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Demopolis sacks Williamson to move to Class 5A second round

Jeremy D. Smith , , , , , , ,
11-9-17 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Russ Logan wraps up Williamson’s quarterback for a sack during the Tigers’ first round win over the Lions.

In a showcase of standout defenses, Demopolis made the necessary offensive adjustments to pull out a 21-0 playoff win over Williamson Thursday. The teams battled to a 0-0 stalemate by halftime that saw 59 total yards for Demopolis against 58 for Williamson. The Tigers turned the tables during their first drive of the second half on one of the most nondescript of plays.

11-9-17 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Fred Haywood sacks Williamson’s quarterback near the Lions’ own end zone during the Tigers’ first round win over the Lions.

Facing a third and five in their own territory, Demopolis got a boost when senior quarterback Andrew Patterson called his own number. Patterson pulled the ball, ran away from pressure toward the Williamson sideline and dove for the stick marking the line to gain. The 5-yard sprint gave Demopolis a first down and extended a drive that resulted in the first points of the game.

“That might’ve been the biggest play of the game,” Demopolis coach Brian Seymore said. “We ran our sprint pass to the left and they did a good job in coverage. He pulled it down and did a good job with it and got us a big first down.”

A.J. Jackson culminated the effort when momentarily slipped on a rushing attempt before pivoting off his free hand to go around the right end for a 19-yard touchdown sprint.

11-9-17 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ A.J. Jackson heads to the end zone for the game deciding score during the Tigers’ first round win over the Williamson Lions.

“It was back and forth. The defense dominated the first half. I thought in the first half, we played not to lose instead of playing to win. I challenged them to go out there and do what we do. I thought they responded in a big way. We got the big run from A.J. and after that I felt like the momentum swung our way,” Seymore said. “Our kids take a lot of pride in doing the little things right. We stayed on blocks and our backs ran the ball physical. One thing led to another and it was a domino effect. Our guys picked up the momentum and kind of ran with it.”

Demopolis added to the lead in the fourth quarter when Jackson ran for a 7-yard touchdown. The final score came when Patterson went off play-action and hit DeDe Davis over the top for a 34-yard touchdown pass.

Demopolis finished with 269 yards of total offense while Williamson had 100 yards. Jackson paced the Tigers with 105 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Antonio Besteder ran the ball 15 times for 75 yards.

The Demopolis defense got after Williamson most of the night, tallying four sacks on the evening. Tavion Brown had a pair of sacks while Fred Haywood and Russ Logan had one apiece. Aron Collier intercepted a pass for the Tigers.

The win moves Demopolis to 9-2 and advances the squad to the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs where it will host the winner of Central Clay County and Charles Henderson. The victory also marks the first playoff win of Seymore’s career.

“To me it’s special because I’ve been so close many times. I’ve had a lot of close losses and so many overtime losses. But the credit goes back to the coaches and the players,” Seymore said. “It was special to get that Gatorade bath. I just hope we can keep the momentum going.”

11-9-17 — Demopolis, Ala. — Demopolis’ Demetrius Davis turns toward the end zone after catching a pass for the Tigers’ final touchdown of the night during the Tigers’ first round win over the Williamson Lions.