Palmer’s offense is driven by the quarterback, and the new head coach had two competing for the job in the preseason.

Junior Ben Sharp (6-0, 175) is poised to be the starter with class mate Bentlee Johnson (5-10, 160) as the back-up.

Sharp is adjusting to the role after being a receiver last season — he had five catches for 168 yards and three scores in the triple-option offense — but had the benefit of getting all the snaps in spring prac tice to get a jump in the competition for the starting nod.

The quarterbacks will have a talented group of receivers who have quickly caught on to the new offense.

Hunter Burpo (5-7, 160) and Warren Malone (6-2, 210), both seniors, are the only two Rebels who caught passes last season, Burpo with five catches for 55 yards and Malone, who will be a tight end this season, with three catches for 38 yards.

Noah Parker (6-0, 150), a sopho more, and junior Drake Hamilton (510, 170) will also start at receivers, while junior Jamaad Mosley (6-2, 185) has been using the preseason to rehab from shoulder injuries and will add depth and playmaking skills to the position if the healing process goes well.

“I’m proud of those guys because receiver has been a huge adjust

Rebels

ment for them,” Palmer said. “It’s still offense, no matter what you’re running, but to go from blocking 95 percent of the time to running routes, catching the ball, lining up wide and having four on the field has been a big adjustment. Those four have really stepped up, and Jamaad can be a difference maker.”

While the attention will be on the passing game, running back Johnny Light will keep defenses honest.

A 6-3, 220-pound junior, Light is both fast and strong and should have a breakout season as taking hand-offs from the pistol and shot gun formations will give him a few extra steps to use his vision and find a lane.

Junior Colten Rudd (5-9, 180) is a good blocker who can run the ball, good traits for the fullback slot.

Three spots along the offensive line appear to be locked up, while a good battle to fill the other side has been taking place throughout the preseason.

Senior Tavian Alexander (59, 225) will start at center, while junior Michael Screen (6-0, 300) and senior Chris Baker (6-0, 190) will start along the right side.

Sophomores Pacey Gammons (6-3, 260) and Freddie Martin (63, 290) are vying for a spot, while junior Jagger McClain (5-9, 290) and sophomore Gary Gutknecht (5-11, 270) are also fighting for a starting spot.

DEFENSE While the Rebel roster has 54 players listed (including 17 fresh men), developing depth is still a work in progress. As a result, many of the players on offense will also have key roles on the defensive side.

Screen, Gammons, Martin and Gutknecht are all slated to see action across the front line with several other players battling for playing time.

Sophomore Raxzey Campbell (510, 215) and freshman Nolan Gray (5-10, 230), who has been impres sive at times, are two players who could give some of those who start on offense a break.

Logan Laird (5-9, 210), a sopho more, gets off the ball better than anyone on the team and will get some action this season as well.

Alexander is a big hitter, while Baker is a consistent player who is always around the ball, both set to see action at linebacker.

The outside linebacker spots are also in good hands with Rudd, Hamilton and Malone slated to be leaders and get some help from Light and sophomore Gavin Simmons (59, 150).

Malone (48), Alexander (47) and Baker (37) were among the team’s leaders in tackles last season. Rudd has forced his way onto the field with hard work, while Hamilton might be the team’s best tackler.

Hamilton has improved each day in practice and has become one of the leaders in the defensive second ary.

Palmer would prefer his quarter backs be on the sideline when the defense is on the field, but both Sharp and Johnson will have to play in the secondary as well — Sharp probably the best defensive back on the squad.

“Some guys are going to have to step up in the secondary and play because I’d like to have our quarter back by me so I can show him plays and go over the next drive,” Palmer said. “I’d like to take him out, but he’ll have to be out there in crunch time because he’s one of our best guys.”

SPECIAL TEAMS

In addition to everything else he does, Sharp will line up as the Rebels’ punter.

Jordan Pirtle (5-9, 165), a junior, is a transfer who looks to take on the placekicking and point-after/field goal duties, which was another trou ble spot for Central in 2020. If the preseason goes well, he could take over a spot that produced just 10 points (seven PATs, one FG) last season.

Alexander takes on the key role of long-snapper, while back-up QB Johnson will be the holder.

Burpo is a lock to see action as a kick returner, while Mosley and Hamilton could be used as well.

2021 OBION COUNTY CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL REBELS

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

Bonding is a big word for any team. So, team building activities are crucial to a team being suc cessful.

Both Union City head coach Nick Markle and Obion Central boss Justin Palmer have developed some fun and surprising ways to build team unity, which each used during the dog days of summer practice sessions.

Markle’s squad enjoyed the extremes, participating in a miniboot camp with the National Guard one day and having a swimming party at the parents’ house of one of the players another day.

“What the National Guard was doing was promoting teamwork and really emphasizing not leaving a guy behind, or supporting each other, and focusing during times when they’re tired,” Markle said. “They were here for about an hour, and that time was so beneficial in us coming together as a cohesive team.”

The Golden Tornadoes also had a camp that included a midnight practice on the game field, which excited the players.

The Union City players have had a few swim parties to get relief from the summer heat, the first coming after that midnight practice.

“The first day we could go out in helmets and shoulder pads, we had the midnight practice,” Markle said. “I woke them up the next morn ing and made them think we were going back to practice. We loaded them on the bus and took them swimming.

“Things like that and midnight practice are about being around each other.”

The team participated in 7-on-7 camps and a big man challenge at Dyer County.

The Twister players have also eaten a lot of pizza.

Palmer began putting his mark on the Rebel program as soon as he arrived.

“I’m big on team chemistry and team building,” Palmer said. “I think running a football program is a lot more than catching them at prac tice and coaching them on Friday night.”

The Rebel skipper had several activities for the players, and their families and friends.

On one of the hottest days of the preseason, Palmer decided to take the team bowling.

“It was so hot, and there was really no possible way to even get out and practice,” Palmer said. “So, we got here, and I got them all in the locker room and just told them to get on the bus. It was great because you could’ve heard a pin drop. So, they’re panicking wondering what they needed to wear, if they needed their cleats. We (coaches) just basi cally ignored them. When we got there, they were all excited. There are some kids who have never done anything like that, so it’s fun to be a part of their first experience with something.”

The team also had a “moms’ night” where female family mem bers, and even some girlfriends, took advantage to learn more about the game.

“I think it’s good for the moms because that gives them a base to be able to talk to their son,” Palmer said. “Teenage boys are not the easiest to talk to, especially when it comes to their moms, so I think this is a good talking point at the dinner table.

“It’s not just about football when we do that. It’s about bringing every body together.”

The coach said he plans to keep that as a part of his program, and he also held a free kids’ camp. “I don’t ever want money to be the reason a kid didn’t come out,” he said, add ing that the kids got to work with the varsity players and run through the team’s tunnel.

Rebel players also got together and performed skits; each one filled out a promise card and gave it to a teammate as a way to be account able; and there was a freshman welcome night where the incoming

players were assigned a big brother on the team to help not only with getting acclimated to the football program but also to high school in general.

South Fulton head coach Eric Knott has, in past years, held team dinners and movie nights and is planning to start up those activities again in the future.

During the season, the Red Devil squad gets together on the Wednesdays before home games for a meal and life talk after painting the field.

FAMILY BUSINESS: Palmer has a veteran of the Alabama high school coaching ranks on his Rebel staff — his father.

Wade Palmer has been on a few high school sidelines in Alabama, his best year as a head coach com ing in 1985 at Mount Hope.

In his third year at the school, Palmer piloted the Yellow Jackets to an undefeated (8-0) regular season record, reached the third round of the playoffs and set a school record for overall wins (10) and points scored (293).

“It’s been fun having him on staff again,” the Rebel coach said. “Friday nights, he’ll be down there, and my son (Jax) will be down there running the balls in, trying to learn how to be the ball boy. So anytime that we’re all three together, it’s a really cool thing.

“But, I enjoy aggravating him and giving him a hard time. If I’m getting on him and somebody looks at me and says, ‘Hey, that’s your dad; you shouldn’t be doing that.’ I say, ‘Well, he did it to me for 30 years, so it’s my turn.’”

Seriously, though, the family time has plenty of benefits.

“I think he’s been good for the kids, and they’ve been good for him, too,” the younger Palmer said. “It keeps him active and moving around, so it’s a good thing. I know everybody doesn’t get to experi ence this, so it’s special. We cherish it and enjoy every moment.

“I think of him like a bench coach for the manager in baseball. He’s seen a lot of football, so he’s valu able in that aspect of being able to bounce things off of him. He has a good feel for the game.”

SPEAKING OF COACHES: There are two new assistant coach es on the South Fulton staff this season.

Zack Vaughn and Jacob Hyde will be on Knott’s staff, each bringing a strong knowledge of the game and the ability to work well with high school athletes.

Vaughn was a lineman when Knott was an assistant at South Fulton prior to getting the top job and appears to be molding a solid group of linemen on both sides of

the ball in his role as a coach.

“At our first scrimmage, those were the two best phases of our team,” Knott said. “That tells you what kind of a coach he is. He was a fantastic player — always had energy, always had enthusiasm, played with a love and a passion for the game — and that’s how he coaches.

“He came in and got the respect of the players right off the bat. That’s hard to do as a 26-year-old, working with kids so young, but he did it. He’s done really well.”

Hyde stood out as a player at Obion Central and has developed a maturity working with youngsters as a director at the local Boys and Girls Club.

He will be coaching receivers and linebackers.

“Jacob understands and loves the game, and he loves working with young kids,” Knott said. “He understands kids and the problems they go through that most older people, like myself, don’t under stand. And, he’s a technician. He loves the technique of the game.

“So, there are two guys who bring energy and positivity to the pro gram. It’s always good when young people want to get involved with other young people.”

Sports editor Kevin Weaks can be contacted by email at kweaks@ucmessenger.com.

Wade Palmer listens in as his son, Obion Central head coach Justin Palmer, talks to the team.

LEAVING

Twisters toughen up for playoff run

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

Nick Markle is not looking to put his stamp on the Union City High School football program. He wants his Golden Tornado teams to do that.

Markle begins his second season as the head coach this year, and he believes any such legacy within a program can be seen in the details.

