Tyner senior Jamarion Dowdell has been one of the best-kept secrets in Tennessee high school football this season.
The longer TSSAA Class 3A’s third-ranked Rams stick around in the playoffs, though, the more chances Dowdell has to step into the spotlight.
Tyner coach Christian Mainor and his staff were strategic as they began to unleash their newest playmaker in the seventh week of the regular season, a region road victory against Chattanooga Prep in which Dowdell turned his first game with double-digit touches into 208 total yards and three scores as the Rams won 46-37.
A week later, the 5-foot-8, 180-pounder starred in a 49-42 loss at Division II-A’s top-ranked and undefeated Nashville Christian that came down to the final minute and opened some eyes around the state about Tyner’s potential this year. He finished the game with 116 rushing yards, 141 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
After transferring in the offseason from Georgia’s Mays High School, where he was an all-region receiver last season, Dowdell has sparked Tyner (12-1), which will visit second-ranked Gatlinburg-Pittman (13-0) in a state semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday.