By Ernie Smothers

smothers@mckenziebanner.com

Gleason routed Bruceton 33- 6 on Friday and is in a playoff position not seen by locals in nearly 30 years. The Bulldogs will host South Fulton (4-6) this Friday evening in its first home playoff game since 1982.

Against Bruceton, Gleason utilized the scoring of Conner Verdell (eight-yard touchdown pass, keeper touchdown rushes of 12 and 52 yards, 55-yard pick-six interception) and nine yard touchdown scamper by Ian Legens to defeat the Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central Tigers and boost its regular season record to 5-5 overall, 1-4 district.

Despite losing to Gleason, the Tigers (4-6) advance to face Clarksville Academy (9-1) on the road in the first round of the TSSAA state playoffs.

Back in ’82, Gleason advanced to the playoffs by virtue of winning the District 14A championship.

Prior to the game, Bulldog head coach Noah Lampkins honored Gleason senior Bulldog players Dusty McClure, David Spellings, Verdell, Gabe Lowrance, Zach Mileski, Thomas Fowler, Sam Cosby, Cole Verdell, Braden Stafford, Jon Riley and Corey Wilson.

Central’s Hayden Williams returned the Bulldog opening kickoff to the Tiger 17 before being tackled by Zach Mileski.

Following impressive stops by Bulldogs Blake Taylor, Lowrance, Will Clark and a Lowrance quarterback sack, Tiger Williams’ punt on fourth and 15 was fair caught by Bulldog Chase Ezell at the Gleason 46.

Consecutive rushes by Bulldog running backs Taylor and Mileski moved the chains at the Central 40. Digging in, Tiger defenders Clay Thompson, Tommy King, Colton Johnson and Alvin Mitchell slowed the Bulldog advance.

Facing fourth and six, Gleason’s gamble paid off via a first down pass completion from Verdell to Thomas Fowler at the central 38. Ramping up Gleason marched via rushes by Mileski and Taylor to the Central eight.

At the 3:55 mark, Bulldog quarterback Verdell fired a eight yard scoring strike to Spellings. Gleason’s PAT kick was blocked as the bulldogs led, 6-0.

At the 10:08 mark of the second quarter, Tiger quarterback Williams followed the Central line surge to pay dirt. Tiger kicker Logan Batte’s PAT kick was blocked as Central knotted the score 6-6. Then, Gleason and Central exchanged punts and battled for field position.

Following another Gleason punt, Central failed to gain a first down and lined up to kick the ball away from its own 48. Disaster struck as the wet pigskin sailed over Williams head. Gathering in the ball, Williams battled Bulldog defenders before being down at midfield and the ball was turned over on downs to Gleason.

The Bulldog utilized a 15 yard gain by Spellings (see above picture) and personal foul against Central to net a first down at the Central 23. Gambling on fourth and six in the red zone, Gleason gained a first down at the 9 via Legens’ pass reception.

With 3:06 remaining in the second stanza, Legens raced right side to pay dirt. Gleason’s PAT kick sailed wide to the right as the Bulldogs led 12-6 at the half.

Gleason’s Archie Rich returned the Tiger second half opening kick to the Bulldog 43. Following a six yard gain by Taylor and Spellings two-yard loss via Thompson, Verdell fired a pinpoint strike to Fowler to move the ball down to the Central 23.

Rushes by Taylor and Verdell moved the ball to the Tiger 12. At the 8:57 mark of the third canto, Bulldog quarterback Verdell scrambled right side to score. Mileski added the two-point conversion via rush as Gleason widened its lead, 20-6.

Following a sack of Williams by Reece Montgomery, Gleason’s solid pass coverage forced the Tigers to punt.

At the 9:57 mark of the third quarter, Bulldog quarterback Verdell raced left side 52 yards to the house. The Bulldog PAT kick was no good as the Bulldogs widened its lead, 26-6. Gleason added its final score at the 5:30 mark of the fourth canto as Bulldog Verdell tallied a pick-sin interception 55 yards to pay dirt. Mark McKenzie added the PAT kick as Gleason celebrated its 33-6 win.

Gleason ran through and around Scotts Hill during a 36-7 prep football triumph on Friday evening.  GHS also threw over the Lions’ defense during the lopsided victory. All totaled, the Bulldogs had 497 yards of offense while limiting the Lions to 96 yards of offense.

Gleason fullback Blake Taylor set the tone early with numerous traps taken up the middle. Taylor’s rushing total was 107 yards on 18 carries. After Taylor plowed a few holes through the middle, the Bulldogs exploited openings on the outside as running back Ian Legens ended up with 137 yards and two touchdowns among his 18 carries.

Additionally, G l e a s o n quarterback Conner Verdell was 5-for-9 with 128 yards passing and two touchdowns. Both of Verdell’s touchdown tosses were aerials to Thomas Fowler, who finished with exactly 100 yards receiving.

Defensively, Gleason’s Austin Perry had two interceptions and broke up a handful of other SH  pass attempts, while Taylor picked off one aerial and deflected a few passes as well.