“I want us as a unit and as a coaching staff to be on the same page,” he said. “I told the players the first day after I was hired that I’m not here for any personal glory. I’m here for their glory. I’m here for their success. I’m here to help them succeed on and off the field. I want them to know that I’m their football coach but I’m also a guy they can lean on, talk to and count on. I always want to be present for them, and some of our guys don’t have that in their lives.

“I think once you get young men to trust you as a football coach and know that you’re going to do right by them in every turn, they’ll run through fire for you. And, we’re slowly getting there.”

There are nuances that Markle — only the sixth head coach at UC since 1969 — has noticed in his second year that make him realize that he has, indeed, put a stamp on the program.

“I hear some of my little ter minologies and some of my little sayings being repeated at practice,” he said. “As a head coach, you kind of sit back and say to yourself, ‘All right. They’re starting to get it. They’re starting to get what we’re teaching and preaching to them. They’re starting to understand and buy into it.’

“I just want them to play hard for each other, for this school and for this community. You have to be self

less, and we talk about that all the time. If you’re selfish, we’ll never win. If you’re selfless, we’ll win a lot of games. Trying to tell a 16-yearold kid not to be selfish is a tough task sometimes.”

Markle could see flashes of that last season as the Twisters finished 6-5 overall and lost in the second round of the playoffs — UC had a first-round bye due to numerous Memphis schools opting out of the season because of COVID-19.

Following a season-opening loss to University School of Jackson, the Tornadoes ran off four straight wins (three by seven points or less). Three straight losses followed as Union City allowed 49 points in each of those games, but the team broke the skid with a thrilling win over Ripley at home.

UC then closed the season with a blowout win over Halls, its only shutout of the season.

Two players, Wes Tilghman and Travon Westbrook, rushed for over 1,000 yards as the team’s run-ori ented triple-option offense account ed for 320 yards and 23.8 points per game.

UC was actually outscored for the season, giving up 315 points while scoring 262, but outgained its oppo nents on average as the Twisters’ foes had 296.8 yards per game.

Being more consistent is the team’s goal for 2021.

“It’s something we’ve talked about,” Markle confirmed. “A lot of time last year, we’d get in the red zone (inside the 20-yard-line) but couldn’t get any points. I think that was an Achilles heel of ours. It boils down to a few different things — holding onto the football and being focused.

“A lot of times we’d get down there and somebody would jump, or we’d have two people in motion,

or we’d have a lazy holding call. We’re not the kind of team that can afford negative plays. We have to be on the right side of the chains all night.”

So far, Markle has been pleased with his team’s effort and the prog ress the players have made each step through the preseason, includ ing the three scrimmage sessions.

“We definitely have a little way to go before we get where we need to be, but it’s the same thing every year — we don’t want to peak in week one,” he said. “We want to continue to improve, and we should be peaking around the seventh, eighth, ninth game.

“What I’m excited about is our grit — flying to the football, blocking to the whistle; the effort. We’re getting these guys to give us all the effort they have.

“And so if we can continue to do that, we’ll put them in the right posi tion to be successful.”

OFFENSE

The offensive line will have more responsibilities as Markle plans to add a few wrinkles to the bread-andbutter triple-option attack, including more looks out of the shotgun.

Leading what is perhaps the strength of the team is senior center and team captain Carter Bondurant (5-11, 260).

Markle says his veteran lineman deserves to be in the conversation for all-state honors.

Junior Hayden Kennedy (5-10, 225) will line up at left guard. He was an all-region pick as a sopho more and has put on about 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason.

Harris Cagle (6-0, 265), a senior, is the left tackle, where he started every game last season. He suf

Twisters

fered an injury in the Tornadoes’ final scrimmage, against Milan, and his status for the 2021 season is questionable.

While the left side is strong and experienced, the right side of the line is still a little green but just as talented.

Senior Amare Robinson (5-8, 230) is going to be counted on to be a tough, grinding type of lineman at the right guard spot, while junior Hayden Moon (6-0, 215) has the footwork needed for a right tackle in the team’s style of offense.

Look for senior Kyrell Littleton (59, 150) to be the featured back and leader of a talented group of skill players. Kolby Craig (5-9, 145), a junior, and freshman Tayehari Jones (5-7, 140) can make big plays from the wingback spots.

Jacob Arnold (5-9, 185), a sopho more, can play both backfield posi tions, while junior Gage Smith (5-10, 190) will also get some carries.

The quarterback spot has seen a strong two-man competition as sophomore Keaton Brown (5-11, 190) and junior Jackson Chism (510, 175) have both been solid in the preseason.

Brown held the edge going into the preseason, based on being able to participate in spring practice. Chism, a member of the basketball team, came out for football in May.

Senior Damon Rice (6-0, 155), another player who joined the team in May, leads a good group of receiv ers that will also include senior Champ Gray (5-10, 175) along with freshmen Cohen Simpson (5-8, 145) and Logan Vincent (5-8, 140).

DEFENSE

With a roster of 34 players, several of whom have never played before this season, being in peak physical shape will be vital as numerous play ers will go both ways in key roles.

Bondurant and classmate Jamaal Cox (5-7, 300) are both a hand ful at defensive tackle. If both can draw some double teams, then the linebackers will be free to load up on tackles.

Senior Evan Alexander (5-9, 200) has the potential for a breakout season at one defensive end spot, while Moon makes the conversion from being an end in a three-man front to a four-man front. Both have some size and the skill to push the play back to the inside for the interior linemen and linebackers to make the stops.

Smith, who led the Tornadoes with 54 tackles last season, and Kennedy both return to their inside linebacker spots. If the two can combine for 20 tackles a game, Markle says the defense will be successful.

Littleton overcame some knee injuries to be a solid outside line backer last season and has been explosive in the preseason, while Arnold played a lot at the other OLB spot last season and can be a bigtimer as soon as he becomes more aggressive.

Craig is another player who gained plenty of experience last season, his coming at free safety where he’ll line up again.

He is the leader of a secondary that also includes Jones and Rice at the corners.

Rice was a track athlete for head coach Wade Maddox, the Twisters’ defensive coordinator, in the spring and has been a positive, hard-work ing player in the preseason.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Miguel Sanchez (5-9, 185), a junior, has established himself as a scoring threat for the Golden Tornadoes, having connected on 75 point-after kicks over the past two seasons while also kicking two field goals last year.

He will also again handle the kick off duties.

Sanchez or the starting quarter back will likely do the punting, and Kennedy returns as the long snap per.

Craig or Vincent will be the hold er.

Markle has several good skill play ers to choose from as the return men, tabbing Jones, Craig and Arnold for that role on kicks and punts.

Sports editor Kevin Weaks can be contacted by email at kweaks@ucmessenger.com.

2021 UNION CITY HIGH SCHOOL GOLDEN TORNADOES

Long lost foes making return to 2021 slates

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

It’s been awhile.

All three football teams in Obion County are playing teams that have not been on their schedules for several years.

The shake-up of the new clas sifications and region alignments have Union City, Obion Central and South Fulton taking on some famil iar faces that have not been around much lately.

Union City will play Huntingdon for the first time since 2014, has not seen Westview since 2008 and will get its first look at Camden in more than two decades as the last meet ing was 1996.

Obion Central also has three opponents who have not been on the Rebel schedule in a few years. Both Jackson North Side and Chester County played OC in 2016, while Milan was last seen facing the Rebs in 2014.

South Fulton and Hollow RockBruceton last played against each other in 2016.

Here is a look back at those last meetings, and the seasons’ after math for the Golden Tornadoes, Rebels and Red Devils.

UNION CITY

The Game: Huntingdon; Sept. 12, 2014; Union City won 35-7

The Story: Union City ran over and around the Mustangs all night in a dominant effort at War Memorial Stadium that improved the Golden Tornadoes to 4-0 while dropping Huntingdon to 2-2 on the season. UC fullback Ricky Henry ran for 198 yards and two touch downs on 37 carries, while quar terback Garrett Walton added 147 yards and two more scores on 20 rushes. Meanwhile, the Twister defense limited the Ponies to just 167 total yards and came up with three turnovers in the second, the offense converting two of those into touchdowns.

The Aftermath: Win No. 17 in what would ultimately be a 38game winning streak for the Golden Tornadoes came in convincing fash ion. It was typical of that 2014 sea son, where the Golden Tornadoes went 14-0, tied a school record for widest margin of victory with a 700 win over Halls and scored 60 or more points in a game six times. UC capped back-to-back state cham pionships with a 56-14 win over Coalfield.

The Game: Westview; Aug. 29, 2008; Westview won 27-14

The Story: Darren Bowling’s first game as head coach at Union City proved that a new era had dawned, even though it did not show up on the scoreboard. The Golden Tornadoes had 343 total yards to Westview’s 285 and 19 first downs to 14 for the Chargers. Trailing just 21-14 late in the fourth quarter, UC looked poised to tie or take the lead late in the game only to see Westview’s J.C. Griggs strip the ball from quarterback Colton Speed and scamper 41 yards the other way for the clinching touchdown. Jacob Worley scored both UC touchdowns — a 28-yard pass from Speed and a five-yard run.

The Aftermath: It was one of just two losses in the first season under Bowling. The Golden Tornadoes fol lowed that season-opening setback with 10 straight wins, not losing again until the second round of the Class 1A playoffs when McKenzie avenged a regular season loss to UC with a 17-14 win.

The Game: Camden; Oct. 18, 1996; Camden won 13-12

The Story: It was a game that UC gave away, suffering four turn overs. The Golden Tornadoes, who had suffered six turnovers each in earlier league losses to Westview and Peabody, saw the last of its four lost fumbles come at the Camden 11-yard-line with just over two min utes to play. UC’s scores came on a one-yard run by Chris Smith and a 56-yard run by Jackie Lewis, who finished with 97 yards on seven

carries. But, the Twisters missed an extra-point kick and failed on a twopoint conversion run. UC had more total yards (254-231) and more rushing yards (238-221) despite the Lions running 63 total plays to UC’s 38.

The Aftermath: The heartbreak ing setback all but knocked the Tornadoes out of the Class 2A state playoff picture, Union City closing the season with three losses in its last four games after begin ning the year with a 5-1 record. It also marked the last time a UC team coached by Randy Barnes did not make the playoffs. The following year, Union City began a then-unprecedented run of six straight playoff appearances. From 1997-2000, the program posted an incredible 52-6 record and reached the 2A state championship game twice.

