5 takeaways: Trent Dilfer opens Lipscomb Academy era with rout, Stewarts Creek snaps Mt. Juliet win streak

Tom Kreager
The Tennessean

The Tennessee high school football season got off to a quick start Friday night.

Here are five takeaways from Week 1.

Dilfer era opens with rout

The Trent Dilfer era opened in convincing fashion on Friday night at Lipscomb Academy.

The Mustangs walloped Glencliff 66-8, leading 63-0 at halftime. The Mustangs scored three touchdowns on special teams, including Kyle McNamara's 87-yard kickoff return and 50-yard punt return.

Dilfer, who won a Super Bowl with the Ravens, was named Lipscomb's football coach in the offseason, replacing Scott Tillman.

Lipscomb (1-0) outgained the Colts 304-119. 

Quarterback Luther Richesson was 2-of-2 passing for 92 yards for Lipscomb. Jake McNamara was 1-of-1 passing for 78 yards.

Welcome back to Tennessee

First-year coach Bert Browne's first game back in Tennessee was one to remember. Browne, who replaced David Martin at Stewarts Creek in the offseason, upset Mt. Juliet 19-14 in a non-region contest between Class 6A programs.

The loss snapped Mt. Juliet's 28-game regular-season win streak.

"This team won three games last year," Browne said. "It's a big deal for our kids."

Mt. Juliet went 12-1 last season, losing to eventual Class 6A state champion Oakland in the quarterfinals.

Browne, who played at Tennessee Tech, coached at Coffee County during the mid-1990s. Last year he was an assistant coach at Elbert County High in Georgia.

"This is my fifth program that I've taken over that didn't win before I got there," Browne said. "I've learned how to do it. I've never been given a Cadillac. 

"We have a great bunch of players who worked their butts off this summer."

Oakland defense, special teams productive in win

Oakland began its 6A state title defense the way it ended it — with a shutout. The Patriots shut out host Hendersonville 59-0 in their season opener.

Oakland combined to outscore Maryville and Whitehaven 75-0 in the 6A state semifinals and finals, respectively.

"Our defense played great," Oakland coach Kevin Creasy said. "Hendersonville has a lot of offensive weapons. 

"We lost a lot of good players on defense. We lost a kid (Joseph Anderson) who is now at South Carolina and a kid (Woodi Washington) now at Oklahoma."

Dejon Glaster, a senior linebacker, returned a blocked field goal 87 yards for a touchdown and returned a fumble 50 yards for a score.

White Co. snaps 24-game losing streak

The streak is over in Sparta. White County snapped a 24-game losing streak, beating Cannon County 17-6. 

Cannon County's losing streak grew to 27 games with the loss. The Lions had to forfeit four wins last season due to an ineligible player.

"The biggest thing is the monkey is off their back," White County first-year coach Mark Frasier said. "But this is a new team. It's a different team.

"However, the losing streak had been over the program's head."

Duo leads BGA

No quarterback-wide receiver duo likely had a better first game than Bucknell commitment Nick Semptimphelter and teammate Garnett Hollis Jr., a Northwestern commitment.

The two BGA seniors led the Wildcats to a 48-21 win over McGavock.

Hollis had six catches for 205 yards with three touchdowns. Semptimphelter was 21-of-28 passing for 356 yards and five touchdowns.

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Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.