Demopolis dumps Marbury in overwhelming fashion

MARBURY – Demopolis left very little to question Friday night on its way to a 53-6 smashing of Class 5A, Region 3 foe Marbury. The Tigers saw a 44-yard touchdown run by A.J. Jackson wiped off the board by a holding penalty on the first drive of the game but rebounded on their second possession by going 61 yards in only four plays. Andrew Patterson hits DeDe Davis on a screen pass for a 15-yard touchdown to put Demopolis on top 6-0. Alexander Besteder added the conversion run to push it to 8-0.

After a botched punt attempt from Marbury left Demopolis at the Bulldog 7, Antonio Besteder ran it in from 7 yards out to extend the lead with 7:10 to go in the first quarter.

“I thought we did a good job up front. I thought our defensive line did a good job establishing the line of scrimmage. The same way on offense. I thought we finally took control of the game. It starts up front with those guys,” Demopolis coach Brian Seymore said.

Demopolis struck again early in the second quarter when it traveled 76 yards in five plays, highlighted by a pair of Davis catches totaling 64 yards. The senior slot receiver took the latter reception 31 yards for a score and the 21-0 lead.

A.J. Jackson added a touchdown run of one yard in the second quarter and another of 10 yards in the fourth. Antonio Besteder had scoring runs of seven yards and one yard in the third.

“I think we got a little lax. That’s something we challenged our kids at halftime to just come out there and play the second half. Just to play with a sense of urgency. Don’t get caught up in the scoreboard. We had too many procedure calls, some mental breakdowns,” Seymore said. “We had a busted coverage. I think we kind of regrouped at halftime and got back on the same playing field. We understand that we can’t look at the scoreboard. We’ve got to take care of ourselves. Every play means something. We got back to doing the little things right and I think it showed in the second half.”

Demopolis added two safeties at the end of the game, including one by Tyler Hale when he tackled a Marbury ball carrier in the end zone.

Marbury’s lone touchdown came on a 63-yard strike from Andrew Hurst to Orlando Smith with 7:33 to play in the game.

Jackson finished the night with 128 yards on 17 carries. Besteder added 88 yards on 14 carries. Davis caught seven passes for 135 yards. Russ Logan intercepted a pass for the Demopolis defense.

The Tigers amassed 472 yards of total offense while limiting Marbury to 156 yards in the contest.

Demopolis (3-1, 2-0) is set to host Calera (3-1, 2-0) next Friday night in a key Class 5A, Region 3 contest.

“This could very well decide our region championship. I’m not afraid to say that. I think our kids understand that,” Seymore said of his team’s Homecoming week contest with Calera. “I think they’re a good football team. I think we’re a good football team. We’ve got to go out next week, make sure we focus, pay attention to detail, and limit distraction as much as we can. I want our kids to enjoy homecoming. It’s a great opportunity for our school and our community. The most important thing for us is to find a way to win that football game next Friday night.”