TSSAA football championship: Peabody repeats in Class 2A with dominant second half

COOKEVILLE — Last season's Class 2A state championship game was bittersweet for Peabody's Jarel Dickson. He got his first gold ring, but he didn't have his best game.

Dickson, an Army commitment, had 10 carries for 17 yards.

On Saturday, Dickson was named the Class 2A BlueCross Bowl MVP as the Golden Tide won their second straight title 27-16 over Meigs County at Tucker Stadium.

Dickson rushed for 155 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries, and he led the team in tackles with four solos and three assists to go along with one pass breakup.

"I had to come in and make a statement for how me and the O-line push that ball," Dickson said. "We just had to clean up the mistakes in the second half and keep pounding them on offense."

"Jarel was the difference in this game," Peabody coach Shane Jacobs said. "We knew that we would have to feature him today, 225 (pounds) coming downhill, that is a difficult thing to tackle."

He had 126 of those yards in the second half as the Golden Tide scored 20 unanswered points.

Peabody (15-0) holds the state's longest winning streak at 23 games and won its third state title. Meigs County (13-2), seeking its first state title, finished runner-up for the third time.

But Peabody trailed 16-7 at halftime.

"I think our biggest adjustment at halftime was stop doing dumb stuff," Jacobs said. "We overthrow on a post route, we throw an interception, we had third-and-goal from the 1 and get a penalty. Our guys are ... too good of players to do some of the the things that we were doing. We slowed it all down at halftime."

The Golden Tide held Meigs County to 30 yards of offense in the second half.

Peabody's  Allen Jones spied on Meigs County quarterback Aaron Swafford, the Class 2A Mr. Football winner in 2018 and a finalist in 2019. Swafford was held to 87 rushing yards and 77 passing yards, and Jones finished with six total tackles (three solos, three assists) with three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

"Allen was a kid that didn't start for us at the start of the season, but every week he has gotten better and better," Jacobs said. "I am impressed with how much better he has gotten."

The disruption kept the Tigers' offense quiet in the second half after scoring 16 points in the first half.

"First half, we struggled," Jones said. "In the second half, coach told me to just keep playing. We made some good plays, and I was able to get some tackles. It was hard to get to Swafford, but I kept fighting."

Peabody’s seniors end their career with a 47-8, including a 29-1 mark over the past two years. Peabody started seven seniors on offense and five on defense.

"It has been a blessing, and we know that not every high school player gets to have these dreams," Dickson said. "It was an amazing ride."

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Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.