Neal has it covered

Sean Neal likes football because he enjoys competition. More specifically, he enjoys competing one on one.

Neal has played about every skill position on offense and special teams for Tyner this season, but what he loves most is cornerback — a position he’s played since he was in kindergarten and first tried organized football.

“It’s just you against the other man. Who’s better?” Neal said. “You’re on that island. You can’t get beat. All eyes are on you.”

Neal and his Rams teammates will go to Benton on Friday for an opening-round game against Polk County in the TSSAA Class 3A playoffs.

Tyner secondary coach Efrem Stewart said he has put Neal on the opposing team’s leading receiver, with no safety help, since the second game of the season. Until last week against Brainerd, the Rams averaged allowing 6.3 points in the previous seven games.

Stewart said Neal is probably one of the best cover corners within a 200-mile radius.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior has six interceptions this season, having returned two for touchdowns, and had another nullified by a penalty.

“He plays with a lot of intensity,” Stewart said of the player he calls Nasty, “and practices the same.”

Tyner head coach Wayne Turner said Neal is not only a “lock-down corner” but has improved greatly from last year to this as an offensive player. He’s made key contributions as a wide receiver and running back this season, as well as a kickoff and punt returner.

Where he may have paid his greatest dividend to the team offensively was when he was asked to run the attack when Travis Jones got injured.

“T.J. went down, but with him we had another No. 1 quarterback to put in there,” Turner said. “We didn’t miss a heartbeat when T.J. was hurt. He runs routes well and catches the ball. too. He’s just been a sparkplug on both sides of the ball.”

Jones missed half of one game and all of another. Tyner (8-2) won both.

“I had played quarterback before,” Neal said. “It wasn’t anything new. It had been a while since I stepped in there, but after the first few plays it came back to me.”

Neal has proven his defensive prowess against the pass, but this week the Rams are facing a team built around a rugged rushing attack. Polk County (9-1) lost 26-16 to Class 6A Bradley Central in its opener, scored 36 points at McMinn Central the next week and has scored at least 40 in each game since.

“They’re just a ground-eating machine,” Turner said of the Wildcats. “They pick up yards, keep the sticks moving and eat the clock up. That’s what we’re going to have to try to avoid.”

That may require filling the tackle box with several defenders, but that’s a luxury the Rams may be able to afford thanks to having Neal on one side of the field. He welcomes the challenge.

When asked about his most memorable moment at Tyner, his response was: “It’s not happened yet.”

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653.