The Dragons won the toss and Noel Moyes received the opening kick and returned it out to the Dragon 33 yd line. The Dragons moved the ball out to the Cordova 45 yd line when on first and ten, QB Jason Smith was intercepted by the Cordova defense when the pass bounced off the receiver. Cordova wasted no time in getting on the board when on first down, a play action roll-out right pass resulted in a 56 yd scoring strike to put the visitors up 7-0 with 9:54 left in the first quarter.

Again Noel Moyes received the kick for the Dragons and was one step from breaking it for a TD when he was tripped up at the 45. On second down, QB Jason Smith hit WR Joe Crabtree for a gain of 15 yds followed by a scramble out of the shotgun by Smith, with the aid of a late hit penalty on Cordova put the Dragons at first and ten at the 12. Two plays later FB Zach Palmer sprinted through a huge hole created by the left offensive line(Collin Ring, Mac Garner, Joe White) and scored his first TD of the game. Following an illegal procedure call on the PAT, Lane Maynard punched the extra point through and the game was tied 7-7 with 7:49 left in the game.

Following Lane Maynard’s kick into the endzone, the Wolves put the ball in play at the 20 yard line. First, LB Noel Moyes fought off his blocker and nailed the runningback for a short 2 yd gain, followed by a hard tackle by LB Jacob Hunter that forced Cordova into third and five. Cordova moved to the passing game where the first down was gained by missed tackles on the QB scramble. Five of the nine plays in the drive were passing plays. The fifth pass play of the drive was a repeat of the TD pass at the beginning of the game and S Lane Maynard would have none of it. Maynard caught the ball in an over-the-shoulder catch and returned it back to the 41 yd line.

The Dragon offensive squad put together an eight play drive highlighted by a third down strike to WR Garrett Bizzell who caught the ball on his knees to keep the drive alive. Jason Smith capped off the drive with a zig-zag touchdown run from 23 yds out to put the Dragons in the lead 13-7 with 56.3 seconds left in the quarter. Maynard’s PAT kick was good and the score stood at 14-7.

The next Cordova series saw S Lane Maynard and LB Chris Bossert turn in key defensive plays to slow down the Cordova attack. Third and twelve from the 48, LB Noel Moyes almost snapped the QB’s legs in half when he nailed him for an 8 yd loss to force the fourth down punt. The Dragon offense put the ball in play at their own 41 with Jason Smith forcing the running attack outside with option pitches to Brett Rogers and a WR reverse pitch to WR Chris Collins who carried it 33 yds down to the Cordova 15 yd line. Two plays later, a scrambling Jason Smith found FB Zach Palmer settled into an open pocket in the defense and hit him with a TD pass and run that pushed the score to 21-7 at the 7:26 mark following Lane Maynard’s extra point kick.

While the Dragons clearly controlled the scoreboard, the Cordova team was taking some wicked hits on the Dragon offensive squad. Following the game, QB Jason Smith gave the Cordova squad high praise that was seconded by both RB Noel Moyes and WR Chris Collins, “(they) were probably the hardest hitting team we’ve played all year”. The gutsy Smith knew what he was talking about, having been on the receiving end of more than one “bell ringer” in the course of the game.

On the Dragon kick-off Soph Nathan Ring made another solid special teams tackle at the 29 yard line. The Dragon D forced a four and out and the Dragon offense lined up at the 42 yd line. Six plays into the drive, on a “jump ball” pass to WR Chris Collins, an interception was awarded to Cordova. Collins got his revenge when three plays later he intercepted a Cordova pass and put together an outstanding return that was called back for illegal block in the back. Regardless, Smith put his offensive squad into their stances at the Cordova 23 yd line. The Cordova defense came out with their teeth bared and after two plays for no yardage at the 5 yd line, Smith called the misdirection WR reverse and Lane Maynard took the pitch and cruised into the endzone while the entire Cordova team over-pursued the fake to the left. Maynard’s kick was good and the Dragon lead had expanded to 28-7 with 15.7 seconds left in the half. Following the Dragon squib kick, DB Chris Collins picked off his second Cordova pass of the night and returned it to the 28 yd line. With only .07 seconds remaining, Smith took a knee to end the half with the Dragons leading 28-7.

HALFTIME
Probably the loudest cheer for a Brashear on Herman Osteen field was not for either former Dragon stand-outs Jon Paul Brashear or Taylor Brashear but for their younger sister, Allie. To overwhelming ovation, Allie Brashear was elected Collierville High School’s 2005 Homecoming Queen. Just when parents Brian and Marina Brashear thought they had heard the last cheer for a Brashear on a Dragon football field….Congratulations Allie!

