Comets crunch

Dickson’s Luke Betterton rushed for 191 yards on 26 carries and scored three touchdowns to help lead the Comets to a 23-15 victory over the Lone Grove Longhorns in a key District 3A-2 matchup Friday night at Ernest Moore Field.

Both teams are now 4-5 and 2-4 in District 3A-2.

A lot is riding on this week’s games as far as the playoffs are concerned. Madill, Purcell and Bethany are in, but the fourth playoff spot is yet to be determined. If Lone Grove defeats Marlow at home and Pauls Valley loses at Bethany, the Longhorns would be tied with the Panthers. Lone Grove would advance based on its 42-32 win over Pauls Valley on Oct. 2.

If the Comets upset Madill at Alumni Field, a real log-jam occurs with the tie-breaker points system likely to decide fourth place.

Dickson dominated along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the football. The Comets rolled up 316 rushing yards on 48 carries and held the Longhorns to just 35 rushes for 56 yards. Lone Grove managed 93 yards through the air, but Dickson more than doubled the Longhorn total offensive output (331-149).

The first Lone Grove possession stalled and resulted in a punt that pushed the Comets back to their own 28-yard line. But Dickson drove 72 yards in 13 plays and took a 7-0 lead when Betterton scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.

The Longhorns took advantage of a Dickson turnover to drive for their first score. Jacob McClennahan picked off a pass thrown by the Comets’ James Byford at the Longhorn 25-yard line. McClennahan returned it all the way to the Comet 40.

The Longhorns used 10 plays and 5 minutes to knot the contest. McClennahan scored on a 1-yard run with 35 seconds left before halftime.

During the next 35 ticks, however, the game’s momentum shifted to the Dickson sideline, where it remained the rest of the game.

Three rushing plays by the Comets moved the ball from their own 28-yard line to the Lone Grove 49. On the last play of the half, Betterton skirted the right side, broke several tackles and ran down the sideline 49 yards for a go-ahead score.

“We played pretty well tonight on both sides of the football,” Dickson coach Mitchell Crittenden said. “We’ve had some people injured, but we got them back tonight. And with everyone healthy we competed strongly throughout the game.

“Our defense was outstanding. There were times we didn’t wrap up good, but for the most part we got the job done and shut down their offense.”

Betterton scored on a 1-yard keeper that finished off a nine-play, 52-yard march late in the third to up the Comet advantage to 20-7. Defensively, Dickson allowed the Longhorns just five net yards on three rushing plays in the third. None of the three Lone Grove passes found their mark, and one was picked off by Dickson’s Dalton Davis.

“We tackled poorly tonight,” Lone Grove coach Kenny Ridley said. “Basically it all came down to the fact that Dickson did a lot better job of doing what they do than we did doing what we do. “The best team won tonight. We definitely did not take them lightly coming in. They played excellent games against Plainview and Pauls Valley and lost to Marlow in overtime. So we knew they had some weapons. They most definitely outplayed us tonight.”

With 8:30 left in the game, Dickson’s Matt Millhollen connected on a 27-yard field goal to put the Comets on top 23-7.

With 5:50 to go, the Longhorns started their only scoring drive of the second half. Led by McClennahan’s passing, Lone Grove drove 76 yards in 13 plays and trimmed the Dickson lead to 21-13 when McClennahan ran it in from two yards out. He also ran in the two-point PAT to make it a 23-15 game with 1:58 left.

The ensuing onside kick was covered by the Comets, who ran off the remaining time for the victory.