Surprising 1st week

Surprises — both pleasant and unexpected — were the order of the day for the area’s teams in the first official week of high school football.

Some teams were expecting better offensive production, while others were pleased with their beginnings. Dalton and Northwest Whitfield were in the former category as the Catamounts and Bruins both looked less than stellar on the offensive side of the ball.

North Murray and Murray County got their seasons off to a rough starts with losses, while Southeast Whitfield and Christian Heritage came away with confidence-inspiring victories. Calhoun got the Matt Land era off to a sour start with a 27-14 win, while Northwest had perhaps the biggest shocker, losing to first-year varsity program Lambert, 14-0.

North Murray started off it’s varsity experience with a 27-7 loss to Coosa County’s Heritage, while Southeast took a 35-6 win over Murray County and Christian Heritage took a 21-14 win over Crown Athletics as a reward for its long trip to Marietta.

Murray County, and Christian Heritage took a 21-14 win over Crown Athletics as a reward for its long trip to Marietta.

Dalton

• THUMBS UP: Despite the 27 points allowed, the Dalton defense was as good as advertised. Against a team that played in the Class 2A state title game last year, the Catamount defense held Yellow Jacket running back Dustin Christian to just 27 yards rushing and negative-15 yards receiving in the first half.

However, the defense was on the field far too long as the offense sputtered and gained just three first downs in the first half. Dalton’s defense was put in bad positions to start both the first and second half as fumbles gave the Yellow Jackets great field position. Calhoun only had to go 15 yards for its go-ahead score. Even with that fatigue factor, the Cats gave up just one long scoring drive as Calhoun went 77 yards on eight plays in the third quarter to go up 24-14.

Both teams lived up to the pregame music that accompanied Dalton’s players coming out for warmups as both teams brought the “Boom.” Bone-crushing, hard-hitting ribrockers were the order of the day for both teams in an impressive defensive display.

• THUMBS DOWN: Against the stout defense of the Yellow Jackets, Dalton’s offense looked anemic at best. Turnovers are one thing, but turnovers at your own 15 and at midfield will usually result in points for the other guys. The Cats’ sophomore quarterback looked like a sophomore with Cole Calfee hitting on 5 of 16 passes with an interception with only 38 yards.

Dalton never got its offense on track despite how it may have looked with a 14-10 lead at the half. Both scoring drives for Dalton came after Calhoun miscues — a 16-yard punt that resulted in a 31-yard bolt from Tre Beck on the ensuing play, and a fumble on the next kickoff that gave Dalton the ball at its own 10.

Calhoun’s speed on the perimeter limited Beck’s effectiveness, so Dalton had to try to grind it between the tackles in an I-formation that looked as if it took a page from the 1980s “SEC student body right and student body left.” It never really worked as the Cats were held to just over 150 yards of total offense.

Murray County

• THUMBS UP: The effort of sophomore running back Deron Hill was highlight worthy. Hill showed his skills and speed to get outside and create havoc for the Raiders.

Hill became more effective as the game wore on. He gained 38 yards in the first half, but finished with 94 yards on 11 carries. The rest of the Indians’ backs rushed for a paltry 22 yards. On his first carry, Hill lost 1 yard. But on his next attempt, he bolted 28 yards and that pushed the little speedster toward a solid first-game effort. His first carry in the third quarter netted 34 yards, but the drive bogged down and the Indians were forced to punt on a fourth-and-35 from their own 40.

• THUMBS DOWN: Four turnovers, 10 penalties for 61 yards and an offense that still looks ineffective when it comes to putting points on the scoreboard.

After averaging just 7.9 points per game in 2009, the Indians started the 2010 season with six points on a touchdown by quarterback Taylor Patterson. That score came with 7:26 left in the first quarter and the Indians never found the end zone after that and threatened only once more, that coming when James Hefner intercepted a Raiders pass and returned it to the Southeast 5. On fourth-and-goal from the 6, the Raiders stopped running back Raheem Adams for a 6-yard loss.