OBION CENTRAL

The Game: Milan; Oct. 31, 2014; Milan won 49-21

The Story: Halloween was a spooky night for the Rebels. It was scary for Milan early as OC’s Bryce Warner tied the game at 7-all and 14-14 on touchdown runs of 63 and two yards. A Milan fumble then set

up Central to take a 21-14 lead, Warner scoring on a five-yard run with 8:46 to play in the second peri od. Milan scored three TDs to close the first half, however, and went on to win. Warner ran for 224 yards on 37 carries and finished the season with 1,243 yards and 16 TDs.

The Aftermath: The second — and final — season under head coach Kevin Goltra ended on that night, the Rebels closing the sea son with a four-game losing streak and a 2-8 record. OCCHS alum Paul Decker took over the following year, and after struggling the first two seasons, he led Central to a 5-7 record and playoff win in 2017.

The Game: North Side; Sept. 9, 2016; North Side won 52-23

The Story: Obion Central looked great early, opening the game with a 16-play, 92-yard touchdown drive — aided by a North Side rough ing-the-punter penalty — that took 10:26 off the clock and ended with Cade Rogers throwing an eightyard scoring pass to Bobby Kehoe. OC trailed just 16-15 at 3:17 of the second quarter on a Rogers 22-yard run, but then North Side blitzed the Rebels with three touchdowns in

the final 44 seconds of the second quarter and two more in the first 45 seconds of the third period.

The Aftermath: It was the third of nine straight losses for the Rebels, which won its only game — 47-41 over Jackson South Side — in the opening week.

The Game: Chester County; Sept. 16, 2016; Chester County won 41-21

The Story: The Rebels struggled on offense but did do some good things on offense, notably getting 145 yards and a touchdown on 18 rushing attempts from Hunter Smith. Cade Rogers and Kyler Shirley also had a TD run for an Obion Central offense that put up 300 total yards, all on the ground.

The Aftermath: The loss was the fourth of nine straight for Central, which eventually saw the skid reach 11 games before a four-game win ning streak in 2017 led to a playoff berth. OC beat Craigmont 36-28 in Memphis in the opening round of the 2017 Class 4A state playoffs, marking just the third playoff win in school history.

SOUTH FULTON

The Game: Bruceton; Aug. 26-

27, 2016; South Fulton won 62-39

The Story: You read that right — August 26 and 27. The game was suspended Friday night due to lightning and picked up the fol lowing day at the Red Devils’ field. South Fulton jumped out to a 14-0 lead before Hollow Rock-Bruceton touched the ball on Friday and then scored seven more times on Saturday. Kody Davidson ran for 236 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, while Jalen Scott had four TD runs for the Red Devils. SF was unstoppable, putting up 469 total yards and never punting the ball. It was a penalty-plagued game, though, SF flagged 14 times for 128 yards and the Tigers 12 for 112 yards.

The Aftermath: Although the Red Devils posted a 5-5 record, SF did not make the Class 1A playoffs. The Devils were 3-2 at the midway point of the season, but then con secutive losses to Dresden, Lake County and Peabody ended the team’s playoff hopes. SF closed on a strong note, beating Gleason and West Carroll, and then opened the 2017 season with four straight wins en route to a 6-5 mark and playoff berth.

UC all-stater and Mr. Football lineman finalist Jamison Blackwell played against Huntingdon the last time the two teams met, in 2014.

SOUTH FULTON RED DEVILS SOUTH FULTON RED DEVILS

Red Devils looking to bounce back

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

Not much went right for South Fulton in 2020.

The schedule changed almost daily due to COVID-19 cancella tions, the Red Devils ultimately hav ing back-to-back open dates early in the season and playing only nine games total.

When the team did play, SF was shut out twice and held to a touch down two more times.

The Redmen lost five of their first six games and finished the year with a disappointing 3-6 record, failing to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, despite a roster that featured more than a dozen experienced seniors.

Head coach Eric Knott, entering his ninth season at South Fulton, saw a lot of little things add up to one big year-long problem.

“When we would practice, some thing would mess up,” he said. “It was never everybody, but it was always somebody. Every single play, it was always someone. And, if somebody messed up, that snow balled into somebody else messing up, and somebody else messing up, and somebody else messing up — it just spider webbed out from there. We never could get over that.”

There were specific moments during the season that stand out. The Greenfield game, an 18-14 loss, quickly came to the coach’s mind.

“You take that game, for instance,” Knott said. “The fumble going into the end zone. It’s a different ball game. If we don’t let the quarter back out of the pocket when he makes that Madden (video game) throw, we maybe win that game.”

Knott believes he has learned

from the mistakes of 2020, and he hopes that translates into different results despite the loss of so many veteran players to graduation.

“The lesson is that you have to take everything in stride and move on,” he said. “You can’t dwell on that. I was never able to get us not to dwell on those past mistakes, and that’s on me. That could be because I was too vocal with some of the things I wanted done. Maybe I should have put my arm around a shoulder a little more and handled things a little differently. But, I was just never able to get them bonded.

“That’s tough when you have 13 seniors and only get three wins.”

Looking at those problems, Knott said the buck stops with him. He pointed out the post-season success of the baseball team, which featured many of those same seniors.

“It’s not COVID’s fault or any thing like that,” the Devil head man said. “That’s my fault. I’m the one in charge, and I should have been able to get it done. You look at it, (baseball head coach) Jeremy (McFarland) had that same group. They went through a little bit of that early in the season, but he was able to weed that out and mesh them into what they needed so they could accomplish what they did. That speaks volumes for him as a coach.”

The Red Devil baseball team posted a 23-13 overall record and advanced to the state tournament for the first time in school history.

In order to fix some of the mis takes, and help build up his young players physically, Knott revamped the weight room program, going more with workouts to promote explosiveness and flexibility. He also feels it will cut down on the

injuries that have plagued his team in recent years.

“Last year, we were huge,” Knott said. “But, we couldn’t move that well. So, we went back and reevalu ated some things. We still did our heavy stuff like we normally do, but we lifted last. We did speed and plyometrics in the beginning, and I think that helped us.”

The team maintained the offseason workout schedule from December until the end of the school year, kept much the same schedule in June with the addition of actual football work and then participated in 7-on-7 camps before beginning full-pad preseason work. The Red Devils did not do well in their first scrimmage, but that wasn’t Knott’s main concern.

“You can take that for what it’s worth,” he said. “I’m going to keep doing what we’ve been doing because I’ve seen better gains than we’ve ever had. And, knock on wood, the injuries will be fewer, especially considering how young we are and as tiny bodies that we have.”

OFFENSE

The Red Devils’ wing-T offense is a lot for a young player to learn, and Knott admitted that his squad had trouble with several aspects of the game in the preseason.

“We’re not understanding the angles, and we’re not understand ing running the ball with anger,” he said. “But, we have a new running back, and being a wing and a tail back in this offense is tough. You have to be a lineman, you have to be a receiver and you have to be a running back. It takes a little time to

Zach Hannon (left) and Mason Gaskins are veterans on a team of young Red Devils.

it done.”

The quarterback position is vital in any football offense, and Knott is turning the team over to a freshman.

Brady McFarland (5-10, 155) has earned the job with his confidence, his enthusiasm and his ability to take tough coaching.

Mason Gaskins (5-8, 155), a senior, has dropped some weight and moves to the tailback spot, while freshman Dallas Whitehead (5-11, 185) will also get plenty of carries from that position. Both are hard runners who will be good on the inside rush plays.

Knott has several players ready to get playing time at the wing back spots, including sophomore Will Clapper (5-8, 140), junior Bryant Kimmons (6-0, 165) and freshmen Dane Cirkles (6-0, 170) and Blake Rogers (5-8, 150).

Another freshman, Tucker Stevens (6-0, 160), will start at tight end, while senior Donovan Haley (5-11, 185) and junior Cody O’Brian (5-9, 185) will also see action at that spot.

Conner Allen (6-2, 165), a junior, is the team’s fastest player and will utilize that to reach the edge from his split end spot. Freshmen Connor O’Neal (5-11, 155) and Harley Nagel (5-10, 145) and senior transfer David Judd (6-0, 160) will get some time there as well. Allen and O’Neal were lauded by Knott for their block ing skills.

Junior Dylan Ruddle (5-10, 250) is solid at the center position up front, and he will be flanked by senior Moses McKnight (5-11, 180) at left guard and sophomore Luke Morris (5-9, 225) on the right side.

Freshman Tim Davis (5-8, 150) will line up at left tackle, and junior Braden Costello (6-0, 200) is the right tackle.

There is precious little depth up front, but sophomore James Pergande (5-10, 175) can play any position, freshman Connor Lawrence (5-8, 120) will see some back-up action at center, junior Emily Meadows (5-8, 190) is knowledge able and a hard worker, and fresh men Jackson Nunn (6-0, 370) and Dylan Bynum (5-8, 150) can give the others a couple of plays off.

DEFENSE

Despite the team’s record last season, the Red Devil defense was solid, allowing just over 17 points per game. West Carroll scored 43 points to throw off the average as no other team scored more than three touchdowns against SF.

The Devils’ 4-3 defense will be led by a solid and savvy group of linemen.

McKnight is one of the fastest and most agile defensive linemen Knott has coached, Costello is physically strong and Morris, at tackle, started every game as a freshman. Ruddle also has a spot in that group.

At the linebacker spots, sopho more Zach Hannon (6-0, 210) is back from a shoulder injury, Gaskins can play two positions in addition to his duties on the defensive line and both Haley and Kimmons are solid in the middle of the defense.

Whitehead has put up some impressive numbers in the weight room, while classmate Nate Little (5-6, 160) is a full speed player on every play, both earning their way into the linebacker rotation as well.

Several players will see action in the secondary as SF switches from a five-player to a four-player look.

Allen and O’Brian will start at the corners, while O’Neal and Cirkles are the safeties.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Judd, a transfer from Mayfield, gives the Red Devils a legitimate kicking threat for the first time in several years.

South Fulton did not connect on an extra point or field goal last sea son, had just one PAT in 2019, no points from kicks in 2018 and only three PATs in 2017 — that’s four points in four seasons — so Judd’s strong leg is a welcome addition.

He will also handle kick-off duties, which Knott hopes will lead to better field position for his defense.

