Red Devils stop Dresden

The South Fulton Red Devils posted their first win of the season last Friday night, in one of the most thrilling games of the season.

The (1-5) Red Devils rallied to beat the Dresden Lions 14-12 at home, with the game coming down to a goal line stand as time expired.

Dresden took a 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, when quarterback Tyrone Jones scored on a 13-yard run.

This score would stand until the 11:46 mark of the fourth quarter, when Greg Davis crossed the goal line on a two yard run.

Teammate Dalton Gray converted the two-point play, and South Fulton led 8-6.

On the next possession for the Lions, Divers Lockhart put his team back in front with a three yard run, making the score 12-8 with 8:19 on the scoreboard.

In what turned out to be the winning drive of the night, South Fulton marched the football downfield, with Davis scoring his second touchdown on a seven-yard run with 2:33 remaining to play.

This score set up an exciting ending, as Dresden took the kickoff at their on 44-yard line, and marched downfield to the three-yard line with :02 showing on the game clock.

On the final play of the game, Dresden quarterback Tyrone Jones was tackled by three South Fulton defenders, sealing the win for the Red Devils.

Following a sideline celebration, coach Jason Rodehaver called the win one of the biggest of his career.

“It’s up there, definitely up there. Like Coach (Brent) Wilson told the team, he and I have been into this for about 25 years, but its one of the biggest wins we have had. No one in the world gave us a chance in this game. We told our kids all week that this game was not against Dresden, but it was against ourselves. We have been killing ourselves in recent games, and we took all week to find our souls, and I think we found them.”

The Red Devils started the game in a similar season pattern, when they drove the field to scoring position, then committed a fumble.

“That was not the way we wanted to start the game, but we found a way to overcome the turnovers, and that was something that we have not been able to do all year,” said coach Rodehaver. “It was massive for us. Our defense really stepped up. Dresden has some really good athletes and we were able to shut them down for the most part. It was just about tonight, and that was all that mattered. We got it done and we are not done.”

The night was also special for the players, and a large group of fans in attendance.

Coach Eric Knott and his wife Jamie were presented approximately $2,900 by the Red Devils Booster Club, from community fundraising efforts to help offset expenses during his cancer treatments in Memphis.

Coach Rodehaver said it was special to have coach Knott at the game.

“I cannot even put that into words what that means. We did that for him. I just can’t put that into words.”

The Red Devils will continue play this Friday night, when they travel down to Tiptonville to take on the Lake County Falcons.