Demopolis 10U Tigers win AYFA championship
GORDO — In its sixth year in the Alabama Youth Football Association, the Demopolis Youth Football League has its first championship. The title came Saturday afternoon when the Demopolis 10U team won the Juniors age division with a 25-6 thumping of Northport.
“To finally win it, to get that monkey off our back feels great. I’m proud of this team. They did great,” Demopolis 10U head coach Jim Logan said of the accomplishment. “Outstanding. Our defense was just unbelievable. First team defense only gave up one touchdown all year. That’s how you win championships. That’s what they did. It’s all the kids. They did a great job.”
Demopolis appeared poised to score early after Tim Thurman recovered a live ball on the opening kickoff. The Tigers proceeded to march all the way to the Northport 2 before coughing the ball up.
Northport’s attempt to capitalize on the miscue stalled 29 yards later when Fred Haywood recovered a fumble for Demopolis to set up an eight-play drive that ended when C.J. Williams darted over left guard to score on a seven-yard run with 5:42 remaining in the second quarter. Williams then added the conversion run to put the Tigers up 7-0.
Peyton Stevenson later picked off a Northport heave on the last play of the opening half to preserve the lead.
Demopolis found the accelerator in the second half as Thurman took a handoff on the Tigers’ second play of the third quarter and sprinted 55 yards for a touchdown.
After the Demopolis defense forced a stop, Demopolis used seven plays to go 45 yards and find the end zone on a one-yard Stevenson plunge to put the Tigers up 19-0.
Three plays later, Stevenson picked off a pass and returned it to the Northport 30. C.J. Sandridge then covered 29 yards on two carries, the second of which resulted in an eight-yard bolt to the end zone, leaving Demopolis up 25-0 with 4:08 to play.
Northport got its score with 35.3 seconds remaining.
Demopolis totaled 208 yards on the ground in the contest. Thurman led the way with 85 yards on eight carries. Williams added 67 yards on 14 totes. Stevenson had 27 yards on five rushes while Sandridge ran twice for 29 yards.
The win polishes off a 10-0 season for the Tiger tikes and caps an autumn-long effort Logan called completely selfless.
“They’re so unselfish. That’s why we’re a great team. The kids are more excited for the other one to score than the first one,” Logan said of the unselfish team approach that manifested itself in the way his running backs encouraged one another throughout the season. “That was also our balance. When one guy needed a breather, we could throw another one in and did not miss a lick all day long.”
Check back at WestAlabamaWatchman.com for a photo gallery of the Demopolis 10U team’s big day.