Cirkles is the punter, with Ruddle set as the long snapper.

Allen and Clapper will be the return specialists.

CATCHING ON

UTM has talent for quick improvement

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

It was called the 2020-21 season, and by all standards it was a disap pointing one for UT Martin.

Pushed back from the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2021, the football season at UTM never really got on track as the Skyhawks finished with a 3-4 overall record against an Ohio Valley Conference-only schedule.

Just a few months later, the team is ready to get back in action. The plan is to restore UTM football to what it has been for over a decade under head coach Jason Simpson.

“The first thing that comes to mind is to dominate,” Colton Dowell said earlier this summer during the OVC’s virtual media day. “Coming off that disappointing season in the spring, you want to come back and dominate. There’s no other word to describe it. It’s about winning and dominating on every single play. I don’t want to leave any doubt.”

Dowell is part of an offensive unit that is poised to be dominant in the fall of 2021.

Dowell, fellow wide receiver Donnell Williams and receiverturned-tight end Rodney Williams will be among the league’s — and perhaps the nation’s — top passcatching units.

All three are preseason All-OVC picks.

Dowell had 40 catches for 459 yards and four touchdowns last sea son, while Donnell Williams had a breakout season in the spring with 29 catches for 445 yards and three scores.

Rodney Williams, meanwhile, overcame injuries that forced him to miss most of 2019 and then made a successful transition to tight end in the spring by grabbing 30 passes for 327 yards and four TDs, earning a pair of All-American honors.

“It took a lot of hard work,” he said of the position move. “Coach Simpson brought the idea to me because we had so many good receivers in that room, and this was a way to get more of us on the field. I took it on full steam, believed in what he wanted me to do, took my time in the weight room to put on the weight he needed for me and just make sure everything went smoothly.”

Dowell said the competition between receivers has made that unit good.

“It’s a strength because having guys like Donnell and Rodney push ing you every day brings the level up,” Dowell said. “Seeing what they do and having them pushing me has made me a better player, but it’s also making the team better. Playing with them is a motivator. There’s an old saying that goes, ‘iron sharpens iron,’ and that’s the way it is with us.”

There is another reason, too.

“There are no egos in that room,” Williams said. “We all want each other to succeed, and we’re all willing to work to be successful. It’s just that mindset that we’ll do it together.”

Despite that talented group, along with a strong running back unit that also returns, UTM struggled offen sively last season.

The Skyhawks averaged 335 yards and 25 points a game in the spring. UTM held Murray State to 14 points, allowed only 21 to Southeast Missouri, and saw Tennessee State manage 26 points — and lost all three of those games.

“Last year, we lost to Murray 1410,” said Simpson, the dean of OVC coaches. “That’s good defense; you have to win that game. There were a couple of games last year that we dropped and didn’t play very well offensively. That’s on me. We have to get that done.”

Simpson comes into the season with a 90-77 overall record and 7246 OVC record. With Jacksonville State gone — the Gamecocks and Eastern Kentucky left the OVC to join the Atlantic Sun — UTM has the most league wins over the past 15 years.

Simpson has learned a lot in his time at Martin.

“I remember when I was the

youngest coach back in 2006,” he said. “It took me several years to figure out how to run a program. We had a good year, winning the conference and being ranked, but we didn’t really have a program. That was something I had to learn

Winn from Dresden and Tulane transfer Keon Howard, both gradu ate students, will look to make the Skyhawk offense explosive.

“We’ll have some more ath leticism at the quarterback spot,” Simpson said. “We have some guys who’ll be able to extend plays, and that makes it a little easier on every body else as well.”

An added bonus to this year’s roster is an experienced offensive line, something rare for Simpson.

Preseason All-OVC pick Matthan Hatchie, a junior who debuted for UTM last year as a junior college transfer, is one of the leaders up front offensively.

He started all seven games at either center or guard and graded out at 84 percent or better in each game.

along the way. Now, when you’ve been doing it for 16 years, you know what problems you’re going to face on a daily basis. You know when you come to the office on July 17th, you’ve already faced it before. There is some merit to being in a place and knowing what you’re dealing with, good or bad.”

One thing he’s learned is that the OVC is a quarterback-driven league.

He has two battling to take over that spot in the fall as Dresser

“We have good skill,” Simpson said. “The running backs and receiv ers are back, and we’ve added to that. But, this is the first time in several years that we have an expe rienced offensive line. If that group, with all the experience they have, can improve their level of play, we’ll have a good football team.”

The defense will be experienced, too, and will be led by a pair of

MURRAY STATE

Racers enjoy perks of high finish in OVC

By KEVIN WEAKS Messenger Sports Editor

The best season in several decades certainly brought some positive attention, and some nice perks, to the Murray State pro gram.

The Racers finished the 2021 spring season with a 5-2 record, good enough for second place in the Ohio Valley Conference stand ings. MSU won its first five games, the best start since 1995, and the runner-up spot was the best finish since 2004.

In addition, the Racers were ranked in both major FCS Top 25 polls for six consecutive weeks after a poll drought of nearly 10 years. MSU finished 17th in the AFCA Coaches’ poll and 18th in the STATS poll, marking the first time since 2002 that Murray State

six scores.

LaMartez Brooks and Jacob Bell were his top targets, Brooks catch ing 37 passes for 429 yards and two scores and Bell pulling down 21 passes for 305 yards and a TD.

All three return as preseason AllOVC picks and will be behind a solid line led by fellow all-league selections Levi Nesler and Jacob Vance.

While some coaches and observ ers are concerned about playing two seasons in one calendar year, Nesler would prefer to play every week.

“I’m excited to be back,” he said. “We get to play football all year long, which is something new. The spring was fun. We were playing games when we’re normally lifting weights.

“I came here to play football, and

been the biggest thing.”

While the defense allowed 352 yards and 23.4 yards a game, that unit was opportunistic.

MSU forced 14 turnovers, grab bing 11 interceptions, which led to six touchdowns and a field goal. The defense scored four times.

The Racer defense will be led by four preseason all-conference picks in cornerback Marcis Floyd, end Ethan Edmondson, outside line backer Scotty Humpich and inside linebacker Eric Samuta.

Floyd had 32 tackles and three interceptions, returning one for a score, and six pass break-ups in earning All-America honors in the spring.

Samuta had 64 tackles, including five for a loss, and took two of the turnovers with a fumble recovery and an interception.

We’re

326.9 yards per game, highlighted by an average of 141.9 on the ground, and 27.9 points per game.

While the new coaching staff emphasized the running game, MSU relied on the pass.

Quarterback Preston Rice com pleted 93-of-179 passes for 1,294 yards and nine touchdowns with five interceptions while also carrying the ball 59 times for 225 yards and

Three UT Martin receivers are among the best in the nation’s FCS division and will be vital in the Skyhawks’ plans to challenge for the top of the Ohio Valley Conference.

The trio of (from left) Donnell Williams, Rodney Williams II and Colton Dowell are preseason All-OVC selections following stand out showings in the corona virus delayed and shortened spring campaign.

We believe there’s more to high school football than Friday night games and letter jackets. This game teaches lessons that players carry with them thru all stages of life. It shows how hard work, discipline, and dedication can define your success.

the reason we look forward to sitting in the stands and cheering for our favorite team is

the sense of pride we as a community feel as we watch their skills, determination, and grit play out.

And maybe, just maybe, there's more to this game than just numbers on a scoreboard.

One thing is for sure, high school football is a hometown tradition that we’re always ready to stand up and cheer for!

FOOTBALL: OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE

Racers have plenty of challengers in race for league championship

Murray State has been picked as the preseason football favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2021 season. The Racers picked up seven of a possible 14 first-place votes in a poll of league head coaches and com munications directors.

It marks only the third time the Racers have been tabbed the pre season favorites and first time since 1996, when Houston Nutt was the head coach and the program was coming off an OVC championship and NCAA playoff appearance.

The only other year the team was tabbed the favorite (dating back to the first preseason poll in 1978) was in 1980 when Mike Gottfried was head coach, and the team was once again coming off an OVC title and playoff appearance.

Murray State totaled 64 points to finish just ahead of Austin Peay and Southeast Missouri, which tied for second place with 60 points. The Governors and Redhawks were 2019 OVC co-champions and both appeared in the FCS Playoffs that season.

UT Martin was tabbed fourth (38) and followed by Tennessee State (32), Tennessee Tech (28) and Eastern Illinois (12).

Coming off the unprecedented 2020-21 season that saw conference play take place in the spring, the seven OVC member institutions will play a six-game round robin league schedule this season, the 74th year of football in the OVC.

In the first season under head coach Dean Hood, Murray State earned its first national ranking since 2011 on its way to a 5-2 OVC record and secondplace OVC finish, still in the hunt for the league title the final week of the season.

The Racers started last year 5-0 (its best start since 1995) and achieved its first winning season since 2011 (only the third winning season since 2005) and first above .500 OVC mark since 2011.

This season the Racers return most of their key contributors from last year.

Among those is quarterback Preston Rice, who accounted for 15 touch downs (nine passing, six rushing) and over 1,500 yards of total offense. Also back is defensive back Marcis Floyd, who earned All-American honors a season ago after tallying 32 tackles, two forced fumbles, six pass breakups and three interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.

After advancing to the FCS quar terfinals in its first-ever appearance in 2019, Austin Peay turned to Scotty Walden to take over the reins of its program. Walden took over after a three-game fall season and led APSU to a 4-2 league mark this past spring.

The team will look to continue its winning ways — 21-9 in OVC play over the past four years — with sev eral key players, including senior nick elback Kordell Jackson (a two-time consensus All-American) and secondyear quarterback Draylen Ellis, who was named OVC Co-Freshman of the Year last season.

Jackson tallied seven interceptions in 2019 and a year ago did not see the ball thrown his way as much, finish ing the year with 10.5 tackles for loss and five passes defended. As a true freshman Ellis passed for 1,270 yards and 14 touchdowns and ran for two additional scores in leading the team to four victories in the spring.

Just a year removed (2019) from an OVC championship and playoff berth, Southeast Missouri finished 4-3 in OVC play last season.

The Redhawks were led by running back Geno Hess, who led all FCS players with 12 rushing touchdowns to go along with 666 rushing yards (15th nationally). The team also returns Zion Custis, who scored four rushing touchdowns.