Following the halftime festivities, the Cordova Wolves came out intent on ruining the Dragons’ Homecoming celebration. Cordova took the second half kickoff and put together a nine play drive from their 16 yd line down to the Dragon 3 yd line. Having focused on running the cross-buck up the middle they pushed the ball to the Dragon 9. The Defense rose to the occasion as LB Casey Shockey stopped them for a 2 yd gain followed by an incomplete pass and with LB’s Eric Burrus and Josh McMillon stopping the runner for no gain. On fourth and three from the 3, Nick McClorey nailed the runner with Josh McMillon mopping up on the tackle. The Dragon D had forced yet another ball over on downs.

The Dragon Offense, forced to play conservative in the shadow of its own goal-line, could not muster a first down and was forced to punt from the 9 yd line. Following the Dragon punt, Cordova scored on first down on a hard-hitting cross-buck up the middle from 57 yards out. With 5:32 left in the third quarter, the Dragon lead had been reduced to 28-14.

The Dragon offense continued its third quarter woes when three plays into their next series, a muffed hand-off resulted in a Cordova fumble recovery at the Collierville 30 yard line. Five plays later, Cordova rode yet another quick hitting cross-buck up the middle for an 18 yd touchdown play to whittle Collierville’s lead down to 7 points. The score stood at 28-21 with 3:01 remaining in the quarter.

The Dragon Offense came out focused and put together a solid 77 yd, 12 play drive that was highlighted by Jason Smith’s scrambling (and ability to take late hits!) and Noel Moyes’ inside cutback runs. Unexpectedly the drive stalled at the 2 yard line following an offensive fumble that pushed the Dragons back to the 6 yd line. The Dragons opted for a field goal from the 2 yd line which would increase the lead by 10 points. Kicking from a short angle, Maynard’s field goal attempt missed wide right.

The Dragon defense dug in on the next defensive series. With Cordova fighting for their first victory of the year, Dragon LB’s Josh McMillon, Eric Burrus, and Jacob Hunter turned in big plays. Finally, Nick McClorey, Jacob Hunter, Brett Rogers, and Josh McMillon all recorded ¼ sacks as they converged on the QB for a 4 yd loss. On third down, in run support, Chris Collins nailed the Cordova QB short of the first down marker to force a fourth down incomplete pass to again give the Dragons the ball on downs. The offense was not able to get untracked and the Dragons were forced to punt from their own 40. In outstanding special teams play, Gunner Joe Crabtree raced down the field and tight-roped the endzone chalk to down Jason Smith’s punt at the Cordova 2 yard line.

The barely audible smacking noise was apparently the Dragon defense as they prepared to gobble up the Cordova offense at the goal line. At the snap, the Dragons flew into the Cordova offense forcing an endzone fumble that NT Tyler Hammers recovered for a quick defensive touchdown! The PAT was blocked but the Dragon lead had increased to 34-21 with 1:40 left in the game.

On the Dragon kick off, again Nathan Ring hustled down the field to make yet another special teams tackle at the 30 yd line. Cordova struck for three quick first downs in a row before LB Noel Moyes dropped the Cordova QB for a 3 yd loss. With their ears pinned back, the Dragons D found another gear. LB’s Eric Smith, Eric Burrus, and DT Nick McClorey all applied heavy pressure forcing the QB to throw an incomplete pass. Next DE Grant Hall nailed the QB as he released the pass to force another incomplete pass. And finally, after another failed pass, the Dragon D gave the ball back to QB Jason Smith and the Dragon Offense. After one snap the game was in the history books.

Cordova matched Collierville’s 17 first downs in the game and garnered 166 passing yards against a very good Dragon secondary. The Dragon ground game tallied 289 yards on 45 carries for a 6.4 yd average while Cordova gained 179 yds on 31 carries. In total offense, it was almost even with Cordova barely out-gaining the Dragons 345 yds to 336 yds.

For the Dragons, QB Jason Smith finished the night with 184 yds rushing on 19 carries and one TD while passing for another. FB Zach Palmer rushed for one TD and caught a Jason Smith pass for another. Lane Maynard and Tyler Hammers both scored one touchdown apiece for the Dragons. The Dragon Defense had 20 players notching tackles in the game with Noel Moyes accounting for 10 tackles followed by Eric Burrus and Lane Maynard who recorded 9 and 7 tackles, respectively. In secondary play, DB Chris Collins had two interceptions and S Lane Maynard had one.

While the Dragons experienced another third quarter let-down, the defense rose to the occasion and the offense put the points up when needed. With strong defensive line play that allowed the linebackers to make plays and solid secondary coverage the Dragon defense was able to stare down yet another good football team. The Dragons (5-1, 2-1), next travel to Germantown to face the Red Devils (3-2, 1-1) in a key Region 8 match-up that is historically one of the biggest rivalries in Memphis/Shelby County football. Load up the wagons and show your support for the Dragons Friday night.