Demopolis silences Satsuma
SATSUMA — Demopolis proved unfazed by three first quarter turnovers, romping to a 47-0 blowout of Satsuma Friday night.
The Tigers’ opening drive lasted two plays before Drake Mercer shut it down with an interception at the Satsuma 14. The Tigers ran just one play on their next possession when the Gators recovered a fumble at the Tiger 43.
Demopolis was out of sorts again two plays into its third drive when it fumbled the ball away for a second time on the second play of the possession. As the Gators looked to return the miscue, Demopolis’ Demetrius Kemp stripped took the ball back and gave the Tigers new life. Three plays later, Demopolis scored on a 38-yard run by quarterback Tucker Jones to put the Tigers in the driver’s seat.
“Satsuma made plays and we turned the ball over,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said of his team’s sluggish start. “Our defense went out and did a good job of getting stops after we did turn it over. I’m real proud of what they did.”
After Kemp intercepted a Satsuma pass, Jones hit Rodney Harper for a 63-yard scoring strike to extend the lead to 13-0.
Kemp added to the advantage in the second quarter with a 28-yard scoring run. Satsuma’s Jackson Parker intercepted the two-point conversion pass to keep the score at 19-0.
Jones later hit Brock Montgomery on a 19-yard touchdown strike to push the Tiger lead to 26-0 before the half.
Roderick Davis reeled off a 66-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to put Demopolis up 33-0. Cortez Lewis added a nine-yard scoring run while Tyler Oates found the end zone on a 36-yard sprint.
Corrie Powell recorded an interception for Satsuma, whose best chance to score was thwarted when Kemp came around the edge to block a 33-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
Causey complimented his second unit’s efforts in both adding to the Tiger lead and preserving the shutout.
“After last week, we really stressed that this week,” Causey said. “When we’ve got you in the ball game, your job is to go make plays. I thought they did a good job of that tonight. There was a big goal line stand down there and our second offense scored two touchdowns.”
Kemp finished the night with an interception, a fumble recovery, a blocked field goal and a rushing touchdown.
Davis led the ground attack with 214 yards on 11 carries. Jones added 55 yards on two carries while Tyler Colburn had 51 yards on two rushes for the Tigers.
Demopolis finished the night with 555 yards of total offense, finding 448 of it on the ground on only 28 rushing attempts.
Tyler Merriweather led the defense with nine total tackles including a sack. Tommy Wilson also had a fumble recovery for Demopolis.
Demopolis (8-0) travels to unbeaten Jackson next week for what will serve as a de facto region championship game in Class 5A, Region 3.
“It ought to be a lot of fun for our kids, our fans, our school,” Causey said of the impending clash with Jackson. “It’s what you play for. These are the kind of games that you work all summer for.”
Satsuma (1-7) will host Selma.