Last year, Sam Evitts showed he didn’t have to be Sequatchie County’s No. 1 quarterback to make a difference at the position for the Indians.
This season, the junior is proving he’s quite capable of handling the bigger role.
Even as he backed up team leader and playmaker Payton Campbell in 2022, Evitts stayed positive and found a way to contribute. Not only did he provide a tough scout team quarterback in practice to prepare Sequatchie’s defense for each week’s opponent, he also stepped up to lead the Indians to a 50-47 victory at Marion County in the second game of the season. Spelling a banged-up Campbell before halftime, Evitts threw a pair of touchdown passes to offer a brief glimpse of the Indians’ future behind center.
Now the 6-foot-3, 180-pounder has become one of the area’s breakout players as a first-year starter for TSSAA Class 3A’s ninth-ranked Sequatchie County.
While his arm strength stands out with an average gain of 15 yards per completion, his attention to detail has also helped the Indians to a 3-0 start —the first time that had happened in Dunlap since 2016, a season that ended with a run to the state semifinals — before last week’s loss at unbeaten South Pittsburg, the top-ranked team in Class 1A.