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ARTICLE BY JAMES HINTE
Week two for the Collierville Dragons set up an opportunity to break a seven year losing streak to rival Germantown and from the opening kick off it was clear that was the singular focus of the night. With a second week of domination on defense and ball control on offense the Dragons never gave the Red Devils a snowball’s chance in ….. !
Collierville won the coin toss and Al Burriss took the kick off at the twelve yard line running it out to the 35. Collierville picked up their initial first down with three consecutive running plays. Eric Smith picked up three on first, Bart Smith got six more on second and Al Burriss gained four on third down and the Dragons were quickly out to mid field. After an incomplete pass Eric Smith broke through the middle of the offensive line and was finally dragged down at the 19 after a 33 yard gain. With the combination of Burriss, Smith and Smith three more running plays gave Collierville first and goal at the four. After a fumbled snap put the Dragons back to the ten, Gabe Bouldien ran an option left keeping the ball and found the end zone for a touchdown. John Nelson’s kick was good and the Dragons took a quick 7-0 lead.
On the following kick off the Red Devils kick returner caught the ball at the one yard line and inadvertently ran back into his own end zone and the ball was spotted at the one. After a dominating initial offensive drive it was Collierville’s turn on defense to establish themselves. John White and Andrew Richmond made the initial stop on first down after a four yard gain and on second and six from the five, Bradley Rogers and Josh Simpson smothered the Germantown running back for no gain. On third and six, the Red Devils quarterback rolled to his right and threw into the middle of the field where Nick Reed broke in front of the receiver for an interception at the 17. After breaking six tackles Reed made his way in for a touchdown and after another PAT the Dragons were up 14-0 at the mid way point of the first quarter.
Nelsons kick off went out of bounds and Germantown started with first and ten at the 35. After the Dragons first defensive stop, the momentum was clearly on the Dragons side and the second series only further established it. John Huffman made a solo tackle at the 37 and on second down Moyes and Keaton Stiggers made the stop for no gain. The third down pass attempt by Germantown was incomplete and the Red Devils were forced to punt. The snap was high and the Germantown punter was forced to punt on the run and with a rugby style kick the ball took a Red Devils bounce down to the Collierville 26.
After no gain on first down, Bouldien picked up a first down after a 14 yard pick up. And as he did on the first possession, Eric Smith took the handoff up the middle and after a 57 yard gain the Dragons were once again in scoring position at the Germantown four yard line. After two unsuccessful running plays and an incomplete pass the Collierville coaching staff decided to go for the touchdown on fourth and goal at the four. Bouldien connected with Burriss for a short toss to the right and Burriss was tackled as he crossed the goal line. The kick was good and with 2:35 still remaining in the first quarter it was all Collierville with the score 21-0. On the drive there was outstanding blocking by Mike Mancini, Trevor Toll, John Huffman and Troy Walther.
Nelson found his form again on his third kick and drove the ball down to the Germantown five yard line. After a 14 yard return Stiggers caught the returner from behind and rode him down at the 19. On the first down run Mancini dropped the running back for a short one yard gain and on second down, Zach Jackson, Justin Lis and Rogers teamed up for a one yard loss. On another third and long, Stiggers shot in from the right side and drove the Germantown running back three yards for another three and out by the Dragons defense. The fourth down punt was shanked and took a Collierville bounce and was downed by Germantown at their own 29. With three possessions the Red Devils had yet to gain a first down.
Starting with outstanding field position it took only four plays for the Dragons to post another score. On first down Burriss ran for fourteen yards where he was knocked out of bounds at the 15. Bouldien picked up seven on an option and the first quarter came to an end. Eric Smith picked up two on the first play of the second quarter and with third and a short one, Bouldien ran the ball in for the touchdown. Nelson continued his fine form on PAT’s and with less than a minute gone in the second quarter the Dragons lead was 28-0.
Nelson’s kick was taken at the ten yard line and after initially trying up the middle the Germantown returner broke outside to the left where Grayson Hinte made the solo tackle at the 24 yard line. After three sputtering drives Germantown was penalized on the initial play of their fourth series for a false start putting them back to the 19. A first down pass attempt was broken up by Evan Stock and Moyes and White stopped the option play on second down. With third and ten, Germantown went back to the pass but the throw was long and once again the Red Devils were forced to punt. Moyes received the punt at the 46 and returned it nine yards to the Germantown 45. Collierville could not gain a first down on the play and a quick kick by Bouldien rolled into the end zone for a touchback. After a four yard stop by White and Richmond, Germantown finally connected on a short pass for their first, first down. Austin Hiatt made the tackle on the short completion. Bradley Rogers stepped up on the next two plays, teaming up with Jackson on a first down stop for no gain and then making a sack on second down for a 13 yard loss. The third down pass was incomplete and after an exchange of punts Germantown had the ball at their own 18. Out of the shotgun on first down, the Germantown snap sailed over the quarterback’s head and Moyes dove on the fumble for the second defensive touchdown of the night. The kick was good and with 4:34 left in the half the score was Collierville 35, Germantown 0.
After the kick off Germantown managed to get a short drive going that was aided by a pass interference call, however the half ended without any damage.
Collierville kicked off to start the second half and Adam White, Cameron Waller, Lis and Rogers stopped the return at the 21. Moyes cut down the running back on first down for no gain. Germantown picked up a first down on the next play but were backed up after a holding call and a three yard drop by Rogers and Simpson. The quarterback was forced to scramble on the next two plays with Moyes, Stiggers, Richmond and Nick Elo combining to make the stops. On fourth and long and nothing to lose, Germantown connected on a long pass play giving them a first and goal at the five. With the threat of being scored on for the first time this year the Dragons defense regrouped after the long pass. Moyes, Simpson and Mancini stopped the first down run for a one yard loss and after an illegal motion penalty set the Red Devils back to the ten, the quarterback was flushed out of the pocket and tripped and fumbled the ball with Mancini quickly recovering the ball at the 12 yard line. Threat eliminated.
The entire second half was played under the new slaughter rule implemented this year by TSSAA that allows the clock to run in instances where the time is normally stopped. As a result the second half passed quickly producing only two Dragons possessions. The game ended with a big stop by Mike Skirius, Cameron Waller, Chris Suzore and Dominique Williams.
For the second week in a row the Dragons defense stifled their opponent limiting them to minimal gains for the majority of both games. The defense has contributed 16 points and has held their opposition scoreless in both games. The big plays on the night were the interception by Nick Reed for a TD on the first Germantown drive and the fumble recovery by Drew Moyes for a second touchdown.
With the passing game off for the night the Dragons got it done on the ground with Eric Smith ripping two long runs for 33 and 39 yards. Overall Eric Smith gained 89 yards on 7 carries, Gabe Bouldien picked up 41 on seven carries with two touchdowns and Al Burriss had 27 yards on 7 carries, one reception for a touchdown plus 23 yards on a kick return.
Next week the Dragons welcome Overton for homecoming and hopefully look to start the season with a 3-0 record.
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