The Indians’ defense wore down under the constant pressure of the Raiders’ quick-pace offense. Murray losing four fumbles didn’t help its cause, and the Indians watched helplessly as the Raiders piled up 203 rushing yards in the second half.

North Murray

• THUMBS UP: Never gonna give the game up.

North Murray was down 27-0 to begin the fourth quarter. One point away from the dreaded mercy rule of the running clock. The Mountaineers were playing in the first varsity game in the school’s history and didn’t quit.

In that fourth quarter, with the Heritage Generals playing their defensive substitutes, North Murray was able to crack the scoreboard with a late-game touchdown drive that covered 73 yards on just 7 plays, which included a 35-yard hookup between quarterback Brady Swilling and receiver Jared Campbell.

The drive culminated with a 5-yard touchdown throw from Swilling to Austin Owen — the program’s first points.

• THUMBS DOWN: Missed chances on offense.

Heritage bumbles the opening kickoff, setting the North Murray up with tremendous field position at the Generals’ 16-yard line. Missed field goal. No points.

A 57-yard kickoff return by Jacob Mays put the Mountaineers in prime position again at Heritage’s 41-yard line in the second half. Four plays later, North Murray turned the ball over on downs. The backbreaker was Mays’ third quarter 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that a penalty wiped out.

Maybe it was the first-game jitters, maybe it was the defense of Heritage, but the North Murray offense wasn’t able to score. Coach Larry Corneilus wasn’t happy with his team’s effort. Neither were the players.

Northwest

• THUMBS UP: Although Northwest was shocked by Lambert, the defense played well enough to win, allowing only one touchdown. That came following a short 36-yard scoring drive that consumed eight plays. Northwest’s defenders yielded only 104 yards total offense.

Lambert, a Suwanee program, is not a typical first-year varsity program under veteran coach Sid Maxwell, though. The Longhorns have some seniors — unlike most first-year varsity programs. They figure to beat some other Region 7-4A opponents.

Bruins coach Mike Falleur, who has been tested through many gridiron wars, figures to rally the troops.

• THUMBS DOWN: Losing to a first-year varsity program in its debut is shocking. To not score adds more salt to the wound.

A mere 69 net yards for the Bruins came following 13 negative plays.

Falleur took the blame for not having his troops ready. The big, heralded mobile offensive line was a major disappointment — leaving the backs little room to run — with the aerial game unable to open up the Lambert defense.

Two breakdowns on special teams led to a rare 4-0 score in the first half. Those came following a mishandled punt attempt into the end zone and a punt return fumble deep in Northwest’s own territory that led to a quarterback sack and the other two points.

Poor kick coverage allowed a 39-yard return and a short field that set up the game’s lone touchdown.

Southeast

• THUMBS UP: The Raiders have to be thrilled with the play of junior quarterback Levi Sams, who made his varsity debut as a starting quarterback against Murray County on Friday.

Sams completed 13 of 22 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, with three interceptions. Coach David Crane, however, wasn’t displeased with the picks. He said two were his fault due to “bad play calls” and the other one, an attempted screen pass, was tipped before being intercepted.

Sams, a junior, spread the wealth by throwing to six different receivers and three – David Rayborn, Rhett Harper and David Cervantes – each caught three passes in the Raiders’ 35-6 win over the Indians, who outscored the Raiders, 571-112, from 1991-2005. Sams also rushed for 51 yards on six carries.

Another plus resulting from Sams’ solid performance was the Raiders snapping a 13-game losing streak against the Indians and winning a season-opener for the first time since 1990.

• THUMBS DOWN: It was difficult to find anything to slap the Raiders with, but while their defense kept Murray out of the end zone most all night, they had quite a bit of trouble containing the Indians’ running plays to the outside, either left or right.

If the Raiders had been able to cut down on those plays, they likely would have held the Indians well under 100 yards on the ground. Once outside the hashes, the Indians’ starting running back had the speed that caused Southeast’s defense headaches.

— Compiled by Larry Fleming, Doug Hawley, Jamie Jones and Chris Whitfield.

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