Sequatchie hopes to bounce back
After a 2020 football season in which whatever could go wrong did for Sequatchie County, a change of leadership and 15 returning starters could help the Indians chase the Region 4-3A championship and potentially a deep playoff run.
New life has been injected into the Dunlap program, which is five years removed from a memorable run to the
Rusty McIntyre has taken over as head coach after helping guide Fayetteville to its first state championship with a 20-14 victory over South Pittsburg in the TSSAA Class A BlueCross Bowl last December.
McIntyre’s spread attack worked wonders for the Tigers, who scored 37 or more points in seven of their last 12 games. Now the Indians are excited for a change after being in the wing-T the past several seasons.
“The new offensive scheme fits us so much better,”
Class 3A semifinals.
Sequatchie senior star running back and strong safety Austin McCurry
said. “It will allow our junior quarterback Peyton Campbell to to air it out more than he ever has been allowed to, and it gives a lot of us more opportunities to be playmakers.
“We have a completely new mindset with Coach McIntyre. He’s brought a bunch of new intensity and football knowledge to us that I felt like we’ve been missing the past two years.”
The Indians are motivated after a 2-8 season in which they lost five starters to injury in a five-minute span at one point and lost four games by single digits as they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
Sequatchie could very well be the program to beat in the five-team region, which no longer includes Upperman or Smith County, which finished in the top two spots last year.
Giles County returns with the most wins of any 4-3A team, but the Bobcats had two COVID-19 forfeit victories as a part of a 6-8 season. Cannon County was winless last year, and Community and Grundy County each finished 2-8.
Sequatchie returns eight starters on offense and seven on defense. Middle linebacker Austin Moffitt (6-0, 195) is back to lock things down for the defense after being an all-region first-team selection last year, and junior Brandon Presto (6-2, 312) will be a key lineman. The offensive line is seasoned, and Dakota Beene (6-0, 165), Kobe Turner (5-6, 135) and Connor Donahue (5-10, 160) look like good targets for Campbell, who has a strong arm and could turn heads with a breakout season.
“We have a lot of outstanding leadership among this senior class,” McIntyre said. “Since I have arrived you can tell they are all hungry. They want to bring this program back to the heights it used to be at.”
The Indians will open their season at South Pittsburg as part of a tough nonregion schedule that includes home games against Bledsoe County and Marion County.
“The biggest goal for the season is for this senior group to be able to win the region and host a playoff game,” McCurry said. “I want to see our team succeed, first and foremost. We are motivated to get Sequatchie County football back to the level of being a well-respected and coached team that I know we can be.”
Nick Bryant returns for another stint as head coach at Grundy, where he is 31-35 all time.
Players to watch for the Yellow Jackets include lineman Dawson Misiolek (6-4, 290) and receiver Gunner Meeks, who are both seniors. Grundy is inexperienced at many key positions but has speed at receiver, so if talent emerges at quarterback, the Jackets could surprise this season.