Bees need to wrap up R.E. Lee QB Scott

Brookville heads into Friday’s Division 3, Region III Championship against R.E. Lee at Stinger Stadium knowing that if the Bees are to repeat as the region champions, they will need to bring down their man the first time, every time.

“We have to wrap up,” Brookville coach Jeff Woody said. “We have to tackle well because if we miss a tackle, they have the speed to take it all the way.”

The Leemen’s biggest threat is senior quarterback Dae’Quan Scott. Scott has rushed for more than 2,200 yards in 11 games and has scored 35 rushing touchdowns.

“He’s a tremendous athlete,” Woody said. “He has unbelievable speed and breaks tackles. He’s as much a running back as a quarterback.”

In addition to Scott, Lee’s fullback, sophomore Mark Anderson, has rushed for more than 600 yards and sophomore running back Terrell Mickens has rushed for more than 500 yards.

“We try to spread it around,” Leemen coach David Tibbs said. “Dae’Quan gets a lot of the stats but we try to get other players involved.”

Scott also has thrown for more than 600 yards and six scores. Last week, in Lee’s victory over Liberty, Scott threw for 146 yards and a touchdown to loosen up the Minutemen defense.

“Scott throws a good ball and can beat you with his arm,” Woody said. “It’s a pick your poison situation.”

Of course the same can be said about the Bees’ attack with the likes of Logan Thomas at quarterback, Stacey Houston at running back, Zack McCray at tight end and wide receivers Lorenzo Smith, Corby Weiss and Chad Mason.

“They are a dynamic team,” Tibbs said. “We can’t give up big plays. The best thing we can do is get them off the field and get our offense on the field.”

“Turner Ashby had a pretty good game plan (in Lee’s only loss of the season) to run the ball and keep the ball away from Scott,” Woody said. “But you still have to score points. You can still score quickly and if we need to, we can speed things up as well.

“We have to have a balanced attack,” he added. “It can’t all be Logan. He’s done a good job spreading the ball around all year.”

And of course with so much offensive firepower on the field, both coaches are worried about being punished for any missteps.

“We can’t make mistakes,” Woody said. “We can’t fumble the ball. We can’t have penalties.”

Added Tibbs: “When you are playing a good football team you have to make them earn it.”