Bearden made an early-season statement in Tennessee's Smoky Mountain Conference with a 38-12 defeat of South Doyle.

South Doyle has been one of the top teams in the state for years, and Bearden has been chasing them for a while. They caught them this past weekend.

"It  was a very intense game," said Bearden Coach Logan McNeil. "These two teams have a fierce rivalry. In 7s in the fall we traded wins back and forth. Then in the state tournament ended up tying each other the last time we played. South Doyle always has hard runners, but our defensive structure held throughout the game. Defense is what won us the game."

South Doyle spent long periods of the game in the Bearden end, punishing some Bearden errors to get there. However, the Bearden defense held firm.

"We had a lot of good finishing plays from our backs, and the forwards worked particularly hard in the open field to open up space for our backs to run," said McNeil. "I credit a lot of it to the experience gained earlier this semester. Bearden has had a couple scrimmages against Phoenix Rugby Club from Alpharetta, and participated in Ruggerfest in Charlotte. We have had quite a bit of game experience for our entire roster, and it showed in the way they finished out the game. I give a lot of credit to the boys for finishing strong last year winning the Bowl level of the State Tournament, and a lot of credit goes to those who have helped me with coaching this team, including former coach Ethan Rosenblum, Dwayne Archer, and Butch Robertson. I got very lucky getting this group of players who are all very talented and experienced in rugby."