THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS
By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
jmoorehouse@timesnews.net
SEVIERVILLE — From the very first play of the game, it became obvious Sevier County was not going to let Dobyns-Bennett star running back Chris Sensabaugh beat the Smoky Bears.
And so, other players like Sean Seabolt and Derrick Steele stepped up, and the Indians rallied to beat Sevier County 28-14 on Friday night to remain undefeated.
The outcome made Tribe coach Graham Clark look like a soothsayer. With his team trailing 14-7 heading into the half, Clark gave the Indians a message.
“I told them, ‘You guys, we’re going to win this thing 28-14,’ ” he said. “A couple of them asked me toward the end of the game if I’d give them the lottery numbers tomorrow.”
Luck isn’t quite as big a factor with some of the talented skill personnel D-B (4-0) possesses. Seabolt, the quarterback for D-B, ran for 97 yards and a touchdown, and threw for 91 yards and another score on a 53-yard bomb to Steele. That TD catch and Craig Diminick’s extra point tied the score again at 14.
“The TD catch was not an easy catch. It’s not one I would’ve made. Of course, I was a guard and there was a reason for that,” Clark said. “So, just a great comeback by our players against a good football team.”
“I thought we were going to end up throwing it more in the first half, but we came out in the second half and started opening it up with passing plays,” said Steele, who also hauled in a 29-yard grab on a halfback pass thrown by Seth Barger. “Once we got ahead, we kept running it down their throats.”
D-B trailed 7-0 after one quarter and 14-7 at the break — its first halftime deficit all season. But the Indians outscored Sevier County 21-0 after the break and held the Smoky Bears to 60 offensive yards in the final two quarters. The Bears made some things happen in the passing game in the first son sealed off that avenue for Sevier County by shifting from man coverage back to a zone.
Indeed, after Steele’s game-tying touchdown, the Indians did not attempt another pass. And Seabolt — not Sensabaugh — did most of the running.
“It wasn’t as easy as it looked because they were stacking down on Chris a lot and no one was on me,” the senior quarterback said. “They based their defense on stopping him. People were tackling him every play. I was just getting out in the open to see what I could get.”
“Seabolt needs to go to Vegas, man. He made play after play — gambling,” Clark added.
It also helped that the Indians’ interior offensive line — comprised of Michael Meece, Ty Hayworth and Brenton Leeper — was able to better block Sevier County’s defensive tackles in the second half.
Robb Cross led the Indians in total tackles with seven, also forcing a fumble.
Sensabaugh did make a 14-yard touchdown run late to finish with 46 yards on 20 carries.
D-B plays Daniel Boone, which defeated the Indians last year, next week.
“We’re looking forward to it. I’m sure that every living human being in Washington County will be there. And, you know, it’ll be quite an event,” Clark said. “They got us last year. We’ve got to get ready to play them.”
