From ‘understudy’ to workhorse, Dozier comes through win over CHS
Oak Ridge’s De’Jauvis Dozier scores one of his two touchdowns last Friday night against Clinton. (photo:Chad Steed Photography )
The Wildcats were without several players, including starters. But they would overcome the injuries to hold off a much-improved Clinton squad, edging the Dragons 21-14 Friday night at Blankenship Field in the Region 3-5A opener for both schools. One starter who missed the annual showdown with Clinton was senior running back Jai Hundley. Hundley was injured at Bearden in Week 2. His absence provided an opportunity for De’Jauvis Dozier to take an expanded role for the Wildcats.
And he responded.
Dozier, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound junior, rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries to help the Wildcats (2-1 overall, 1-0 in Region 3-5A) earn their 13th consecutive victory over the Dragons (2-1, 0-1).
“We had to hang our hat on Dozier and some other guys,” said Oak Ridge first-year head Coach Scott Cummings, who won his first home game at the helm for Oak Ridge. “We needed (Dozier) to be a workhorse tonight, and he was.”
The Wildcats started fast against Clinton, which had outscored its first two opponents (William Blount and Austin-East) 93-14.
Oak Ridge scored first when senior quarterback Peyton Sharpe connected with tight end Brian Kelley on a 22-yard strike.
Kicker David Wilson added the extra point to give the Wildcats a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes, 31 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Oak Ridge’s defense, which sparkled most of the night, forced the Dragons, who didn’t punt in their first two games, into a pair of three-and-outs. The Dragons started the contest with two punts and were the victims of negative plays on their two inaugural drives.
Oak Ridge scored its second touchdown when Dozier scampered 22 yards on the final play from scrimmage in the opening frame.
Wilson added the extra point to make it 14-0 heading into the second stanza.
The Wildcats’ offense sputtered in the second quarter as it failed to get a first down in the period, but the defense made big plays and Oak Ridge snuffed out a Dragon drive when Grayson Hope recovered a fumble after Clinton had pushed deep into ’Cats territory.
Clinton, which had a bit more success in the second period after a sluggishly sputtering start, scored on the final play before halftime when Joshuah Keith, Clinton’s junior quarterback, threw a 5-yard pass to Lucas Kendall, who hauled the ball in at the corner of the end zone to cut the Dragons’ deficit in half.
The teams slugged through a scoreless third quarter as the defenses took center stage.
The Dragons came up with a big play on special teams and recovered a muffed punt at the Oak Ridge 40-yard line with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
They would tie the game on a 5-yard touchdown run by Chauncey Felts with 8:02 to go in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats, who never trailed in the game, scored what would be the eventual game-winning touchdown on a 15-yard run by Dozier midway through the final frame.
Oak Ridge’s defense would have to make a final stop on Clinton’s last gasp. The Wildcats came up with a fourth-down stop by the slimmest of distances as it stuffed Felts at its 44-yard line. Felts came up one inch short of the first down with 3:07 to go.
Oak Ridge then ran out the clock and nabbed the victory.
But it wasn’t easy.
“Clinton deserves a lot of credit for this game being the way it was,” Cummings said. “Josh Keith is a great quarterback and great athlete.”
The coach also commended his defense after it surrendered just 14 points against the Dragons’ high-powered attack.
“This was a good team win,” Cummings said. “To hold them to 14 points was big for us. In their first two games, they didn’t even punt.
“But man, we’ve got to clean things up. We’ve got to work on us. We’ve got to get better on Monday.”
Next up for the Wildcats: Oak Ridge hosts the Farragut Admirals Friday. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
The Admirals are 1-2 this season and are in the midst of a two-game losing streak after a loss to Maryville last week.Farragut won its season opener against Beech before losing to Knoxville’s West High in Week 2.