“I would rather win this game than make it to the play-offs!” one Dragon booster stated prior to the opening kick-off between rivals Collierville and Germantown. The Dragons entered the contest having dropped the previous five match-ups with Germantown and the importance of the game was realized well-beyond the obvious.

Though each game is a must-win proposition in Region 8-5A, Friday night’s game with Germantown afforded the Dragons an opportunity to take a big step in controlling their post-season destiny against a Red Devil squad that had yet to find their rhythm this season.

Germantown finally found their rhythm and added a little blues to their repertoire as they man-handled the Dragons Friday night.

Choosing not to challenge Collierville’s outstanding pass defense, Germantown rediscovered the essence of their running game by lining up and committing to “smash-mouth” football to control the game and the clock.

The Red Devils scored two rushing touchdowns and gained 277 yards rushing against the Dragons, exceeding their game average by over 110 yards. Senior running back Ron Brewer was the “go-to guy” for the Red Devils as he was handed the ball 27 times and gained 127 yards rushing and scored one touchdown to pace the Germantown ground attack.

The Dragons opened the game with a ten play drive that culminated in a 43 yard field goal attempt by Sr Lane Maynard that sailed left leaving the score tied 0-0. After a couple of possession changes, the Red Devil ground game began to wear on the Dragon defense and led to a 13 yard Ron Brewer touchdown run to put Germantown in the lead 7-0 with 11:21 left in the 2nd Quarter.

The next series found the Dragons facing fourth and one from their own 39 yard line. A one-handed circus catch by Sr WR Joe Crabtree had moved the ball down to the 39 where a bad spot had put the Dragons in a fourth and one position. Electing not to punt, the Dragons were stopped cold and turned the ball over on downs which led to a 24 yard Germantown field goal that increased their lead to 10-0 with 3:44 left in the first half.

Following the Red Devil kick-off, the Dragons were forced into another four and out series. Lined up in punt formation, the Dragon Sr QB/P Jason Smith recognized the coverage and called an automatic pass to the uncovered Dragon gunner, Noel Moyes. The pass had a touch too much zip and was thrown just beyond Moyes’s reach and the Dragons again turned the ball over on downs. The Red Devils were given outstanding field position at the Dragon 20 yard line.

Two plays later, Dragon defensive end Grant Hall made a big hit on the Germantown ball carrier to force a fumble and give the Dragons the ball back on their own 19 yard line. The Dragon offense appeared to come alive by mixing up the pass and run and gained two first downs in the series with a key run by Sr RB Noel Moyes and a first down catch by Sr WR Joe Crabtree . With the first half clock ticking down, the Dragons were able to move the ball out to the 49 yard line where time ran out with the Dragons leaving three unused time-outs on the board.

Having deferred to the second half, Germantown’s Ron Brewer fumbled on his first carry of the second half and it was recovered by Collierville’s Garrison Bizzell at the Germantown 34 yard line. After two big runs by Jr RB Brett Rogers and Noel Moyes, Dragon QB Jason Smith hit Joe Crabtree for a 5 yard touchdown strike. Lane Maynard’s PAT was good and the Dragons had cut the Germantown lead to 10-7 with 10:54 left in the third quarter.

After swapping possessions, the Red Devils put together an eight play drive that drove the ball down to the Dragon 32 yard line. With an overloaded left offensive line and a defense keying on Ron Brewer, Germantown QB Scott Anglin called his own number on a naked bootleg right and scampered untouched into the end zone for the second Red Devil touchdown of the night. The Germantown lead stood at 17-7 with 2:34 left in the third quarter.

At this point, the game became very confusing and frustrating…during the extra point try, the clock was started and an additional 10 seconds was run off the game clock. Through the remainder of the game the game clock would run during first downs, out of bounds plays, on punts out of bounds, and even during a penalty mark-off by the officials. Only once did the game officials make any corrections to the game clock. Curiously, the first half only took 26 minutes to play two 12 minute quarters.

The Dragons were able to drive the ball down to the Red Devil 29 yard line where Lane Maynard’s 42 yard field goal attempt looked perfect but again drifted left to leave the score 17-7. Germantown countered with a drive of their own and were able to punch through a 21 yard field goal to post the final score of the night, 20-7.

The Red Devils clearly had their backs to the wall and came out and put together their best outing of the year. “That’s the best job I’ve seen Germantown do this year. They held onto the football and didn’t hurt themselves when they did have turnovers.” stated Collierville Coach Paul Cox.

Currently, Houston and Woodale sit undefeated in Region 8 play followed by Whitehaven and Germantown with one loss apiece. The Collierville Dragons (5-2, 2-2) have a bye week to re-group then load up on the final three games of the season with region games at Whitehaven, Kirby, and a final home stand against Region 8 newcomer Woodale to end the season. As usual, Region 8 play will come down to the wire with six teams fighting for four play-off slots.