The 2022 Tennessee Titan’s Mr. Football official nominations and the TSSAA BlueCross Bowl Class A State Championship game are still months away but sports reporters still need something to talk about … right? Last week, Main Street Preps reporter Russell Vannozzi published a round up of 15 Nashville-area players on the Mr. Football radar at mid-season and Moore County High School’s junior option quarterback Dawson White was among them.
White is the only Class 1A player mentioned and this is what Mr. Vannozi had to say:
White rarely leaves the field. His primary positions include quarterback, safety, punter and kick returner. On offense, White has accounted for 1,421 yards and 20 touchdowns. On defense, he has nine total tackles, two passes defended and an interception.
Those stats are a couple of weeks old but you get the gist.
It’s a sentiment that’s been toss around on the Coach T message board as well.
“QB from MC hands down should and deserves to win it,” said one poster identified only as Doc931. “Go turn on the tape, nobody provides more for their team than he does.”
White’s stats back up the hype. After just six games, White’s racked up 1,646 total yard on the season and averages 274 yards per game. He’s 81 of 120 through the air for 916 total yards and rushed for another 730 yards on the ground. He’s also a solid defensive player with 16 total tackles including 11 solo tackles so far this year. White’s scored 17 touchdowns this season for 102 Raider points.
For comparison to other Class 1A players receiving a little midseason hype, McKenzie’s running back Marquez Taylor has 789 yards so far this season on 56 carries, according to his stats on Max Preps. Another name in the hat, Fayetteville’s sophomore quarterback Samuel Willoughby is 58 of 86 for 968 yards. He’s thrown 12 touchdowns and five interceptions on the year. He also has another 149 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.
Of course, no player succeeds alone and White would be the first to tell you that he could not succeed without the other Raider playmakers. Junior running back Logan Hegwood is White’s go-to back with 286 yards on the season. Through the air, three Raiders have over 200 passing yards on the season: Hegwood (270), Keller Morey (236), and Will Baker (201).
The Raider defense, who have suffered significant injuries this season, continue to deliver gritty game performances. Peyton Martin leads in tackles with 57 followed closely by Landon Smith with 54 and Wes Clifton with 43.
There’s still lots of football yet to play. The AP #7 Raiders return to the field next Friday, October 7 for an away game at Loretto and then travel for a district match up against Collinwood on October 14. They’ll head back to Doug Price Field in Lynchburg for their last two regular season, district games against Cornersville on October 21 and Huntland on October 28.
To read Vannozi complete round up, click here. •
{The Lynchburg Times is an independently-owned, community newspaper located in Lynchburg, Tennessee the home of The Jack Daniel Distillery. We focus on public service, non-partisan, rural journalism. We cover the Metro Moore County government, local tourism, Moore County schools, high school sports, Motlow State Community College, as well as whiskey industry news and regional and state stories that affect our readers.}