Dyersburg and Bartlett High football players await the start of their Oct. 10 game with a coin toss by a pair of former football players who have a long history. At center left, Dr. Steve Gaines was a promising Bartlett football player four decades ago at the two schools’ first match. Cory Proctor, tossing the coin at right, was the player who injured Gaines’ ankle in the game. The loss of most football scholarship offers changed Gaines’ life path, and he became friends with a religious crowd in college. Today, he’s pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church. The Oct. 10 game was a 33-14 loss for Bartlett. Photo by Theron Malone