On the defensive side, the Redhawks return defensive tackle Bryson Donnell (41 tackles, 4 quar terback hurries) and linebacker Omardrick Douglas (26 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss).

The 2021 season marks the 16th for head coach Jason Simpson, who has 90 victories during his UTM career — just two away from fifth place in OVC history. Overall, Simpson is one of just 16 coaches in league history to coach 10 or more seasons at the same school.

This season the Skyhawks return a plethora of talented receivers, includ ing All-American tight end Rodney Williams II. He made the move from wide receiver to tight end before last season and had 30 catches for 327 yards and four touchdowns in seven games.

Also back is Colton Dowell, who switched from tight end to wideout and made 40 catches last year, Donnell Williams (29 catches), Marqwell Odom (19 catches) and running back Peyton Logan (30 catches out of the backfield).

On the defensive side, UTM has two preseason All-OVC defensive back returning in cornerback Jay Woods (23 tackles, nine pass breakups) and safety Deven Sims (team-best 9 tack les, four pass breakups).

The only new head coach in the OVC this season is no stranger to any football fan.

Former Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee Titan All-Pro running back Eddie George enters his first season as a head coach, taking over the Tennessee State program.

George will guide the Tigers in home games at Nissan Stadium, the same venue he scored touchdowns in as an NFL player.

TSU returns Freshman All-American

running back Devon Starling, who led all freshmen nationally in rushing yards per game (92.6) and finished with 648 total rushing yards in seven games to rank 17th overall nationally and second among all freshmen.

The team also returns three Preseason All-OVC picks on the defensive side of the ball in tackle Davoan Hawkins, linebacker James Green and his brother safety Josh Green.

After a win over nationally-rank ing Austin Peay to begin the spring, Tennessee Tech earned a spot in the Top 25, marking its first national rank ing since 2011.

The breakout star of 2020 for the Golden Eagles was sophomore quar terback Willie Miller, who took over the starting role and finished the cam paign with 879 passing yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 243 yards (second most on the team) and four additional scores in seven games.

On the opposite side of the ball, head coach Dewayne Alexander returns Preseason All-OVC picks Chris Tucker and Josh Reliford along with linebacker Seth Carlisle, who led the team with 49 tackles.

This year marks the third for Adam Cushing at Eastern Illinois.

UT Martin’s Peyton Logan (23) and Zak Wallace will try to run the Skyhawks past Murray State for the OVC championship.

Govs’ pair selected as OVC’s best players

Austin Peay sophomore quar terback Draylen Ellis and Austin Peay senior nickelback Kordell Jackson were named the 2021 OVC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in a vote of the league’s head football coaches and communications directors.

Murray State led the way with 10 preseason selections, followed by Tennessee State with eight and Southeast Missouri with seven.

Austin Peay and UT Martin had six selections apiece, while Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech each had two. Returning players who were first-team All-OVC selections last year (25 in total) were auto matic selections to the preseason team this year.

The offensive unit was led by Ellis, who was named OVC CoFreshman of the Year a season ago after taking over the starting duties prior to the spring conference season.

Ellis was named OVC Newcomer of the Week after his first start (where he had 214 yards of total offense and two touchdowns at Tennessee Tech) and would go on to win that award four times (in six total weeks he played) in addition to being named OVC Offensive Player of the Week twice.

He was also named the Stats Perform National Freshman of the Week on March 16 after he threw for 262 yards and six touchdowns in a victory over Southeast Missouri.

The offensive backfield unit also included a second quarterback in Murray State’s Preston Rice (1294 passing yards, nine passing, six rushing TDs), Southeast Missouri running back Geno Hess (666 yards, FCS-best 12 rushing TDs) and Tennessee State running back Devon Starling (648 rushing yards) and fullback Benjamin Johnson.

Six wide receivers joined the pre season team in UT Martin’s Colton Dowell and Donnell Williams, Murray State’s LaMartez Brooks (37 catches, 429 yards) and Jacob Bell (21 catches, 305 yards), Tennessee State’s Cam Wyche (22 catches, 456 yards) and Southeast Missouri’s Zack Smith (37 catches, 399 yards, four TDs).

The group was joined by UT Martin tight end Rodney Williams II. The team was rounded out by nine offensive linemen including Austin Peay’s Bucky Williams, Colby McKee and Seth Johnson, Murray State’s Levi Nesler and Jacob Vance, Southeast Missouri’s Jaden Rosenthall and Shyron Rodgers, Tennessee State’s Cam Durley and UT Martin’s Matthan Hatchie.

The defensive unit was led by Jackson, the two-time consensus All-American who has been named a Preseason All-American this sea son.

Last season he did not see the ball thrown his way as much; instead, he wreaked havoc in the opposing offense’s backfields.

Jackson led all OVC tacklers with 10.5 tackles for loss — seven of those coming in OVC play, where he also had five passes defended.

Jackson recorded a tackle for loss in seven of the Govs’ nine games, including two TFL’s at Pittsburgh in the fall and three TFL’s at Tennessee Tech to open the spring. Jackson finished 13th in vot ing for the Buck Buchanan Award (after finishing sixth in 2019).

In addition to Jackson, the defen sive back selections included UT Martin’s Jay Woods (23 tackles, nine pass breakups) and Deven

Sims (59 tackles, five TFL), Murray State’s Marcis Floyd (32 tackles, three interceptions, two forced fumbles), Tennessee Tech’s Josh Reliford (41 tackles, two intercep tions) and Tennessee State’s Josh Green (39 tackles, three intercep tions).

The defensive line included Southeast Missouri’s Bryson Donnell (36 tackles,), Tennessee State’s Davoan Hawkins (32 tack les, five sacks), Tennessee Tech’s Chris Tucker (34 tackles) and Murray State’s Ethan Edmondson (26 tackles).

The team was rounded out by six linebackers, including Murray State’s Eric Samuta (64 tackles) and Scotty Humpich (24 tackles), Southeast Missouri’s Omardrick Douglas (20 tackles), Tennessee State’s James Green (28 tackles, five TFL, one interception), Eastern Illinois’ Jason Johnson (66 tackles, six TFL) and Austin Peay’s Jack McDonald (52 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks).

The specialists included Tennessee State kicker Antonio Zita (14 field goals, FCS-best 62-yarder), Southeast Missouri punter Zach Haynes (41.9 yards/punt), Eastern Illinois kick returner Matt Judd (24.8 yards/return) and Murray State punt returner Malik Honeycutt (11.2

All-OVC preseason picks in the sec ondary.

Defensive back Jay Woods debuted for the Skyhawks with 23 tackles and nine pass break-ups to earn first-team all-league honors. Safety Deven Sims made the most of his first year as a full-time starter by leading the Skyhawks with 60 tackles, including five for a loss, and four pass break-ups, also earning first-team all-OVC honors.

UTM is also likely to have sev eral players that came in through the transfer portal to make an immediate impact.

“We have a saying around here about playing with a fanatical effort, a Skyhawk effort,” Simpson said of the defense. “In my 16 years, we’ve had four defensive coordinators, but that point is non-negotiable. We’re going to be physical and chase the football. We’ve had good defenses here in all my years, and we’ll have a good defense again this year.”

While football seems to be get ting back to normal after the spring season, Simpson noted that there are still some unnatural things that won’t get sorted out for another year, if not longer.

The extra year given to players by the NCAA as a result of COVID-19 has made every team’s roster stron ger and deeper, but the spring sea son cut out more than four months usually used for conditioning.

UTM will open the 2021 fall sea son Sept. 2 at Western Kentucky. The home opener will be Sept. 11 against Samford.

In order to fill a schedule as a result of JSU and EKU leaving, the Skyhawks will play SEMO twice.

Sports editor Kevin Weaks can be contacted by email at kweaks@ucmessenger.com.

Eastern Illinois’ Matt Judd has been named to the preseason AllOhio Valley Conference as a kick returner.

Changes from all directions make 7-2A a weekly battle

One team is moving up, another is dropping down and two more are shifting west.

Welcome to the new Region 72A.

Union City and Gibson County are the lone holdovers from last year’s alignment, joined this year by Huntingdon, Westview, Camden and Houston County.

Huntingdon is back in Class 2A after a strong run in single-A over the last several years, while Westview comes down from the 3A ranks.

Those two teams join perennial state power Union City to instantly make the league one of the state’s strongest 2A regions.

GC, Camden and Houston County all should be improved and will make strong runs for a playoff berth.

The league won’t just be about the teams either.

Westview quarterback Ty Simpson, who has committed to Alabama, is the top player in a league loaded with All-State poten tial.

Camden LIONS

Top Players: QB Will Dobson; RB/ LB Karson Goodwin; RB/LB Preston Wilson; OL/DL Jack Hughes.

Outlook: Matt McConnell returned to his alma mater last year after spending 2019 as the head coach at Westview and found life back home a little tough in his first season at Camden as his Lions went 2-8 and missed the postseason. He has a year under his belt, and the players have had time to buy into his sys tem. The Lions have 17 returning starters with eight on offense and nine on the defensive side of the ball. One thing going for McConnell is he does not have to search for a quarterback as Wizdom Laws is back for his junior season. It could be another rough year for Lions, but they should improve enough to reach the postseason.

Gibson Co. PIONEERS

Top Players: QB Jon Carter Phillips; RB/S Colton Lumpkin; RB/ LB Jay Allen; OL/DL Lane Tate.

Outlook: The Pioneers fell on hard times a year ago with a 2-8 record and no postseason appear ance. It could be another tough one this season as they will have to face Huntingdon, Union City, and Westview in the region. A playoff berth could be in the future for the Pioneers if they can get wins over Camden and Houston County. Head coach Cody Finley has 10 returning starters with five each on offense and defense, so this will be a young team heading into 2021.

Houston Co. FIGHTING IRISH

Top Players: QB Andrew Meadow; OL/LB Case Jones; OL/ LB Jerison Hankins.

Outlook: Head coach Orman Meadow will be hoping his seven returning starters on offense can produce enough points in his mul tiple wing sets to contend with Westview, Huntingdon and Union City. Meadow does not possess a lot of speed on his team, but his players are strong. The Fighting Irish missed the playoffs last sea son, which was the first time that has happened since 2017. Last year was a rebuilding mode for the Fighting Irish, which Meadow has not had to do since 2017. He took the team to the postseason in a rebuilding year, and Houston County may have rebuilt enough to contend for a spot in the postsea son. Andrew Meadow, the coach’s son, accounted for nearly 800 yards of offense running and passing and will be a fourth-year starter.

