Tyner powers past Soddy-Daisy

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

After four weeks of struggling to find its identity, Tyner's offense simply went back to its old-school ways of power football. The result was a familiar finish as the Rams' ground game helped them claim their first win of the season, 49-30 over Soddy-Daisy in a nondistrict home game Friday night.

Tyner used six ball carriers to gain 303 yards on 53 attempts, led by senior quarterback Haasan Miller's 123 yards and two touchdowns, to go along with his 107 passing and another TD.

"It feels wonderful to finally get that win," Miller said. "Losing is not what Tyner football is about, but we've been working hard in the weight room and on the practice field to get better, and tonight it paid off. Losing those first few games just motivated us to work harder.

"I put a lot of it on my shoulders because I'm the quarterback and a senior leader, so I wanted to do everything I could to help my team get the win."

A loss would've meant the first time Tyner started a season with five consecutive losses since 1974. But Miller and fellow senior Jarrett Watson, who ran for 119 yards and a TD, assured the Rams would have momentum going into the second half of the season, which includes five straight district games.

"From here on, every week is like the playoffs," Tyner coach Wayne Turner said. "We can still win the district and make the playoffs. Tonight was a big win for our confidence. We needed it."

This was the first meeting between the two programs since 1985, and on the third snap of the game, C.J. Blue sprinted 64 yards for a Soddy-Daisy touchdown, but the Trojans' offense struggled for much of the rest of the first half.

Tyner responded with a nine-play scoring drive, converting two fourth downs into firsts, including Miller's 15-yard scoring run on fourth-and-11.

While the Trojans went three-and-out on their next three possessions, Tyner began building its lead with back-to-back eight-play scoring drives. Even after Tre Carter returned a punt 57 yards to bring Soddy-Daisy within 21-14, Willie Stewart countered with a 47-yard interception return for a score and Miller helped rebuild a commanding lead with a 58-yard TD pass to Edward Springs.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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