BY BRIAN HAMILTON
MARYVILLE – William Blount saw its playoff hopes fade on Friday night, as Dobyns-Bennett came to Maryville and handed the Governors a 48-21 defeat.
The Indians outgained William Blount 571-253 in total yards.
“Losing is contagious and winning is contagious,” William Blount head coach Philip Shadowens said. “It’s a confidence thing and right now, we don’t have the mental attitude to keep fighting when things go bad.”
Both teams remained scoreless for the majority of the first quarter, but Dobyns-Bennett would take a 7-0 lead on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Jack Carson to Ben Phillips, capping a 9-play, 94-yard drive.
William Blount would answer with an 11-play, 80-yard drive, resulting in a 1-yard run by quarterback Matthew Clemmer, tying the game at 7-7 with 7:29 left in the second quarter.
The Indians then went back in front with 2:31 left before halftime when Carson hit Hayden Sherer for a 28-yard touchdown pass to go ahead 14-7.
Carson threw his third touchdown of the night to Jonovan Gillespie on a 22-yard strike with 13 seconds left, giving Dobyns-Bennett a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Indians scored again on the opening drive of the second half, as Levi Evans went into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown, increasing the Dobyns-Bennett lead to 28-7.
Noah Blankenship found Gillespie for a 31-yard touchdown, putting the Indians in front 34-7 after three quarters.
Carson’s fourth touchdown pass came just a minute into the fourth quarter, as he tossed a 13-yard pass to Colt Wynegar for a 41-7 lead.
Clemmer tossed a 42-yard touchdown to Austin Aucker on the next William Blount drive, but it was too little, too late, as the Governors trailed 41-14 with 8:49 left in the game.
Dobyns-Bennett tacked on another score with 4:31 remaining when Blankenship ran for a one yard score, pushing the Indians’ lead to 48-14.
Clemmer hit Job Matossian for a 3-yard touchdown with 2:20 left, making the final score 48-21.
William Blount (1-7, 0-4 Class 6A Region 1) is now playing for pride and will travel to Hardin Valley to face the winless Hawks (0-8) on Friday, with hopes of ending their season on a high note.
Dobyns-Bennett (6-2, 3-1 Class 6A Region 1) will travel to Oak Ridge (2-6) for a non-region game on Friday. The Indians currently sit in third-place in Region 1, as Jefferson County holds the second-place tiebreaker.