Huntingdon MUSTANGS

Top Players: LB Blake Reeves; OL Darious Gordon; RB Aden Hutcherson; LB Cade Woods.

Outlook: Head coach Eric Swenson is entering his 14th year at Huntingdon, and it has been a successful tenure for him and the Mustangs with a 120-41 record. The Mustangs will use their traditional wing-T offense, which has result

ed in strong running teams each season. The Mustangs return eight starters on defense and four on offense. The strength of this year’s squad will the defense, with seven of the eight starters being seniors. The Mustangs will be led defensively by Woods, an All-Region player as a junior with 106 tackles to his credit. Hutcherson led the offense with 809 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 103 carries.

Union City TORNADOES

For more on Union City, see pages 10-11.

Westview CHARGERS

Top Players: QB Ty Simpson; WR/DB Garner Anderson; WR/DB Cade Spaulding; LB Hayden Smith; OL/DL Quindarian Johnson; RB/LB Dearca Nicholson; WR/DB Javion Goins; WB/DB Drew Shanklin; OL/ DL Mason Johns.

Outlook: Jaron Neal guided the Chargers to the playoffs in his first year as a head coach but exited the playoffs after one game. The Chargers now have a full year with Neal, which has brought some sta bility to a program that is on its third head coach since 2018. The

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Colton Lumpkin of Gibson County is one of many strong backs in what will be a loaded league.

Twisters lead tradition-rich playoff trio

Union City is the most success ful playoff team in the new Region 7-2A.

The Golden Tornadoes have four state championships and three run ner-up finishes to claim the most state championship game appear ances in the league. The program’s 52 wins in the playoffs also top the league.

Close behind is Huntingdon, with 48 playoff wins, as well as one state championship and two runner-up finishes.

Westview follows with 28 wins and a state runner-up trophy.

Those three teams hold a com bined playoff record of 128-79 for a .618 winning percentage.

In all, the league is 149-120 (.554) with Camden as the next most suc cessful team. The Lions have 15 playoff wins and have reached the quarterfinal round four times.

CAMDEN

All-time playoff record: 15-23

Best season(s): 2004, 2005 — Class 2A quarterfinals; 2009, 2010 — Class 3A quarterfinals

2004 — beat Lewis County 32-0, beat Fairview 31-6, lost to Huntingdon 26-6

2005 — beat DCA 28-21, beat Richland 14-7, lost to Goodpasture 27-7

2009 — beat Lewis County 35-7, beat Westview 20-17, lost to Milan 41-7

2010 — beat Manassas 35-14, beat Westview 21-7, lost to Milan 10-6

GIBSON COUNTY

All-time playoff record: 1-6

Best season(s): 1997 — Class 2A second round

1997 — beat Oakhaven 30-14, lost to Humboldt 27-0

HOUSTON COUNTY

All-time playoff record: 5-12

Best season(s): 1974 — Class A semifinals

1974 — beat Dyer County 42-32, lost to Brentwood Academy 53-15

HUNTINGDON

All-time playoff record: 48-29

Best season(s): 2003 — Class 2A State Champion

2003 — beat Harpeth 60-12, beat Chester County 47-0, beat Lewis County 35-6, beat Milan 34-29, beat David Lipscomb 48-14

UNION CITY

All-time playoff record: 52-25

Best season(s): 2009, 2013, 2014 — Class 1A State Champion; 2017 — Class 2A State Champion

2009 — beat South Fulton 48-7, beat Huntingdon 30-7, beat Wayne County 31-21, beat South Pittsburg 31-29

2013 — beat Bruceton 61-28, beat Humboldt 10-6, beat Nashville Christian 42-34, beat South Pittsburg 23-14

2014 — beat Dresden 49-14, beat Lake County 56-6, beat Nashville Christian 35-0, beat Coalfield 56-14

2017 — beat Manassas 62-24, beat Douglass 44-30, beat Trenton 28-21, beat Columbia Academy 357, beat Tyner 27-21 (2OT)

WESTVIEW

All-time playoff record: 28-25

Best season(s): 2001 — Class 2A runner-up

2001 — beat Memphis BTW 42-0, beat Milan 40-21, beat Union City 41-7, beat McKenzie 35-0, lost to Goodpasture 14-0

Chargers have dropped down from Class 3A to 2A, which will work in their favor with a team that is expect ed to score points in the bunches and make a deep run in the playoffs.

They are led by Simpson, a Mr. Football contender and a University of Alabama commitment.

Milan, JNS threaten Haywood’s superiority

Milan decided to step up in clas sification this season, and some so-called experts across the state already have them written in to reach the Class 4A state champion ship game.

The Bulldogs are classified in 3A for the next two seasons, but the team will compete in 4A in the current classification cycle which runs just two years instead of the customary four.

Milan certainly has the talent to win Region 7-4A and make a run at Chattanooga.

But, don’t sleep on Haywood. Not only are the Tomcats capable of making the trip east, the coaches and players in the program are a little upset at seeing any other team move into their turf and lay claim to its top spot.

Another of those is a talented Jackson North Side bunch that, like Milan and Haywood, has some bigtime college prospects.

South Gibson and Crockett County will also be serious playoff contenders, while new-look Obion Central could be a wildcard in the league’s standings.

Crockett Co. CAVALIERS

Top Players: RB/LB V.J. Pillar; QB/DE Hadyn Moten; RB/DB Payton Currie; RB/DB Leanthony Cathey; K/P Alex Nolan.

Outlook: Veteran head coach Kevin Ward will take a young and inexperienced team — as many as four sophomores could start on the offensive line — into the week ly 7-4A battles this season. But, there are some highly skilled play ers returning to lead the Cavaliers. Pillar is a senior and in his third year as a starter, as is classmate Currie, while Nolan, a junior, is handling the punting and kicking duties for the second year. Moten, another junior, is making two position moves as he takes over the signal-caller duties after being a running back last year and will move to defensive end after starting the previous two seasons at linebacker. Cathey is junior who will help strengthen the Cavs’ backfield on both sides of the ball.

Haywood TOMCATS

Top Players: DB/WR Jaylen Lewis; OL Camron Douglas; LB Anthony Brewer; RB Ja’Kylon Taylor; QB Cordero Walker; K Reid Russell.

Outlook: Haywood reached the 4A state championship game last season, losing to Elizabethton, to cap a 9-3 season that saw the Tomcats pick up four wins — three in the region — as a result of COVID19 forfeits. A strong team returns, led by Arkansas commit Lewis (6-1, 180) and Doyle (6-3, 305), who is getting plenty of Division I attention. Lewis is a solid defensive back, while Douglas is a mountain up front. Brewer (6-0, 210) is physi cal and fast for a linebacker and is on the radar of numerous FCS schools. Taylor has put together a strong off-season and will be a big help in the backfield, while Walker, a sophomore, has also improved tremendously and is ready to take over the leadership role on offense. Russell was an all-stater last year and gives the Haywood special teams a — pardon the pun — leg up on the competition.

Milan BULLDOGS

Top Players: S/Rec. Anthony Brown; QB Hayden Sullivan; OL/ DL Jaylen Walker; DB/TB Trey Spinks; DE Tucker Lockhart; OL Ayden Sellers; OL Antonio Smith; A.J. Barham; Cam Tharpe.

Outlook: Milan voluntarily moved up to Class 4A this season after los ing to Alcoa in the Class 3A finals last year 35-0. The Bulldogs lost 20 seniors to graduation then suffered a tremendous blow in preseason workouts when MLB and Memphis commit A.J. Barham was lost for the season with a torn Achilles heel. The Bulldogs will be talented but very young and inexperienced in Carl Diffee’s second season as head coach. Mr. Football finalist Anthony Brown will have to live up to his lofty preseason expectations if Milan wants to match last year’s success in the postseason. Second

year quarterback Hayden Sullivan will play behind one of the largest Bulldog lines of scrimmage in years, averaging right at 300 pounds a man. Sullivan has proven receivers in Brown and Tharpe but very little experience in his backfield.

North Side INDIANS

Top Players: OL Izaiah Reed; DT Chris Williams; CB Ricky Flournoy; LB Marcus Howard; RB Joshua Poindexter.

Outlook: Head coach Jesse Powell is pleased with the strides his team made in the spring and summer, despite a self-imposed week shutdown due to COVID-19, and has continued to be pleased with the progress of his team in the preseason. A scrimmage with 6A Collierville, the coach believes, will help prepare JNS for the rig ors of not only Region 7 but West Tennessee 4A football in general. Reed is among the top players in the state and is fielding offers from numerous Power 5 schools. Flournoy has really flourished in the preseason to earn a starting role, and Williams is a sturdy lineman on both sides of the ball. Howard gives the defense even more skill from his linebacker duties, and the Indians appear to be loaded at the skill spots.

Obion Central REBELS

For more on OC, see pages 6-7. So. Gibson HORNETS

Top players: OL/DL Landon Black; RB/DB Ross Tegene Crenshaw; WR/LB Lake Lovorn; OL/DL Logan Moseley; QB/DB Ty Schrotberger; RB/LB Nash Stidham; K Jase Stallings

Outlook: A first-ever trip to the Class 3A quarterfinals highlighted the 2020 season, as the Hornets beat Westview in the second round of the playoffs. South Gibson moves up a class to 4A. South Gibson will have a new starter at quarterback for the third time in four seasons with Landon Lambert graduating. Ty Schrotberger looks to be the starter as of now, but Ty Duncan and Heath Howe are right behind him fighting for playing time. With the graduation of Lambert and Travis Parker, the Hornets will look to new players to lead the rushing game. What South Gibson does return is a majority of its the offensive and defensive line, led by Black, Moseley and Hayden Jenkins, who are all seniors. South Gibson’s defense should be strong also as the Hornets return seven starters. Senior kicker Jase Stallings enters his fourth season as a start er.

He has connected on eight field goals in his career with a long of 40 yards. He is also 103-of-114 on extra points.

Good

Tyson

Crockett County’s Leanthony Cathey will be a standout in 7-4A.

Milan adds to league’s postseason excellence

In the new Region 7-4A, there is Milan and everyone else.