Bulldog linebacker Gabe Lowrance helped to force the hand on one of the interceptions with a hurry of the Scotts Hill quarterback. Also, Taylor and Reece Montgomery combined on a sack in the fourth quarter that resulted in a safety.

“It was definitely big for us to come out and set the tone of the game,” Gleason skipper Noah Lampkins said. “We took control of the line of scrimmage and the defense didn’t give up any big plays. “I thought Taylor set the tone at full back and opened up the edges for Legens and some play action passes.”

With the triumph, Gleason improves to 4 - 5 on  the campaign.

The Bulldogs host Bruceton (4-5) Friday in a game where the winner will likely get a wild card playoff berth. “I’m pretty confident that if we win, we’ll be in (the postseason),” Lampkins said. “That’s what we’ll focus on. We’re treating this week’s game like a playoff game.”

On Friday, Gleason began the game – after a SH three-and-out and punt – with a 16-play drive that resulted in zero points and a turnover on downs. However, during the march that ended at the Lions’ 13 yard line, Taylor plowed up the gut on seven snaps for a total of 44 yards.

After the turnover on downs, Scotts Hill gained a first down before the Bulldog defense tightened up. On the final play of the first quarter, Gleason’s Brandon Lee took down Lion running back Justin Morris for a one-yard loss.

The Lions began the second period with a third-and-seven. Verdell came up big on defense, stopping Zane Lewis at the line of scrimmage. Scotts Hill punted on fourth down and Gleason rolled out a formation with Tanner Trevathan as quarterback and Verdell as a wideout. Trevathan found Verdell for a six-yard gain on the first play in the set and then handed off to Legens on the next three plays. Legens totaled 43 yards on the three runs - a 28-yard dash to the end zone included. Verdell booted the point-after as Gleason led 7-0 with 6:05 remaining in the first half.

Taylor sacked SH signal-caller Gatlin Ivey on third-and-10 to force another Lion punt. On the ensuing drive, Scotts Hill had its lone highlight of the evening. After Trevathan found Verdell for a 10-yard gain earlier in the drive, Blake Boring read a similarly designed play perfectly and returned an interception 63 yards for what turned out to be the Lions’ lone score of the outing. Ivey put the point-after kick through the uprights as the game was tied at 7-all with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

Gleason did not allow the game to stay tied for long. Zach Mileski rumbled 23 yards on the first play of the next Bulldog drive and moved the football an additional five yards on the second snap. Then, Verdell faked a hand-off, dropped back to pass and found Fowler a couple steps ahead of his defender on a connection that resulted in a 44-yard touchdown. Verdell booted his second PAT of the outing as Gleason led 14-7 with 4:56 left in the second quarter and at halftime.

The Bulldogs began the third quarter with a nine-play, 51-yard march to pay dirt after SH’s onside kick attempt was unsuccessful. During the trek to the end zone, Taylor had six carries for 28 yards. David Spellings put a cap on the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run with 8:23 left in the third quarter. Verdell’s third PAT of the evening put Gleason up 21-7.

That was the score at the end of the third period with the Bulldogs seven plays into an eight-play 50-yard scoring march. Verdell hit Fowler in the flats and the Gleason receiver made two cuts to juke would-be tackler en route to the end zone. The point-after attempt was no good, but the Bulldogs led 27-7 with 11:48 left in the game.

Scotts Hill had its most productive offensive outing the next series as Ivey completed five passes for a total of 49 yards. However, the Gleason secondary batted away and broke up four straight passes at the end of the drive to force a turnover on downs.

The Bulldogs’ last scoring drive began at their own 35 yard line. A key play in the drive was a 12-yard pass from Verdell to Lowrance on second-and-long after a penalty set Gleason back. After the reception, Legens broke free 14 yards to move the chains on third down.  Five plays later, Legens ran around the right side and down the Bulldog sideline. A Scotts Hill defender flew through and delivered a solid hit to Legens. Yet, the Gleason running back absorbed the blow and took the pigskin to the house on a 29-yard carry to the end zone. Mark McKenzie came on and kicked the extra point as Gleason was coasting with a 34-7 advantage as just 4:56 remained in the game.

The final tallies of the game were scored a couple minutes later when Montgomery and Taylor combined on the sack of Ivey in the end zone.

By Kenneth Coker

Sports Editor

Regardless of what big plays are made on Friday evening, it might be appropriate for the  crowd to cheer the loudest when Gleason High School sophomore Drake Damesworth walks onto the field at McKenzie.

After all, it was almost a year ago on Sept. 17, 2010 when Damesworth’s life was forever changed and his football career was ended.

As a matter of fact, in the days and hours that followed, many wondered if Damesworth – now an inactive member of the Bulldog team – would ever stand under his own power.

On that aforementioned evening last year, the then-Gleason freshman was logging time during the fourth quarter of his team’s 46-0 defeat to the Rebels when something went horribly wrong.

While making a tackle, Damesworth landed face down and his neck buckled. The resulting injury was a broken neck and Damesworth was airlifted from the hospital in McKenzie to Jackson and then to Memphis. The young man’s parents, Alan and Andrea, watched helplessly as medical personnel attended to their son in the minutes, hours, days and weeks that followed.

