Photo - Kassity Boor
Take a bow, Keshawn Dixon — take a bow.
Dixon ran wild for the Fort Campbell Falcons as they trounced the Todd County Rebels 41-0 in the opening game of 2A District 1 play on a rain-shortened Friday night.
“Keyshawn Dixon is truly a beast, man. As the OC, I would be crazy not to feed him the ball. Just a beast of a specimen — he’s truly a game-changer,” Falcons head coach Henry Mitchell said. “I mean, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. We kept giving it to him and feeding him. As a play-caller, you don’t try to break anything if it’s not broken.”
Broken, Dixon was not. The senior running back capped off a monster game with 324 yards and five touchdowns on 20 carries. It was Dixon’s third straight game with 230 yards or more, and he has scored 14 total touchdowns in that span.
Dixon’s second touchdown — a 19-yard run — was a highlight-reel play. The tailback took the handoff, went up the middle, juked one defender, hurdled another, and trucked a third on his way to the end zone.
The game was called with 11:41 remaining in the fourth quarter as heavy rain pelted the field and lightning lit up the sky.
Before the weather could stop the game, the Falcons’ other offensive star, quarterback Tanner Walters, contributed 67 passing yards, including a 45-yard touchdown strike to Levi Kruse. Walters also rushed for 97 yards as the read-option attack continued to punish the Rebels.
“Tanner Walters is going to be special — he’s a sophomore. He’s been with me for two years and knows the offense inside and out,” Henry said. “Real smart kid, with a 3.0 GPA. He definitely adds another dimension to the weapons we’ve got.”
In total, the Falcons rushed for 419 yards, with 377 coming in the first half.
On defense, the Rebels couldn’t find any rhythm, managing just 113 total yards while committing eight penalties that stalled their drives.
“Defense is all Coach Anthony Shingler. You know, me and him have been coaching a long time — he’s been my defensive coordinator for three years,” Henry said of his defense’s effort. “On film, [Todd Central] does some things that can confuse you and put you in a bind. But with his scheme, he planned it, he schemed it, and his defense executed.”
Fort Campbell (3-2) has now won three straight after a tough start to the season.
“The message to the players has been one game at a time. Come to practice, study film — we’re just going to take it one game at a time. We want to compete, we want to be physical and disciplined,” Henry said. “But we definitely took a one-game approach. Like we tell our guys, it’s how you finish.”
Fort Campbell will travel to Caldwell County next Friday. Todd Central will look to end its four-game losing streak at home against Mayfield.
FORT CAMPBELL 41 TODD COUNTY CENTRAL 0
TC: 0; 0; 0; 0 — 0
FC: 14; 27; 0; 0 — 41
First quarter
FC— Keyshawn Dixon 22 yard run (Jayden Couch kick)
FC— Dixon 19 yard run (Couch)
Second quarter
FC— Dixon 9 yard run (Couch)
FC— Dixon 66 yard run (try failed)
FC— Levi Kruse 45 yard pass from Tanner Walters (Couch)
FC— Dixon 40 yard run (Couch)