Considering the “everyone else,” that’s saying a lot.

Classified as a 3A team, Milan is playing up in 4A and will be a mem ber of a fairly loaded region.

The Bulldogs have won more playoff games (88) and have more state championship game appear ances (10) than the other five teams combined (79 and five). Milan is the only program in the league with a state championship, winning four gold ball trophies.

As a unit, the region has an over all playoff record of 167-31.

Haywood is next with 33 playoff wins and four state runner-up fin ishes, while Crockett County has 26 wins and one runner-up spot.

Jackson North Side has won 13 playoff games and has advanced to the semifinals twice.

CROCKETT COUNTY

All-time playoff record: 26-20

Best season(s): 2001 — Class 3A finals

2001 — beat Page 26-23, beat Jackson South Side 9-7, beat Sycamore 9-7, beat Covington 16-3, lost to Knoxville Austin-East 27-21

HAYWOOD

All-time playoff record: 33-30

Best season(s): 1994, 1995, 2018, 2020 — Class 4A finals

1994 — beat Memphis Overton 610, Maplewood 20-0, beat Memphis Westwood 27-20, beat Brentwood Academy 7-3, lost to Cleveland 7-6

1995 — beat Pearl-Cohn 35-8, beat Memphis Wooddale 47-0, beat Father Ryan 46-21, beat Beech 2417, lost to Cleveland 14-3

2018 — beat Fayette Ware 35-0, beat Ripley 49-7, beat Dyersburg 47-14, beat Springfield 49-14, lost to Greeneville 56-21

2020 — first-round bye, beat Dyersburg 42-14, beat Ripley 173, beat Lexington 17-14, lost to Elizabethton 41-14

NORTH SIDE

All-time playoff record: 13-23

Best season(s): 1972 — Class AA semifinals; 2012 — Class 5A semifinals

1972 — beat Memphis East 14-0, lost to Kingston 28-0

2012 — beat Munford 45-17, beat Hamilton 41-6, beat Ridgeway 4512, lost to Beech 64-31

MILAN

All-time playoff record: 88-39

Best season(s): 1971 and 1977

— Class AA State Champion; 1998 — Class 2A State Champion; 1999 — Class 3A State Champion

1971 — beat Marshall County 270, beat Kingston 10-7

1977 — beat North Side 14-0, beat Brentwood Academy 27-0, beat MUS 14-6, beat Maryville 28-6

1998 — beat Richland 56-21, beat Harpeth 26-0, beat Huntingdon 1713, beat Union City 10-0, beat David Lipsomb 16-6

1999 — beat Montgomery Central 59-8, beat Crockett County 45-7, beat South Side 29-8, beat Covington 28-6, beat Portland 21-14

OBION CENTRAL

All-time playoff record: 3-11

Best season(s): 2003 — Class 3A second round; 2011, 2017 — Class 4A second round

2003 — beat Memphis Kingsbury 24-10, lost to Brighton 15-13

2011 — beat Memphis Fairley 4622, lost to Covington 42-41

2017 — beat Craigmont 36-28, lost to Haywood 47-20

SOUTH GIBSON COUNTY

All-time playoff record: 4-8

Best season(s): 2020 — Class 3A quarterfinals

2020 — first-round bye, beat Westview 21-17, lost to Milan 14-41

The one thing certain about Region 6-1A is its uncertainty.

McKenzie looks to be the class of the league, bringing a talented and experienced team down to 1A from the 2A ranks, but several teams could challenge the Rebels for superiority.

Keith Hodge is back at Dresden after a successful stint north of the border at Murray High School, and his Lions could be poised to soon return to the glory days.

The same can be said for Hollow Rock-Bruceton and Perry County, two once-proud Class 1A programs that have struggled in recent years — Perry County more so than the Tigers.

Don’t be surprised if Gleason and McEwen play spoiler to some of those teams’ plans as both squads have solid athletes returning. Both are good enough to make the play off chase interesting.

South Fulton struggled in 2020, and the fresh Red Devil faces will have to be more consistent to make a serious postseason run.

Bruceton TIGERS

Top Players: LB/RB Brennan Hollingsworth; LB Tyler Forrest; WR/LB Tate Crews; WR/DB Caleb Haskins; FB/LB Bryce Perkins.

Outlook: The Tigers were solid on defense last season, allow ing one touchdown or less in six games, including one shutout. The problem was on offense. Of those six games, Hollow Rock-Bruceton lost two of them. Bert Snow moves up to the head coaching ranks from an assistant’s role, switch ing places with former head man and Tiger alum Jamie Williams. He should have a solid unit on defense again this season as Hollingsworth, Forrest, Crews and Perkins are

all playmakers. Hollingsworth and Perkins will also be counted on to give the offense more punch on the ground, while Haskins and Crews can spread the field.

Dresden LIONS

Top Players: QB/LB Tatum Oliver; RB/DB Chandler Turnbow; WR/DB Raymond Johnson; WR/DB Trey Eddings; RB/DB Tristan Jett; OL/DL Alex Gilmer; OL/DL Gavin Cooper; RB/LB DeAngelo Lambert.

Outlook: Keith Hodge makes his return as the head coach of the Lions after leading Murray High School to the Kentucky Class 2A state semifinals in 2020. Hodge has plenty of tools and experienced players to work with this year. The Lions are now in Region 6 and could walk away with the region title if they can get past McKenzie, which will be tough for any team in the league. A deep run in the 1A playoffs is not out of the question.

Gleason BULLDOGS

Top Players: QB/DB Kolton Crochet; RB/LB Isaac Denton; RB/LB Brady Witherspoon; OL/LB Hagen Hodges; RB/LB Austin Clark; WR/BD Jack Blassingame.

Outlook: The 2020 season was another rough one for the Bulldogs, but they showed some promise with three close games that could have gone either way. Things are look ing up for Gleason in 2021 as they are in Region 6 this year instead of Region 7, which features twotime defending 2A state champion Peabody. McEwen and McKenzie will be tough games, but Perry County and Bruceton could be win nable for the Bulldogs, and they open the season with Fulton County — another possible win for them.

McEwen WARRIORS

Top Players: OL Josh Bradley; OG Gabe Cook; OG Ledger Chase;

RB Ty Dreaden; RB Garrett Wright; RB Garrett Clark; QB Jake Artz; FB Tommy Willis; LB Jacob Smith.

Outlook: Head coach Eric Pullen begins his 11th season at the school with a veteran squad. Artz will run the flexbone offense and will have plenty of options in the backfield with Dreaden, Wright, Clark and Willis leading the way. The offen sive line will be experienced, too, as Bradley, Cook and Chase are all seniors.

McKenzie REBELS

Top Players: TE/OLB Trey Cook; TB/CB Marquez Taylor; QB Jackson Cassidy; OL Daniel Latimer.

Outlook: The Rebels have moved down to Class 1A from 2A, at least for the next two years, and a juniordominated roster makes McKenzie a state championship contender. Veteran head coach Wade Comer says his talented juniors must become vocal leaders as well as leaders by example in order to live up to those expectations. Taylor and Cassidy give McKenzie one of the best double-threat backfields in Tennessee. Taylor ran for over 1,200 yards and added over 300 yards on receptions, while Cassidy threw for 1,400 yards and ran for nearly 500. Cook is one of the team’s top tack lers from last season, and Latimer anchors the offensive line from his center position.

Perry Co. VIKINGS

Top Players: RB Will McClain; LB Ayden Bates; OT/NG Brian Morris; OT/DT Jackson Jones; TE/LB Levi Gosson.

Outlook: The Vikings are look ing for their first playoff appearance since 2011 as the program, among the 1A elites in the first decade

McKenzie’s Marquez Taylor is one of the state’s best backs

Tigers, Rebs region’s best at playoff time

Based on state playoff hardware, the new-look Region 6-1A is a case of the haves and the have-nots.

The seven-team league has a combined all-time state playoff record of 108-134. Three teams — Hollow Rock-Bruceton, McKenzie and Dresden — account for 91 of those wins and all six state championship game appearances. Bruceton and McKenzie are the only two teams in the league with winning records in the playoffs.

Bruceton is the most successful of the bunch with 41 playoff wins and a state championship in 1989 to go with a pair of runner-up finishes.

McKenzie has 30 wins and reached the state championship game in 2007.

Dresden, with 22 playoff wins, won the 1A state title in 2016 four years after finishing as runner-up.

Of the remaining four teams, South Fulton has the most wins in the play offs with seven and has reached the quarterfinals three times.

Perry County picked up half of its four playoff wins in 2010, the year it advanced to the quarterfinal round.

DRESDEN

All-time playoff record: 20-22

Best season(s): 2016 — Class 1A State Champion

2016 — beat Memphis BTW 46-8, beat Trenton 48-13, beat Union City 40-14, beat Wayne County 33-14, beat Greenback 62-27

GLEASON

All-time playoff record: 2-11

Best season(s): 2008 and 2011 — Class A second round

2008 — beat Trinity Christian 36-30, lost to Lake County 42-40

2011 — beat South Fulton 19-12, lost to West Carroll 35-14

HOLLOW ROCK-BRUCETON

All-time playoff record: 41-30

Best season(s): 1989 — Class A State Champion

1989 — beat Lake County 28-12, beat USJ 40-0, beat Collinwood 2112, beat Moore County 35-0, beat DCA 21-6

McEWEN

All-time playoff record: 4-19

Best season(s): 1995, 1996, 2008,

2019 — Class 1A second round

1995 — beat Forrest 17-14, lost to Bruceton 21-6

1996 — beat Huntland 20-3, lost to Lake County 35-22

2008 — beat Mt. Pleasant 27-10, lost to Cascade 55-20

2019 — beat Mt. Pleasant 49-21, lost to Huntland 21-13

McKENZIE

All-time playoff record: 30-25

Best season(s): 2007 — Class 1A finals

2007 — beat Halls 47-7, beat Fayette Academy 28-7, beat Trinity Christian 48-21, beat Mt. Pleasant 35-32, lost to South Pittsburg 52-20

PERRY COUNTY

All-time playoff record: 4-7

Best season(s): 2010 — Class 1A quarterfinals

2010 — beat Bruceton 44-8, beat Lake County 46-6, lost to Jo Byrns 45-12

SOUTH FULTON

All-time playoff record: 7-20

Best season(s): 1972, 1979 and 1997 — Class A quarterfinals

1972 — lost to Lake County 35-0

1979 — beat Old Hickory Academy 29-28, lost to Lake County 30-20

1997 — beat West Carroll 14-0, beat Greenfield 13-7, lost to USJ 28-14

of the 2000s, has fallen on hard times of late. McClain and Bates are returning all-region players at their respective positions. Morris (6-2, 280) and Jones (6-0, 260) are huge up front, while Gosson gives the passing game a solid target and the defense perhaps its best tackler.

