MOUNTAIN PINE -- Mountain Pine could not get its offense rolling Thursday night as the Dierks junior Outlaws rolled to a 34-6 win at Stanley May Field.
The junior Red Devils (0-2) sport a junior high roster of just 13 players with 12 seventh-graders, but head coach Sam Counce did not want to keep the team from playing this season.
"That's a slim group," Counce said. "We've got a few more we'll try to get out, but we're going to try to stay with them, keep them out. I don't want to not have a season for them because you just don't get any practice time; you don't get any time on the field.
"Those kids need it, especially in this situation. We're just going to try to keep them going, keep them positive and keep rolling with them."
The junior Outlaws (2-0) took control of the game early, capping their initial three-play, 60-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run from Conner Shelton. The handoff to Shelton on the conversion play was also successful to give the visiting team an 8-0 lead with 5:29 remaining in the first period.
"The kids came out and played exceptionally well," said Dierks head coach Jarrod Fannin. "I was proud of the way they came out on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Conner Shelton ran the ball hard, ran well. I've got to credit our offensive line for making some holes. No. 7 (Braxton Clayborn), we call him Rocket; that's his nickname. We ran him some, another good back for us."
Dierks went on to take a 22-0 lead into the break, scoring again late in the first period on a 30-yard run with a failed conversion and once in the second.
Mountain Pine got its only score in the waning moments of the game as eighth-grader Keelan Dobbins fielded a kickoff at the 25-yard line, breaking free of a pair of tackles and finding his way into the end zone to make it 34-6. Adonis Delaney got the handoff on the conversion play, but he was stopped short to set the final as time expired.
Dobbins led the junior Red Devils' offense with eight yards of offense on 10 carries. He added two tackles on defense.
"He does a good job for us," Counce said. "He plays hard. He's a stand-out kid in junior high. We look forward to a lot of good things that he can do for us, and those classes right there are just a little bit slim.
"The kids, they try hard; they've got good hearts. We're just a little short on talent through there. We've got to build them up in the weight room and get them stronger and get their feet better. It's on us now as far as coaches. That's what we do. We'll try to keep them all out and keep them positive and keep them playing."
Freshman Andrew Gooden led Mountain Pine's defense with five tackles.
"He plays hard for us," Counce said. "He's our center. He's a ninth-grader. He's going to be a good player for us when he stays with the program, gets in the weight room. He's a home school; he comes to two classes a day. If we can get him in the weight room, get him working out, get him slimmed up a little bit and working hard, he'll be a dandy."
Conner Shelton led the junior Outlaws' offense with three carries for 76 yards and three touchdowns and one point after. Ethan Starwalt had three carries for 64 yards, including a 50-yard carry on the team's initial drive.
"Starwalt, he's our second-year starter at quarterback," Fannin said. "This is the first year in this offense, and he's picked it up real well, making the reads. He's our leader there offensively and our captain. He takes control and gets us in the right place."
Jason Eudy led the Dierks' defense with five tackles, Shelton and Andrew Stokes added four each and Kohl Kersey had three.
"Eudy's a ninth-grader," Fannin said. "He started last year for us as an eighth-grader. He's our captain on defense, gets us lined up and gets the calls. He's one of our better attacker, him and Shelton. Eudy's a great kid, fun to coach. He had a pretty good game tonight."
Mountain Pine travels to Quitman next Thursday.
Sports on 09/08/2018