“It was a real scary situation when (Gleason assistant coach) Mike Bennett and I got out on the field,” Gleason skipper Noah Lampkins recalled. “At first, we thought he was just knocked out or that he had a concussion, but he was awake and alert and he told us he couldn’t feel anything.

“Then, the trainer from McKenzie came out and he was a key guy in getting Drake stabilized. A lot of the doctors that Drake has been to since then agree that the trainer’s work is a large part of the reason why Drake is able to walk.”

Mrs. Damesworth, a 1992 product of McKenzie High School and a member of McKenzie Church of Christ,  was understandably shaken by the injury.

“When Drake started playing football at age seven, I used to say ‘he’s going to get hurt’, but you never think it’s really going to happen,” Mrs. Damesworth told. “There was nobody to blame. It was just a mishap and one of those things that happens in football.”

As this season’s game with the Rebels approaches, Mrs. Damesworth told that she has “butterflies” about returning to the scene of her son’s injury. “Usually, they’ll play at one place one year and at the other the next year, but we’re going to McKenzie two years in a row and it’s a year from his injury,” she said. “It’s been tough this year, so far. I cried through most of the Greenfield game because I know Drake wants to be out there, but he can’t be.

“A lot of the boys have been so great, though. They’ll make a tackle and come to the sidelines and tell Drake that it was for him.”

In the seven days following the injury, Damesworth had surgery to repair damage done to both the front and back of his neck.

The procedures were successful as Damesworth was back up and on his feet late last fall for rehabilitation at The Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

All totaled, the Gleason football player logged nearly three months of rehab in Atlanta as a patient at The Shepherd Center.

Since his discharge on Dec. 15, Damesworth has been going to physical therapy in Huntingdon a few times a week.

“They’ve been working him hard,” Mrs. Damesworth said. “But it has paid off and we realize how fortunate and blessed we are. Drake went back to a reunion  of patients in Atlanta (during the summer) and he was the only one with the injury he had that was  up and walking.”

Once back at home, Damesworth eased into as typical a teenage life as he could live.

At the 2011 Gleason High School sports banquet, a tearful Lampkins retired Damesworth’s number. Damesworth received a standing ovation as he walked to the podium to accept the accolade.

“We felt like we needed to do something to honor Drake,” Lampkins said. “I truly believe he was going to be a great football player. He was one of the best linemen I’d ever had at the middle school level and a hard worker on the scout team. “The amount of courage and discipline he showed in getting back up and being able to function after such a terrible injury was amazing to me. For Drake to be walking again means so much more than being All-District or All-Region for four straight years. He is truly an amazing young man and I’m glad he has chosen to stay a member of our team.” Damesworth still attends practice and is on the sideline every Friday evening.

Damesworth is the grandson of Danny and Bonnie Martin of McKenzie and Dean and Naomi Damesworth of Gleason.  Source: Dresden Enterprise.

Bulldog Papa Proud of Rout at Greenfield

By Kenneth Coker

Sports Editor

Gleason’s David Spellings, Sam Cosby and Conner Verdell close in on Greenfield’s Blake Miller during Friday grid action

Extra week of Build-up for Gleason-Greenfield

Posted: Friday, August 26, 2011

By KEVIN WEAKS Press Sports Gleason and Greenfield are in the minority among high school football programs in Tennessee in that each had an extra week to get ready for their 2011 season-opener.And, it just so happens the initial game of the season for the two squads will be against each other.

In what could be called the second part of an all-Weakley County opening night — Dresden defeated Westview 13-2 last week — Greenfield will host Gleason on Friday, kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. Bucking what has become a trend in recent years, the two schools chose not to open their respective seasons with Week 0 games last week and will instead play 10 consecutive weeks prior to the beginning of the playoffs. It should be quite a way to open that 10-week run.

Both teams have several starters returning on both sides of the ball and come into the 2011 season with incentive to improve after missing the playoffs last season. Gleason had grown accustomed to the postseason prior to last year, reaching the playoffs three consecutive seasons and winning a playoff game for the first time in school history in 2008. Greenfield, meanwhile, won two of its first three games only to lose six of its last seven.

The biggest difference between the teams going in is likely at the quarterback position. Gleason will send a skilled veteran in senior Conner Verdell out against Greenfield’s talented but untested freshman, Miles Cavitt.

The Bulldog offense will be led by veterans playing a familiar system, while Cavitt will be surrounded by other untried players learning a completely different system.

David Spellings, another senior, should be a major player at one of Gleason’s wingback spots. On the other side, a former linemen (Jeremy Lannom) and two players (Blake Miller and Chance Black) known more for their defensive play will take on ball-carrying roles for the Yellowjackets.

Both teams will show a hybrid version of the wing-T offense. It is something Gleason is familiar with but that Greenfield has switched to this year after showing more spread looks in previous seasons. Gabe Lowrance, at end, is an all-district performer on Gleason’s defense, while Miller and Black are solid linebackers for Greenfield, which will put a very inexperienced secondary behind the front group of players. Published in The WCP 8.25.11

Bulldog Bag Mixed at Final Scrimmage