OC’s Malone among elites at position camp

Obion County Central senior Warren Malone participated in the Football University FBU camp in May.

The camp was held in Montgomery, Ala., and Malone was selected to the all-combine team from 300 camp participants.

Malone competed in combine test ing in the 40-yard dash, long jump and shuttle drill. He then participated in one-on-one drills and 7-on-7 play. Malone’s position for the combine was outside linebacker.

For the Rebels last season, he had 48 total tackles, including a team-high eight for a loss, and two sacks.

He has 67 tackles, 12 for a loss and three sacks in his prep career.

According to its website, Football University develops and enhances the ability and skill of middle school and high school players, having trained more than 100,000 student-athletes since 2007.

FBU uses intense, position-spe cific technique training from NFL-level coaches and instructors, according to its website.

Football University stages more than 50 events each year.

BOWLING’S NEXT STOP: Darren Bowling’s next stop is north of the border.

The former Union City, Obion County Central and Dyersburg football head coach, who has also coached in Mississippi and Louisiana, is heading to Kentucky as the new head coach at Murray High School.

He replaces Keith Hodge, who left to return to Dresden High School as football head coach.

Bowling has spent 27 years in coaching, most notably a highly-suc cessful 12-year stint at Union City where he won four state champion ships — 2009, 2013 and 2014 in Class 1A and 2017 in 2A — and posted a record of 116-38. That period included a school-record 38-game winning streak that began with the second game of the 2013 season and continued until the second round of the 2015 state playoffs.

This past season, he was head coach at Olive Branch (Miss.) High School. He has also coached at Silliman (La.) High School and Indianola Academy in Mississippi.

HODGE RETURNS: Speaking of Keith Hodge, he returns to Dresden after guiding Murray High School to the Kentucky Class 2A playoff semifi nals last season.

Hodge was the Lions’ head coach for two seasons (2012-13), going 18-6 with playoff appearances both years. Dresden reached the semifinal round in 2012.

He left to become the head coach at Murray in 2014, guiding the Tigers to a 49-38 overall record.

Hodge was an assistant at Dresden prior to taking the head coaching role, helping the Lions reach the Class 1A state championship game in 2011. He has been a coach for 16 years.

Hodge replaces Wes Johnson, who left Dresden to return to his alma mater, McNairy Central, as head coach.

Johnson was 13-17 while guiding the Lions to two playoff appearances

in three years.

REMEMBER POTH?: Union City High School football fans might remember the name Poth.

The small Texas school hosted UC in the 2017 season, with the visit ing Golden Tornadoes capping off its week-long educational/football trip with a 42-21 win. It marked the 200th career win for then-UC head coach Darren Bowling.

Union City’s trip included seeing some historical sites, most notably the Alamo. UC also had similar education al trips to Pennsylvania to play Delone Catholic, South Carolina to face North Charleston and New Jersey to meet Penns Grove, going 3-1 in that series of games.

Jeff Luna is still the head coach at Poth, and he is in the process of build ing a winning program.

Last season, the Pirates posted a 9-1 record and reached the second round of the Texas Class 3A, Division II state playoffs.

This year, the team is picked by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine to win District 15 with two players seen as the preseason offen sive and defensive players of the year.

Quarterback Jude George is the preseason offensive MVP, while line backer Trevor Fuller is that pick on the defensive side.

In his first season at QB last year, George threw for 1,268 yards and 20 touchdowns and ran for 1,022 yards and 18 scores. Fuller was an all-state selection last season after registering 118 tackles, including 11 for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

The Pirates return seven offensive starters and six defensive starters from a team that was 6-0 in district play last season.

EXTRA POINTS: For the first time since 2008, Trenton Peabody will not be on the schedule of an Obion County team. Union City has played the Golden Tide more than any other team, except Humboldt, in its history, owning a 47-38-6 record in the series. Peabody and South Fulton were Class 1A rivals for several years, Trenton winning all 11 meetings, while Obion Central has an 8-17 all-time record in its series with the Tide, which included losses in 2019 and 2020. Peabody is in the 1A classification this season and has been assigned to Region 7. .... Union City and South Fulton each have first-ever opponents this season. UC will be playing Houston County and Liberty Tech for the first time, while SF will take on McEwen for the first time. .... South Fulton has a mix of rare and traditional programs on its schedule. In addition to McEwen, the Red Devils have played Perry County only once (1-0) and McKenzie nine times (3-6). Meanwhile, SF will also play its three most common opponents in Greenfield (43-29-1), Gleason (42-24) and Dresden (22-322). .... Obion Central has a non-losing record against just two of its 10 oppo nents this season. The Rebels are 16-6 against Gibson County and 6-6 all-time against Chester County. OC will be looking for its first-ever wins against Jackson North Side (0-4) and Milan (0-15).

— compiled by Kevin Weaks

Obion Central’s Warren Malone earned elite honors during a Football University camp in Alabama.

Away LIBERTY Home HAYWOOD Away OPEN DATE CROCKETT COUNTY Away SOUTH SIDE Home

SOUTH GIBSON Home

COUNTY Away (AUG.

HAYWOOD Home BOLIVAR Away OBION CENTRAL Away MEM. KIRBY Home MILAN Away OPEN DATE NORTH SIDE Home LEXINGTON Home

Vols’ Heupel among new coaches in SEC

By JOHN ZENOR AP Sports Writer

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference’s four new head coaches inherit very dif ferent situations but sport the stan dard new regime optimism.

Tennessee’s Josh Heupel is trying to rescue a proud program whose struggles now include an NCAA investigation into potential recruiting violations. Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea returned to his alma mater after the Commodores failed to win a game. Auburn’s Bryan Harsin shed his Boise State roots for the SEC and the Southeast. South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, like Lea, is a firsttime head coach, but he’s the son of a highly successful one.

They all spent SEC media days — and much of the offseason — touting their programs’ potential and-or tradition.

Heupel was hired in late January amid an NCAA probe after the firing of Jeremy Pruitt for cause when an internal investigation uncovered serious rules violations. A number of key players bolted during all the turmoil.

But Heupel is focusing on the his tory and promise of the Volunteers program.

“This is one of the great and iconic logos in all of college foot ball, steeped in tradition,” the former UCF coach and Oklahoma quarter back said. “It’s a great honor to be the caretaker of Tennessee football at this time and really proud of what our players and our staff have done in six months.”

Heupel, who joined former UCF athletic director Danny White in Knoxville, went 28-8 in three sea sons at their former school.

The Vols haven’t won the SEC East title since 2007. Heupel’s UCF offense ranked second nationally last season, stirring some excite ment among offensive players like wide receiver Velus Jones.

Heupel’s personality has also won over Jones.

“He really interacts with the play ers a lot, always around us, whether it’s like tossing the football or com ing in the weight room, checking on us, asking us about our personal lives,” the Tennessee receiver said.

“Like he’s just an amazing guy. He’s always involved, he’s always around, you’re always seeing his face, so he’s a really likable guy.

“I’m so proud to go to war for that man this fall.”

Auburn’s Harsin replaces Gus Malzahn, who was paid a $21.5 million buyout following a 6-5 sea

son but never had a losing record. Harsin was 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State, winning at least nine games in every full season and three outright Mountain West Conference titles.

TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

every single day. All the things you hear from every single coach that’s been up here and has talked.”

Harsin plucked two of Beamer’s new assistants from South Carolina, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and offensive line coach Will Friend.

The 49-year-old Beamer’s father, Frank, was a longtime head coach at Virginia Tech.

The younger Beamer is coming off a stint as Oklahoma’s assistant head coach.

He insists the Gamecocks have everything in place to build a cham pionship-caliber program, and that he wants to put down some roots.

Lea finished his college career as a fullback at Vandy from 2002-04.

The Commodores went 0-9 last year and haven’t had a winning season since 2013.

He’ll have to compete against defending national champion and in-state rival Alabama.

“As a football coach, when you come into the facility you have 250 people at a place like this, and we’re all charging towards one goal,” Harsin said. “We want to win cham pionships. We want to get better

Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz, one of four second-year SEC head coach es, had some words of caution for his newest counterparts.

“There’s eight new head coaches in the last two years,” Drinkwitz said.

“It’s not for the faint of heart. Be careful what you wish for.”

Josh

once-proud football program.

Titans tune up for Super run

The Associated Press

LAST YEAR: Derrick Henry car ried the Titans once again, this time to the franchise’s first AFC South title since 2008. The AP and NFL Offensive Player of the Year not only repeated as the NFL rushing leader, Henry became the eighth man to run for at least 2,000 yards in league history with a total of 2,027 yards that ranks fifth-most all-time. A defense that struggled all season couldn’t stop Lamar Jackson as the Titans lost in the wild-card round at home.

KEY ADDITIONS: WR Julio Jones, LB Bud Dupree, CB Janoris Jenkins, DL Denico Autry, CB Caleb Farley, WR Josh Reynolds, LB Rashad Weaver, OT Dillon Radunz, LS Morgan Cox, OT Kendall Lamm.

TENNESSEE TITANS

CAMP NEEDS: Get healthy with Farley, Dupree, WR A.J. Brown and LT Taylor Lewan all recovering from surgeries that sidelined them during the offseason program. Build chem istry on a revamped defense that could feature six new starters. Sync up the offense with new coordinator Todd Downing.

KEY COMPETITIONS: Kicker is the biggest question mark on the ros ter as the Titans let undrafted rookie Blake Haubeil of Ohio State and Tucker McCann, who spent 2020 on the practice squad, try to earn the job. A new starting right tackle is needed with Lamm likely getting the first crack to keep Radunz on the bench.

EXPECTATIONS: Trading for Jones made clear the Titans

satisfied just making the playoffs for the third time in four seasons or even hosting one playoff game as division champs.

Bowl

now