Junior Daniel Dotson had an uneasy week at practice.
He knew that he'd be making his first start at quarterback this season for the Rhea County. He also knew he didn't have to be the star for the Eagles' run-based offense.
It worked out fine for him.
Rhea County routed Red Bank 54-7 on Friday night by racking up 311 rushing yards on 41 carries and having Cody Bice score four touchdowns and Jake York score twice.
"I was nervous all week because I didn't know what was going to happen," Dotson said. "My line said they'd have my back and they did. I was nervous tonight, but I was ready."
The Eagles (5-0) scored more than 40 points for the fifth straight game despite not having four-game starter Austin Thurman, a senior, under center.
"The guy that was the starter the week before, we took him out in the second half against Cumberland County with a lead, and I don't know if he didn't like that or if he's struggling in other areas," coach Mark Pemberton said. "I don't know what the deal was, but he's not with us anymore.
"I've got a lot of confidence in Daniel."
Dotson -- whose older brother, Austin, played quarterback for the Eagles last year -- completed three of six passes for 78 yards and a touchdown that restarted a running clock late in the third quarter.
"He made some plays improvising later in the game," Pemberton said. "He brings mobility to the quarterback position. He's pretty good with the trip option even though we didn't show it tonight."
The Eagles didn't have to show much against an outmanned Lions team that lost junior defensive lineman Tra Stamper to an injury in the first quarter.
"They just mashed us," Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski said. "We had to put some young guys in there, and it hurts when you have to play freshmen against the experience and size and depth that they have."
The Eagles averaged 7.59 yards per carry and were tackled behind the line of scrimmage only three times.
"I couldn't do it without my blockers," said Bice, who had two runs in the second half. "We mostly got our big plays on what we call our bread-and-butter plays."
Bice had a 41-yard touchdown to start the scoring. York put the Eagles ahead 14-0 on a 9-yard run. Bice added scoring runs of 11 and 21 yards in the second quarter, leading to a 27-0 halftime margin.
"We played pretty well tonight," Pemberton said. "Tonight was the fist night we hit on all cylinders and didn't have a lot of negative yardage. We were able to move the ball."
Rhea County sophomore Seth Stulce returned the third-quarter kickoff to the Lions' 2-yard line, and Bice covered that distance on the first snap of the second half. York took the first snap of the Eagles' next drive 28 yards for his second touchdown.
Red Bank (3-3) avoided the shutout in the third quarter on a 35-yard pass from Brett Perry to Ben Brown. Rhea added touchdowns on a 33-yard pass (on fourth-and-1) from Dotson to Zach Daoust and a 9-yard run from Dylan Smith.
"Our guys up front have done a great job all year, and they keep getting better and better," Pemberton said. "As long as you win the trenches you have chances to win ballgames."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.