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Morgan County running back Jay Dorsey (1) breaks away from a Walnut Grove defender during a scrimmage against the Warriors in May. CHARLES JORDAN/Staff
Morgan County football is set to host Cherokee Bluff later this week for a scrimmage to end fall camp.
The Bulldogs and Bears will hit the gridiron for a second consecutive year in a preseason matchup. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10 at Legion Field in Bill Corry Stadium.
According to an agreement between both two teams, the starters are expected to play for the first three quarters of the contest. The junior varsity players will take the field in the fourth to finish it out.
Here are a few storylines following the Bulldogs as they head into Thursday’s contest against the Bears:
The three-headed monster at running back
Morgan County had to replace a 1,000-yard rusher in Jacere Cooper during the offseason, but its backfield is still loaded. Players such as Jay Dorsey, Jordan Gordon, and Christian Monfort return in 2023.
The Bulldogs are primarily a run-first offense, so they will look to pound the ball on Thursday night.
Dorsey, a 5-foot-9, 150-pound senior, will get a bulk of the carries for Morgan County this year. He has the most experience and should lead the Bulldogs in terms of yards by the end of the season.
In 2022, Dorsey rushed for 707 yards on 103 carries (6.9 yards per attempt) with 10 touchdowns. He also had two 100-yard games, with his biggest performance against Monticello (128 yards, 4 TDs).
Dorsey is a shifty runner that can also catch passes out of the backfield. He gives the Morgan County offense an option to haul in balls in the flat and move up the field quickly for yards after the catch.
Gordon and Monfort are both sophomores, with the latter getting a few carries last season in garbage time. Both got a lot of valuable reps over spring camp during the summer months.
The class of 2026 Bulldogs are power rushers and can be pivotal to the offense in short-yardage situations.
Their presence also adds some much-needed depth to a thin Morgan County backfield in 2023.
Expect all three to get carries in the scrimmage, with Dorsey being the lead guy in the first few quarters of play. If Monfort or Gordon outperforms the other, they could lock down the No. 2 spot.
Despite the Bulldogs not having much depth at the varsity level, they have three great rushers right now.
How the linebackers, defensive line will play
Morgan County’s biggest questions surrounding the defense in 2023 are at linebacker and defensive line. The Bulldogs are a young defensive unit with lots of sophomores and juniors returning.
Seniors Landen Vickers (linebacker) and Antatvious Elder (defensive lineman) will anchor the defense.
Morgan County returns all four starters in the secondary, so new defensive coordinator David Bethea looks forward to seeing what his new guys can do at the linebacker position and upfront on the line.
At linebacker, Vickers is the only returning starter from last season. He will be the quarterback of the defense in 2023 at the middle linebacker position. On the outside, it looks as if Draco Frazzitta, a 6-foot-4 and 225-pound sophomore, will man one of the slots. Others such as Dayne Dickerson, Jordan Gordon, Drew Ainslie, and Christian Monfort will also be contributors at linebacker.
Elder, a UAB commit, will be a stalwart on the line. It will be hard for opposing defenses to block him, although they should also be worried about players such as Jamel Cox and Jatavious Ward.
Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins will be calling the defense this season, and he likes to bring the pressure, so look for those three names, among a few others, to get into the opposing backfield.
The Bulldogs have a young nucleus at both positions that have been waiting for the moment to hit the field since May. They’ve done a great job of forming cohesion in spring camp and over the summer.
This will be their chance to separate themselves from others on the depth chart as they will go up against others.